Mike Myers (actor)

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Mike Myers
Born May 25, 1963
Scarborough, Ontario
This article is about the actor. For other uses see Michael Myers

Michael "Mike" Myers (born May 25, 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) is an Emmy-winning British-Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer, whose notable film roles include the titular characters of Wayne's World, the Austin Powers series, and Shrek.

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[edit] Biography

Both of Myers's parents are from Liverpool, England, and Myers has British, as well as Canadian, citizenship. His ethnic heritage is English, Scottish and Irish.

One of Myers' first acting jobs was with Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner in a TV commercial when he was nine years old. Myers graduated from high school in 1982 and was immediately accepted into Toronto's Second City improvisational comedy troupe. He made numerous appearances, including as Wayne Campbell, on Toronto's Citytv in the early 1980s, on the alternative video show "City Limits" hosted by Christopher Ward. In 1985 he was one of the founding members of The Comedy Store Players, an improvisational group based at The Comedy Store in London. The next year, he starred in the British children's TV programme Wide Awake Club, parodying the show's normal exuberance with his own "Sound Asleep Club", in partnership with Neil Mullarkey.

Myers was a member of the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live television program from 1989 to 1995, where he performed characters like Dieter, Linda Richman, and Wayne Campbell from Wayne's World.

The character of Linda Richman was based on Myers's real-life mother-in-law, a woman of New York Jewish extraction who is actually named Linda Richman. Myers has been married to Linda Richman's daughter, Robin Ruzan, since 1993; however, they have filed for divorce.

In 1992, Myers and comedian Dana Carvey took Wayne's World to the silver screen in a full-length motion picture based on the SNL sketch. It ended up being one of the most successful movies of the year and the following year a sequel was made - Wayne's World 2.

In 1997, Myers introduced the world to Austin Powers, with the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Myers played the title role, and other characters in the film. In 1999, he played one of his first non-comedic roles in the film 54 where he played Steve Rubell, proprietor of New York City's famous Studio 54 (a 1970s discoteque). The film was moderately successful, and Myers' performance was widely praised. Myers later parodied the club as "Studio 69" in 2002's Austin Powers in Goldmember.

In June 2000, Myers was sued by Universal Pictures for $3.8 million for backing out of a contract to play Dieter, the SNL character, in a feature film. Myers said he refused to honor the $20 million contract because he didn't want to cheat moviegoers with an unacceptable script - one that he himself had written. Myers countersued, and a settlement was reached after several months where Myers agreed to make another film with Universal. That film would be The Cat in the Hat, released in November 2003 and starring Myers as the title character. It was a role he was ecstatic to play. Also in 2003, Myers was given a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Myers is a member of the band Ming Tea along with former Bangles guitarist and vocalist Susanna Hoffs. They performed the songs BBC and Daddy Wasn't There for the Austin Powers movies.

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. As of September 29, Myers has been signed on to play the lead role in the upcoming biopic of The Who drummer Keith Moon. The film will be produced by Roger Daltrey, Nigel Sinclair and Paul Gerber.

[edit] Hurricane Katrina controversy

Rapper Kanye West denounces President Bush's response to, and the American media's portrayal of, Hurricane Katrina, while Myers looks on calmly.
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Rapper Kanye West denounces President Bush's response to, and the American media's portrayal of, Hurricane Katrina, while Myers looks on calmly.

On September 2, 2005, Myers was paired with rapper Kanye West for a 90-second segment, part of a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, on NBC. The event stirred criticism when West deviated from the script to criticize the media portrayal of black people in New Orleans and also commented, "George Bush doesn't care about black people" before the camera cut away to comedian Chris Tucker. On October 1, Myers appeared in the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. He was featured in a short clip with West (the musical guest for the episode), and jokingly stated that the US had revoked his citizenship (he is not known to be a U.S. citizen) and that FBI agents are monitoring him.

[edit] Catch-phrases

Myers has spawned many American catch-phrases from both his Saturday Night Live characters and subsequent films. Some lines from the Austin Powers films ("Oh, behave!" "Yeah Baby! Yeah!" "Shagadelic!" "Shall we shag now or shag later?" "Do I make you horny baby, do I?" "Get in mah belly!" "Shh!") Some lines from Wayne's World include ("Not!" "Schwing!"); his angry Scotsman from SNL ("If it's not Scottish, it's crap"), Linda Richman ("Talk amongst yourselves..." "I'm getting verklempt!" "It's like butter!"), Dieter ("Vould you like to touch my monkey?") and more besides. The quotability of Myers' characters increased his popularity, but also led to criticism; illustrated by a scene from the sit-com Frasier, when Frasier's father relentlessly quotes Austin Powers lines during a long car trip until Frasier growls, "Dad, I'm begging you..."

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Notable characters

The following characters were created by Myers:

  • Dieter (Saturday Night Live)
  • Linda Richman (SNL)
  • Wayne Campbell (SNL, the Wayne's World films)
  • Pat Arnold (SNL, Bill Swerski's Superfans)
  • Stuart McKenzie (SNL, So I Married an Axe Murderer)
  • Charlie McKenzie (So I Married an Axe Murderer)
  • Middle-Aged Man (Saturday Night Live)
  • Austin Powers (the Austin Powers films)
  • Dr. Evil (all three Austin Powers films)
  • Fat Bastard (Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember)
  • Goldmember (Austin Powers in Goldmember)
  • Donald Q. Cashington, Jr. III - An eccentric billionaire that requests buying the rights to name autism after himself. (Featured in The Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education)

The following are notable characters who Myers has portrayed in film, but who were originally created by other writers:

[edit] External links

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