Mike Myers Biography

Michael John Myers (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for his run as a performer on Saturday Night Live from 1989 to 1995, and for playing the title roles in the Wayne's World, Austin Powers, and Shrek films. He made his directorial debut with the documentary Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (2013). He has stepped away from acting for the most part since the third Shrek movie. He had a small role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009) and a supporting role in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).

Early life

Myers was born on May 25, 1963, in Scarborough, a suburban district in the east side of Toronto, Ontario. He is the son of English-born parents Eric Myers (1922-1991), an insurance agent, and his wife, Alice E. Myers (ne Hind; born 1926), an office supervisor and a veteran of the Royal Air Force.

Both of his parents were from Liverpool, United Kingdom, and he has two older brothers, Paul, an indie rock singer-songwriter, broadcaster, and author, and Peter, who worked for Sears Canada.

The family is of English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. Myers was raised Protestant. He holds Canadian, U.S., and British citizenship.

Myers grew up in suburban Toronto districts, both North York and Scarborough, where he attended Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute. He then graduated from Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute in 1982.

Career

Early career

Myers began performing in commercials at two years old. At the age of ten, he made a commercial for British Columbia Hydro, with Gilda Radner playing his mother. At 12, he made a guest appearance as Ari on the TV series King of Kensington.

After graduating from high school, Myers was accepted into The Second City Canadian touring company. He moved to the United Kingdom, where 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. In 1988, he moved from Second City in Toronto to Chicago. In Chicago, 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 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 would later turn into the popular "Sprockets" sketch on Saturday Night Live.

Film

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), as well as other characters, in all three films.

One of Myers' rare non-comedic roles came in the film 54 (1998), in which he portrayed Steve Rubell, proprietor of New York City's famous 1970s discotheque Studio 54. The film was not critically or commercially successful, though Myers received some positive notice.

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 did not 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 was The Cat in the Hat, which was released in November 2003 and starred Myers as the title character.

In 2001, Myers provided the voice of Shrek in the DreamWorks animated film of the same name, having taken over the role after original planned voice actor Chris Farley died in December 1997. He reprised this role in Shrek 4-D (a theme park ride) in 2003, Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and the Christmas special Shrek the Halls (2007).

Myers received the MTV Generation Award in June 2007, making him the second Canadian to win the award (following Jim Carrey in 2006).

In 2008, Myers co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in The Love Guru. In 2009, he played the part of British general Ed Fenech, in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. In 2010 Myers returned for the latest film in the Shrek series, Shrek Forever After.

Myers returned to onscreen film acting with supporting roles in Terminal (2018) and Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).

Other work

Myers made a cameo appearance in Britney Spears' music video "Boys" as Austin Powers.

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.

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.

In 2011 Myers returned to The Comedy Store in London to perform a one-time reprisal of his role with The Comedy Store Players. The UK comedy website Chortle praised his performance.

Myers' 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. In 2017, Myers began hosting a reprised version of The Gong Show in heavy makeup as a fictional British host known as Tommy Maitland.

Personal life

Myers began dating actress and comedy writer Robin Ruzan in the late 1980s after meeting at a 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". The couple filed for divorce in December 2005.

In 2006, caf owner Kelly Tisdale confirmed reports that she and Myers were dating. Myers and Tisdale wed in New York in a secret ceremony in the fall of 2010. They have three children: son Spike Alan (b. 2011) and daughters, Sunday Molly (b. 2014) and Paulina Kathleen (b. 2015).

During a CBS interview in 2007, he noted that he normally takes three years between films. He spends one year "living his life" and then writes various screenplays, develops characters, practices them in front of live audiences, and then selects one of the screenplays to film.

Myers is a Dungeons & Dragons player and was one of several celebrities to have participated in the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day in 2006.

He supports the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. He named two characters in the first Austin Powers movie Commander Gilmour and General Borschevsky, for then-Maple Leafs players Doug Gilmour and Nikolai Borschevsky.

Myers has played for Hollywood United F.C., a celebrity soccer team. 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. Myers is a fan of Liverpool F.C.

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.

In 2016 Myers published a book, Canada, about the country's history and popular culture.

As of 2016, Myers resides in New York City.

Myers is also a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.

Awards and honours

In 2003, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

For contributions to the motion picture industry, Mike Myers was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7042 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 2015, his face was put on a stamp by Canada Post.

On June 30, 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston for "his extensive and acclaimed body of comedic work as an actor, writer and producer."

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Wayne"?s World	Wayne Campbell	Also writer
1993	So I Married an Axe Murderer	Charlie McKenzie / Stuart McKenzie
	Wayne's World 2	Wayne Campbell	Also writer
1997	Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery	Austin Powers / Dr. Evil	Also writer and producer
1998	54	Steve Rubell
	'	Tim Broderick
	Pete's Meteor	Pete
1999	Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	Austin Powers / Dr. Evil / Fat Bastard	Also writer and producer
	Mystery, Alaska	Donnie Shulzhoffer
2001	Shrek	Shrek	Voice role
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Austin Powers / Dr. Evil / Fat Bastard / Goldmember	Also writer and producer
2003	Nobody Knows Anything!	'Eye' Witness
	'	The Cat in the Hat
	Shrek 4-D	Shrek	Voice role
	View from the Top	John Witney
2004	Shrek 2	Shrek	Voice role
2006	Home	Himself	Documentary
2007	Shrek the Third	Shrek	Voice role
2008	'	Guru Maurice Pitka / Himself	Also writer and producer
2009	Inglourious Basterds	Gen. Ed Fenech
2010	Shrek Forever After	Shrek	Voice role
2012	Oscar Etiquette	Sir Cecil Worthington	Short film
2013	Being Canadian, Sometimes	Himself	Documentary
	Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon	Himself	Documentary; also director
2015	I Am Chris Farley	Himself	Documentary
2018	Terminal	Clinton / Mr. Franklyn
	Bohemian Rhapsody	Ray Foster

