Mike Myers (actor)
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- This article is about the actor. For other uses see Michael Myers
Michael Myers (born May 25, 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a British-Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer.
Biography
Early life
Both of Myers' parents are from Liverpool, England, and Myers has British as well as Canadian citizenship. His ethnic heritage is English, Scottish and Irish, and he has stated that he considers himself to be British [[Citing sources citation needed]] although he is also very vocal about being a proud Canadian.Career
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 became well-known as 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". 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. The film was so successful, the next year a sequel was made - Wayne's World 2.
In 1997, Myers introduced the world to Austin Powers, with the film . Myers played the title role, and several other characters in the film. In 1999, he played one of his first non-comedic roles in the film 54 where he played the proprietor of Studio 54, a famous New York discotheque of the 1970s. 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.
With former Bangles guitarist and vocalist Susanna Hoffs, Myers is a member of the band Ming Tea, which 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.
Personal life
His brother, Paul Myers, is a musician and writer.
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.
On December 23, 2005, Myers and his wife of the past 12 years, Robin Ruzan (whose Jewish mother was the inspiration behind Myers' Linda Richman character on Saturday Night Live), filed for divorce.
Selected filmography
- Saturday Night Live (1975) (TV series) (1989–1995)
- Wayne's World (1992) - Wayne Campbell
- So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) - Charlie Mackenzie/Stuart Mackenzie
- Wayne's World 2 (1993) - Wayne Campbell
- (1997) - Austin Powers/Dr Evil
- Pete's Meteor (1998) - Pete
- 54 (1998) - Steve Rubell
- (1999) - Austin Powers/Dr Evil/Fat Bastard
- Shrek (2001) (voice) - Shrek
- Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) - Austin Powers/Dr Evil/Fat Bastard/Goldmember
- View from the Top (2003) - John Witney
- The Cat in the Hat (2003) - The Cat
- Shrek 2 (2004) (voice) - Shrek
- Shrek 3 (2007) (voice) - Shrek
Notable characters
The following characters were created by Myers:- Dieter (Saturday Night Live)
- Linda Richman (SNL)
- Wayne Campbell (SNL, the Wayne's World films)
- Stuart McKenzie (SNL, So I Married an Axe Murderer)
- Charlie McKenzie (So I Married an Axe Murderer)
- 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)
- Shrek (Shrek, Shrek 2, and the forthcoming Shrek 3)
- The Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat)
External links
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