Mike Myers has been entertaining us for years, but within the last five years, he has broken out of Hollywood mediocrity to become a member of the $20 million club. The name Mike Myers has become common household knowledge with recent productions such as Austin Powers and Shrek. Actor, producer and writer, Myers is a true and proud Canadian (and a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan). He is a multi-faceted performer that has the ability to bring his characters to life with such humour and depth that they hold true and become a part of our popular culture. What is the story behind Canada's talented International Man of Mystery?

Mike Myers was born on May 25th, 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario to Eric and Alice Myers. Eric was a former British army cook who immigrated to Canada with his wife and was working in Canada as an Encyclopaedia Britannica salesperson. Myers was the youngest child, to older brothers Peter and Paul. He grew up influenced by U.S. and British television programs. His dad loved comedy and loved to laugh. Eric introduced his sons to numerous British comedians such as Peter Seller, Alec Guiness and Monty Python (especially Monty Python's Flying Circus). Myers love of things British even extended to thinking during his youth that he was related to the Beatles. As a child, Myers grew to love and admire Dan Akroyd, the whole Saturday Night Live cast, Lorne Michaels and Gilda Radner. These comedians were his childhood heroes and they inspired Myers - he wanted to share laughter with the world.

Myers wanted to try acting and was encouraged to do so by his mother, who could relate to her son's desire to follow a dream, as she had studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. At the age of eight, he began appearing in television commercials for popular international companies including Datsun, Pepsi, K-mart, and Apple Jacks. He even did a commercial when he was ten with Gilda Radner (who played his mother) for British Columbia Hydro. Myers stated in an EOnline interview, "I fell in love with her and cried on the last day. My brothers taunted me mercilessly and called me a sucky baby for an entire year. One day they said, 'Hey, sucky baby, your girlfriend is on a TV show.' And it was Saturday Night Live." Myers loved her so much that he vowed to himself that one day he would make it and appear on SNL with her.

Myers life was forever changed when he graduated from high school. He applied to York University in Toronto, Ontario and was accepted. But fate had different things in store for the young man. After his last exam at Stephen Leacock High School he went to an audition for the Second City Comedy Troupe. It happened very quickly. A 9 a.m. exam, a 12 p.m. audition, and by 3 p.m. he was offered the job. It was there, over the next eight years that Myers learned the art of improvisation and developed his comedic talents both with the Toronto and Chicago troupe. Around the time of his graduation in 1982, Myers also made his television debut on the Canadian comedy show Mullarkey & Myers (1983-1986). He was very busy at this time, and also worked as a vee-jay for an all-night Canadian music video show. Myers also briefly went to England to try his hand at British comedy. It was in 1989 that Lorne Michaels noticed Myers in the Chicago troupe of Second City. Before long, Myers was fulfilling his dream to work on the coolest comedy show - SNL.

Myers made the transition to SNL in 1989. Since this had always been a long-standing dream, he now felt he had a lot to prove, as he was one of the youngest on the show. He began writing skits immediately. He was following in the footsteps of Dan Akroyd, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner. It didn't take long. In 1989, he won an Emmy with his new SNL family for his creative writing. Myers created many memorable characters for SNL including fan favourites Dieter (a sexually ambivalent West German avant-garde talk show host), Angus (the proprietor of All Things Scottish), Linda Richman (the Coffee Talk host), Phillipe (the hyperactive-hypoglycaemic 6 year old), Simon (the boy in the bath tub), and of course Wayne (the suburban heavy-metal connoisseur who broadcasts a public access cable television show out of his basement). Myers would continue to work on the show for a six year run.

In 1992, the popular sketch SNL Wayne's World was transferred to the big screen. Myers had been doing the Wayne character since his days in high school, when he would use the impersonation to try to attract girls at parties. He had based the character on his days growing up in Scarbourgh. Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to expectations at the box office and movie critics were quick to dismiss the film; they simply didn't like it (or were just too quick to judge). The movie was not a hit until it was released on video. Since then, the movie has grossed more than 200 million in theatre and video sales. The movie was slightly predicable but Myers and Carvey breathed life into the Wayne and Garth characters, with memorable results. For many people, quotes such as; "We're not worthy!", "Do you have any Grey Poupon?", "Exsqueeze me", "Shaw... and monkeys might fly out of my butt!", and of course "Excellent!" are still imitated to this day. Myers followed Wayne's World with a sequel, but it was not received well by audiences.

