Mike Myers | |
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Born | Michael John Myers May 25, 1963 [1] Toronto, Ontario, Canada [1] |
Citizenship |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1973–present |
Spouses | Robin Ruzan (m. 1993;div. 2006)Kelly Tisdale (m. 2010) |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Paul Myers (brother) |
Comedy career | |
Medium |
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Genres | Black comedy, cringe comedy, deadpan, observational comedy, satire, self-deprecation |
Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) [1] is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for "his extensive and acclaimed body of comedic work as an actor, writer, and producer."
Following a series of appearances on several Canadian television programs, Mike Myers attained recognition during his six seasons as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1989 to 1995, which won him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He subsequently earned praise and numerous accolades for playing the title roles in the Wayne's World (1992–1993), Austin Powers (1997–2002), and Shrek (2001–present) franchises, the latter of which is the second highest-grossing animated film franchise. Myers also played the titular character in the 2003 live-action adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat .
Myers acted sporadically in the 2010s, having supporting roles in Terminal and Bohemian Rhapsody (both 2018). He made his directorial debut with the documentary Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (2013), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He created and starred in the 2022 Netflix original series, The Pentaverate , and appeared in David O. Russell's comedy thriller Amsterdam .
Michael John Myers was born in Toronto, Ontario, on May 25, 1963, [1] to data processor Alice "Bunny" E. (née Hind) and insurance agent Eric Myers. His parents were British immigrants from the Old Swan area of Liverpool. [2] [3] Both were World War II veterans, his mother having served in the Women's Royal Air Force and his father in the Royal Engineers. He has distant Scottish ancestry. [4] [5] [6] He has two older brothers: Paul, a musician, and Peter, who worked for Sears Canada. [7] He grew up in Scarborough and North York, [8] where he attended Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute. He graduated from Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute in 1982.
One of his neighbours and schoolmates was prominent voice actor Maurice LaMarche. [9]
Myers began performing in commercials at two years old. At the age of 10, he made a commercial for British Columbia Hydro, with Gilda Radner playing his mother. [5] At 12, he made a guest appearance as Ari on the TV series King of Kensington . At 16, he was the guest star of the season 1 episode "Boy on Wheels" of the TV series The Littlest Hobo .
After graduating from high school, Myers was accepted into The Second City Canadian touring company. He moved to the United Kingdom, and 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 program Wide Awake Club , parodying the show's normal exuberance with his own "Sound Asleep Club", in partnership with Neil Mullarkey.
He returned to Toronto and The Second City in 1986 as a cast member in The Second City's Toronto main stage show, Second City Theatre. [10] In 1988, he moved from Second City in Toronto to Chicago. There, he trained, performed and taught at the Improv Olympic.
Myers made many appearances, including as Wayne Campbell, on Toronto's Citytv in the early 1980s, on the alternative video show City Limits hosted by Christopher Ward; Myers also made several appearances after the launch of MuchMusic, for which City Limits was essentially the prototype. Myers also appeared as Wayne Campbell in the music video for Ward's Canadian hit "Boys and Girls".
The Wayne Campbell character was featured extensively in the 1986 summer series It's Only Rock & Roll , produced by Toronto's Insight Production Company for CBC Television. Wayne appeared both in-studio and in a series of location sketches directed and edited by Allan Novak. Myers wrote another sketch, "Kurt and Dieter", co-starring with Second City's Dana Andersen and also directed by Novak, which later became the popular "Sprockets" sketch on Saturday Night Live.
Myers began appearing on Saturday Night Live on January 21, 1989, and eventually became the first repertory player added to the show's cast in over two years. "He quickly became one of the show's biggest draws thanks to his talent for creating oddball characters with memorable catchphrases," according to Entertainment Weekly . [11] In addition to "Wayne's World" and "Sprockets", Myers starred in the recurring sketches "Lothar of the Hill People", "Stuart Rankin, All Things Scottish", "Lank Thompson", "Middle-Aged Man", "Simon", "Coffee Talk with Linda Richman", "Theatre Stories", "Phillip the Hyper Hypo", and "Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly". Myers's last episode as a cast member aired on January 21, 1995 (exactly six years to the day after his first episode aired). He returned to host in 1997 and made an appearance as his movie character Dr. Evil in 2014.