Television

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
1985	John and Yoko: A Love Story	Delivery Boy	Uncredited Television film
1987	Meet Julie	(voice)	Television film
	It's Only Rock & Roll	Various	13 episodes
1989	Elvis Stories	Cockney Man	Television short
1989-1995	Saturday Night Live	Various	121 episodes; also writer
1997	Saturday Night Live	Himself (host)	Episode: "Mike Myers/Aerosmith"
2008	2008 MTV Movie Awards	Himself (host)	Television special
2011	Saturday Night Live	Wayne Campbell	Episode: "Dana Carvey/Linkin Park"
2014	Monty Python Live (Mostly)	Himself	Television special
	Saturday Night Live	Dr. Evil	Episode: "Amy Adams/One Direction"
2015	Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special	Wayne Campbell	Television special
2017-present	The Gong Show	Tommy Maitland	Game show; host
2018	The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	Dr. Evil

Career awards and nominations

Accolades

Year	Title	Accolade	Resultscn
1989	Saturday Night Live	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1990		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1992	Wayne's World	MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
		MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Dana Carvey)
1993		American Comedy Award for Funnest Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
1994	Wayne's World 2	MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Dana Carvey)
	Saturday Night Live	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
1998	Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Comedy
		MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
		MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
		MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence
1999	Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie - Sleazbag
2000		American Comedy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
		Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Comedy
		Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Villain
		Canadian Comedy Award for Film Performance - Male
		Canadian Comedy Award for Film Writing - Original
	54	Csapnivalo Award for Best Male Performance
	Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
		MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
		MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Verne Troyer)
		MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Moment (shared with Verne Troyer)
		MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Verne Troyer)
		Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor
		Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Couple (shared with Heather Graham)
		Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie - Sleazebag
		Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie - Chemistry (shared with Mindy Sterling)
2002	Shrek	MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
		MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Cameron Diaz & Eddie Murphy)
		Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie
		Walk of Fame - Motion Picture 7046 Hollywood, Blvd.
2003	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Canadian Comedy Award for Film - Pretty Funny Writing
		Canadian Comedy Award for Performance - Pretty Funny Male
		Empire Award for Best Actor
	The True Meaning of Christmas Specials	Gemini Award for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series
	Austin Powers in Goldmember	MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
		MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
		MTV TRL Award for Wet Your Pants Award
		MTV TRL Award for Walk This Way Award (shared with Beyonc Knowles)
	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Favorite Movie Actor
		Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Fart in a Movie
		Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - Comedy
		Teen Choice Award for Choice - Comedian
	The Cat in the Hat	The Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Actor
		The Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Fake Accent - Male
		The Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Song "Fun, Fun, Fun"
		US Comedy Arts Festival Award for AFI Star award
2004	The Cat in the Hat	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
		Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple
		Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor
		Teen Choice Award for Ultimate Choice award
2005	Shrek 2	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie
2007		MTV Movie Award for Next Generation
2008	The Love Guru	National Movie Award for Best Performance - Male
		TV Land Award for Legacy of Laughter award
2009	Inglorious Basterds	Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cast Ensemble
	The Love Guru	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
		Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (shared with Graham Gordon)
	Inglorious Basterds	Phoenix Film critics Society Award for Best Acting Ensemble
		San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Performance
2010		Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
		Gold Derby Award for Ensemble Cast
	The Cat in the Hat The Love Guru	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor of the Decade
	Inglorious Basterds	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2014	Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon	Hollywood Film Award for Documentary of the Year
		Miami Film Festival Award for Knight Documentary Comeptition
		Sarasota Film Festival Award for Best Documentary
		Sarasota Film Festival Award for Best Documentary Feature
		SXSW Film Festival Award for Documentary Spotlight
2015		Golden Raspberry Award for Razzie Reedemer Award
		News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts and Cultural Programming

Notable Saturday Night Live characters

• Dieter - host of Sprockets
• Linda Richman - hostess of Coffee Talk
• Japanese Game Show Host
• "Handsome Actor" Lank Thompson
• Simon - a little boy who does drawings in the bath and complains about having "prune hands" (the theme song for this segment was a slightly modified version of the theme song from Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings by Edward MacLachlan)
• Wayne Campbell (SNL, the Wayne's World films)
• Pat Arnold (SNL, Bill Swerski's Superfans)
• Stuart Rankin - proprietor of "All Things Scottish"
• Lothar (Of the Hill People)
• Ed Miles (Middle-Aged Man) - An older man who helps young people with their problems
• Phillip - A child of the age of six who is hypoglycemic and hyperactive (quote: "I'm a hyper hypo"). Phillip appears in at least two sketches, one with Nicole Kidman and the other with Kim Basinger. The sketch centers on him at a playground while wearing a helmet and a harness tied to the monkey bars.
• Kenneth Reese-Evans - host of "Theatre Stories"
• Johnny Letter - an Old West citizen who writes polite, well-written letters of complaint
• In December 2014, Myers appeared in a cameo during the cold open as his character Dr. Evil, a super villain known for his appearances in the Austin Powers film series where he called out North Korea and Sony, in particular the logic of Kim Jong-un, and the 2014 Sony hack, as well as making comparisons between the Guardians of Peace and Grand Old Party.