Myers decided that it was time to make a change in his life. He married long time girlfriend Robin (who he had met in 1987 after a hockey game where she was hit in the head with a puck), quit SNL, and took a year off from movies. Myers took this time to go on tour as the obsessed character Linda Richman. He also formed a 60s rock band called Ming Tea with musicians Mathew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. The band was a success and were offered the position of house-band at Johnny Depp's Viper Room club. This 60s rock setting was part of Myer's inspiration for the Austin Powers character.

It took Myers only four short weeks to write the script for one of the funniest comedies in recent memory. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) spoofs British spy movies, the fashion of the 60s, and the classic James Bond flicks. In the movie, Myers plays both of the leading roles and thoroughly immersed himself in the characters. The film is a 1960s meets the 1990s mixup. The oversexed British secret agent, Austin Powers, manages to get the girl (co-star Elizabeth Hurley as Agent Vanessa Kensington), defeat his arch nemesis Dr. Evil, and prevent global destruction. This successful comedy was very important to Myers because he had dedicated the Austin Powers character to his father's love of all things British - a testament to his memory (his father died in 1991 from complications due to Alzheimer's disease.) There are many classic quotes from this movie such as "Groovy Baby", "Shagadelic", "Does that make you horny, baby?", and "Do I make you randy?". You can't help but fall in love with Austin and with Myers for his comedy and acting.

He followed Austin Powers, with a performance in a dramatic role as Steve Rubell in the movie 54 (1998) with co-stars Ryan Philippe, Salma Hayek, and Neve Campbell. Myers portrayal of a drug addicted club owner was the best part of this Hollywood flop, and proved that Myers could perform in dramatic roles too.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) quenched fans' thirst for the sexy secret agent. In this movie, the sequel to the 1997 hit, Austin travels back in time to May 25, 1969 to foil Dr. Evil's plans to take over the world. There was a huge marketing campaign for the release of this movie and it turned out to be more popular than the original, grossing 54.7 million in the first weekend (more than the first did in its entire run). In the same year, Myers appeared in a cameo role in Mystery Alaska as Donnie Shulzhoffer in a hockey movie where a publicity stunt creates the lopsided competition between the New York Rangers and the hometown team in a hockey-loving town.

Myers hit troubled times in 2000 when he was tied up in a legal battle with Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment for backing out on a deal he signed to write and direct the movie Sprockets based on a character from SNL. Myers wasn't happy with the project and did not want to subject himself to its poor quality. He left in June 2000 and the lawsuit was filed to try to force Myers to hold up his end of the contract. Myers countered with a lawsuit of his own citing defamation and invasion of privacy. After several months a settlement was reached in which Myers agreed to make another film with Universal & Imagine.

The animated movie Shrek (2001) was released in the summer of 2001 and was a huge hit with children and parents alike. This kid friendly fairy tale about an unsightly ogre (Shrek) was both heartwarming and very funny. Shrek is an unlikely hero that is enlisted to save and restore order to the land of fairy tales (while at the same time rescuing a beatiful princess).

Austin Powers: Goldmember (2002) released in 2002 was Myers ticket into the $20 million club. He was paid twenty-five million for the third and final movie in the Austin Powers line-up - not a bad pay check. Dr. Evil and his accomplice Mini Me escape from a maximum-security prison and Austin is called to action once more in this third instalment of the highly successful Austin Powers movie franchise.

Myers is set to star in Cat in the Hat (2003) with Universal Pictures and is also set to return for Shrek II (2004) with Dreamworks. He was recently awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and there will be a street named after him in a new suburban subdivision of Scarborough, Ontario. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their three dogs. Myers isn't finished with Hollywood and we are bound to see more of this Canadian in many more movies. Canada's International Man of Mystery has moved "out of the woodwork" and Myers will continue to entertain us because as he puts it, "I can't live without comedy."

For more information on Mike Myers check out:

http://www.mikemyers.isfunny.com/

http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=23366

Hull Dupont, Lonnie and Connie Hull Dupont, Mike Myers, Chelsa House Publications, 1999.

Knelman, Martin, Mike's World: The Life of Mike Myers, Penguin Canada, 2002.

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