Myers made his film debut when he and Dana Carvey adapted their "Wayne's World" Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketches into the feature Wayne's World (1992). It was among the most successful films of the year and was followed in 1993 by Wayne's World 2 ; Myers starred in So I Married an Axe Murderer the same year. He took a two-year hiatus from performing after the end of his time as an SNL regular.
Myers returned to acting with the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), followed by the sequels Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Myers played the title role (Austin Powers) and the villain (Dr. Evil) in all three films as well as a henchman (Fat Bastard) and another villain (Goldmember) in the sequels.
One of Myers's rare non-comedic roles came in the film 54 (1998), in which he portrayed Steve Rubell, proprietor of New York City's famous 1970s disco nightclub Studio 54. The film was not critically or commercially successful, though Myers received some positive notice. [12] [13]
In June 2000, Myers was sued by Universal Pictures for US$3.8 million for backing out of a contract to make a feature film based on his SNL character Dieter. Myers said he refused to honour the US$20 million contract because he felt his script was not ready. Myers countersued and a settlement was reached after several months where Myers agreed to make another film with Universal. That film, The Cat in the Hat , was released in November 2003 and starred Myers as the title character. [14] [15] [16] It received negative reviews and was unsuccessful at the box office.
In 2001, Myers provided the voice of Shrek in the animated film of the same name, having taken over the role after the originally planned voice actor Chris Farley died in December 1997 before recording all of his dialogue. He reprised this role in Shrek 4-D (a theme park ride) in 2003, Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), the Christmas and Halloween television specials Shrek the Halls (2007) and Scared Shrekless (2010), and Shrek Forever After (2010).
Myers received the MTV Generation Award in June 2007, making him the second Canadian to win the award (following Jim Carrey in 2006). [17]
In 2008, Myers co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the poorly received The Love Guru , and in 2009 had a minor role as British general Ed Fenech in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds .
In 2018, after an eight-year hiatus from feature films, Myers appeared in supporting roles in Terminal (2018) [18] and Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). [19]
As of May 2022, Myers would neither confirm nor deny plans for Austin Powers 4. [20] [21] In July 2024, Myers was announced to reprise the voice of the title character in Shrek 5 , scheduled for release on July 1, 2026. [22]
Myers had a cameo appearance in Britney Spears' music video "Boys" as Austin Powers. [23] Britney Spears, in turn, made a cameo in Austin Powers in Goldmember , performing "Boys". In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. [24]
Myers is a member of the band Ming Tea along with The Bangles' guitarist and vocalist Susanna Hoffs and musician Matthew Sweet. They performed the songs "BBC" and "Daddy Wasn't There" from the Austin Powers films. [25] In 2011 Myers returned to The Comedy Store in London to perform a one-night-only comeback of his role with The Comedy Store Players. The UK comedy website Chortle praised his performance. [26]
Myers's 2013 directorial debut, Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon , was selected to be screened in the Gala Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. [27]
From 2017 to 2018, Myers hosted a re-boot of The Gong Show in heavy makeup as a fictional British host known as Tommy Maitland, [28] though his identity was not confirmed until the second season. [29]
An avid follower of the Monty Python comedy troupe, in July 2014, Myers appeared on stage at the O2 Arena on the final night of their 10 dates live show, Monty Python Live (Mostly) , and also appears on the documentary telefilm Monty Python: The Meaning of Live . [30]
In April 2019, Variety reported that Myers will be starring in and executive producing a comedy series for Netflix, which will last for six episodes and involve him playing multiple characters. [31] In June 2021, the series title was announced as The Pentaverate , which serves as a spin-off of So I Married an Axe Murderer.
In March 2022, author and security specialist Gavin de Becker shared that segments of The Gift of Fear Master Class had been directed by Myers. [32]
Myers began dating actress and comedy writer Robin Ruzan in the late 1980s after meeting at an ice hockey game in Chicago, during which Myers caught a puck and used the incident as an icebreaker to strike up a conversation with Ruzan. The couple married on May 22, 1993, and Myers later referred to Ruzan as "his muse". [33] The couple filed for divorce in December 2005. [34]
In 2006, Kelly Tisdale confirmed reports that she and Myers were dating. Myers and Tisdale married in New York City in a private ceremony in late 2010. Tisdale is a scenic artist who works in the entertainment industry and a former cafe owner. [35] [36] They have a son [37] and two daughters. [38] They reside in the Tribeca neighbourhood of New York City. [39]
Myers is a Dungeons & Dragons player [40] and was one of several celebrities to have participated in the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day in 2006. [41] He supports the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team, [42] and named two characters in the first Austin Powers film Commander Gilmour and General Borschevsky, after then-Maple Leafs players Doug Gilmour and Nikolai Borschevsky. [43] He is also a fan of his parents' hometown football team Liverpool FC. [44]
Myers has played for Hollywood United FC, a celebrity soccer team. [45] He played in the 2010 Soccer Aid for UNICEF UK football match, England vs. R.O.W (Rest of the World) and scored his penalty during a sudden-death shootout after the game ended 2–2 (June 6, 2010). The Rest of the World team beat England for the first time since the tournament started.
In 2014, Myers starred in a commercial with his brother Peter for Sears Canada, using "humorous banter to spread the message that, despite rumours, Sears wasn't shutting down". Peter at the time was senior director of planning at Sears' head office in Toronto, and he was laid off in 2017 after Sears Canada filed for bankruptcy. [7]
In 2016, Myers published a book, Canada, a memoir interwoven with reflections on his native country's history and popular culture and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. [10]
In June 2018, during a guest appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers , Myers stated that Britain is a "rooting interest" for him during soccer games in part because of his parents and because he is also a citizen of the country. [46]
Year | Title | Actor | Writer | Producer | Role | Notes |
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1992 | Wayne's World | Yes | Yes | No | Wayne Campbell | |
1993 | So I Married an Axe Murderer | Yes | Yes (uncredited) | No | Charlie McKenzie/Stuart McKenzie | Extensively rewrote the script with Neil Mullarkey |
Wayne's World 2 | Yes | Yes | No | Wayne Campbell | ||
1997 | Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Austin Powers/Dr. Evil | |
1998 | 54 | Yes | No | No | Steve Rubell | |
The Thin Pink Line | Yes | No | No | Tim Broderick | ||
Pete's Meteor | Yes | No | No | Pete | ||
1999 | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | Yes | Yes | Yes | Austin Powers/Dr. Evil/Fat Bastard | |
Mystery, Alaska | Yes | No | No | Donnie Shulzhoffer | ||
2001 | Shrek | Yes | No | No | Shrek/Blind Mouse/Opening Narration | Voice |
2002 | Austin Powers in Goldmember | Yes | Yes | Yes | Austin Powers/Dr. Evil/Fat Bastard/ Goldmember | |
2003 | Nobody Knows Anything! | Yes | No | No | 'Eye' Witness | |
View from the Top | Yes | No | No | John Witney | ||
The Cat in the Hat | Yes | No | No | The Cat in the Hat | ||
2004 | Shrek 2 | Yes | No | No | Shrek | Voice |
2006 | Home | Yes | No | No | Himself | Documentary |
2007 | Shrek the Third | Yes | No | No | Shrek | Voice |
2008 | The Love Guru | Yes | Yes | Yes | Guru Maurice Pitka/Himself | |
2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Yes | No | No | General Ed Fenech | |
2010 | Shrek Forever After | Yes | No | No | Shrek | |
2012 | Oscar Etiquette | Yes | No | No | Sir Cecil Worthington | Short film |
2013 | Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon | Yes | No | Yes | Himself | Documentary; also director |
2015 | Being Canadian | Yes | No | No | Himself | Documentary |
I Am Chris Farley | Yes | No | No | Himself | ||
2017 | Last Knight | Yes | No | No | Vodyanoy | Voice |
2018 | Terminal | Yes | No | No | Clinton / Mr. Franklyn | |
Bohemian Rhapsody | Yes | No | No | Ray Foster | ||
2022 | Amsterdam | Yes | No | No | Paul Canterbury | |
2026 | Shrek 5 | Yes | No | No | Shrek | Voice; In production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | King of Kensington | Ari | Episode: "Scout's Honour" |
1977 | Range Ryder and the Calgary Kid | Himself | |
1979 | The Littlest Hobo | Tommy | Episode: "Boy on Wheels" |
1980 | Bizarre | Various | |
1983—1984 | City Limits | Wayne Campbell | various episodes |
1985 | John and Yoko: A Love Story | Delivery Boy | Uncredited; Television film |
1986–1987 | Wide Awake Club | Sound Asleep Club | 2 episodes |
1987 | Meet Julie | (voice) | Television film |
It's Only Rock & Roll | Various | 13 episodes | |
110 Lombard Street | Mike | Television pilot | |
1989 | Elvis Stories | Cockney Man | Television short |
1989–2015 | Saturday Night Live | Various | 121 episodes; also writer |
1991 | Saturday Night Live: Halloween Special | Wayne Campbell | Television special |
1992 | 64th Academy Awards | ||
Saturday Night Live: All the Best for Mother's Day | Himself | ||
1997 | 1997 MTV Movie Awards | Himself (host) | |
2007 | Shrek the Halls | Shrek | Voice; Television special |
2008 | 2008 MTV Movie Awards | Himself (host) | Television special |
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Mike Myers | Himself | ||
2010 | Scared Shrekless | Shrek | Voice; Television special |
2014 | Monty Python Live (Mostly) | Himself | Television special |
2015 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Himself | Episode: "Canada" |
Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special | Wayne Campbell | Television special | |
2017–2018 | The Gong Show | Tommy Maitland (host) | 20 episodes; also executive producer |
2018 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Dr. Evil | 2 episodes [47] |
2022 | The Pentaverate | Various roles | Also creator, writer, and executive producer; 6 episodes |
Year | Title | Voice role |
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1994 | Hurler | Wayne Campbell |
2003 | Shrek 4-D | Shrek |
Edward Regan Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. He has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.
Wayne's World is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris. It was produced by Lorne Michaels and written by Mike Myers and Bonnie & Terry Turner. Based on the SNL sketch by Myers, it stars Myers in his feature film debut as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, a pair of rock and heavy metal fans who broadcast a public-access television show. It also features Tia Carrere, Rob Lowe, Lara Flynn Boyle and Brian Doyle-Murray in supporting roles, with cameos by Chris Farley, Ed O'Neill, Ione Skye, Meat Loaf, Robert Patrick and Alice Cooper.
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer.
Lorne Michaels is a Canadian-American television writer and film producer. He created and produced Saturday Night Live and produced the Late Night series, The Kids in the Hall and The Tonight Show.
Christopher Crosby Farley was an American actor and comedian. He was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live for five seasons from 1990 to 1995. He went on to pursue a film career, appearing in films such as Airheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, and Almost Heroes. Farley was frequently known for his physical performance/comedy and athleticism. This was used to great effect during his time on Saturday Night Live, and continued through many of his films. From his early acting days, and through the height of his fame, Farley struggled with obesity, alcoholism, and substance abuse. He died of a drug overdose at the age of 33.
Austin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third and final installment in the Austin Powers film series and stars Mike Myers in four different roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers and Michael McCullers co-wrote the screenplay, which also features Beyoncé Knowles in her theatrical film debut, as well as Seth Green, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, and Michael Caine.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is a 1997 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the first installment in the Austin Powers series. It stars franchise co-producer and writer Mike Myers, playing the roles of Austin Powers and his arch enemy Dr. Evil. Supporting roles are played by Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, and Michael York. The film is a parody of the James Bond films and other popular culture from the 1960s, centering on a flamboyant, promiscuous secret agent and a criminal mastermind arch-nemesis, who go into and come out of cryostasis at the same time as each other as their conflict spans decades.
Martin Hayter Short is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television shows. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. Short was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.
Buck Henry was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's The Graduate (1967) for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also appeared in Nichols' Catch-22 (1970), which he co-wrote with Nichols. Herbert Ross' The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), and Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972). In 1978, he co-directed Heaven Can Wait (1978) with Warren Beatty receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. He later appeared in Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life (1991), and the Robert Altman films The Player (1992) and Short Cuts (1993).
Sprockets was a recurring comedy sketch from the NBC television series Saturday Night Live, created by and starring comedian Mike Myers as the host of a fictional West German television talk show. The sketch parodied German art culture in the 1980s.
Tim Meadows is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. For his work on SNL, he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1993. He played main character John Glascott on the ABC sitcom Schooled for its two-season run after playing the same character in a recurring role for six seasons on The Goldbergs. Meadows is also known for his role as Principal Duvall in the 2004 teen comedy film Mean Girls, a role he then reprised in Mean Girls 2 and in the film's 2024 musical adaptation.
Neil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian.
Shrek is a fictional ogre character created by American author William Steig. Shrek is the protagonist of the book of the same name, a series of films by DreamWorks Animation, as well as a musical. The name "Shrek" is a romanization of the Yiddish word שרעק, or שרעקלעך, related to the German Schreck and meaning "fear" or "fright". In the films, Shrek was voiced by Mike Myers, and in the musical, he was played principally by Brian d'Arcy James.
"Soul Bossa Nova" is a popular instrumental, composed and first performed by American musician Quincy Jones. It appeared on his 1962 Big Band Bossa Nova album on Mercury Records.
Austin Powers is a series of American satirical spy comedy films created by Mike Myers, who stars as the British spy Austin Powers as well as his arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil. The series consists of International Man of Mystery (1997), The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Goldmember (2002), all of which were directed by Jay Roach, and co-produced and released by New Line Cinema.
The Love Guru is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Marco Schnabel in his directorial debut, written and produced by Mike Myers, and starring Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, John Oliver, Omid Djalili, and Ben Kingsley. The film follows Pitka, guru is tasked with revitalizing the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. The team has been plagued with losses, and their star player suffers a marital tragedy that throws him off his game. In order for Pitka to become the next Deepak Chopra, he must help the team actualize their potential to win the Stanley Cup.
Shrek is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, it is the first installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. In the film, an embittered ogre named Shrek (Myers) finds his home in the swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures banished by the obsessive ruler Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). With the help of Donkey (Murphy), Shrek makes a pact with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz) in exchange for regaining control of his swamp.
Douglas "Dougie" Powers, commonly known as Dr. Evil, is a fictional character portrayed by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. He is the main antagonist and Austin Powers' nemesis. He is a parody of James Bond villains, primarily Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Dr. Evil routinely hatches schemes to terrorize and take over the world, and is usually accompanied by "Number Two", his second-in-command who fronts his evil corporation Virtucon Industries, his personal assistant Frau Farbissina, and his sidekick Mini-Me, a dwarf clone of himself.
The National Hockey League (NHL)'s Toronto Maple Leafs has been the point of subject for a number of media in Canadian popular culture, including artworks, books, novels, and songs.
The Pentaverate is a Canadian and American comedy television miniseries created by Mike Myers for Netflix, inspired by conspiracy theories from his 1993 film So I Married an Axe Murderer. The series premiered on May 5, 2022, and consists of six episodes.