Mike Myers

Mike Myers, comedian, actor, writer, producer, musician (b at Scarborough, Ont 25 May 1963). A staunchly outspoken and proud Canadian, Mike Myers created original characters on television's Saturday Night Live (SNL) that propelled him to national fame. His Austin Powers spy-spoof movies made him a comedic superstar, unleashing popular phrases like "Yeah, baby" and "Oh, behave."

Myers attended school in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, and began acting in TV commercials when he was eight. Upon graduating from high school he was immediately accepted into Toronto's Second City Comedy troupe, a training ground for Canadian comedians like John Candy, Martin Short and Dan Aykroyd.

In 1985, Myers was a founding member of the Comedy Store Players in London, England, before returning to North America, where he worked with the Chicago Second City troupe. He made his way to New York in 1989, accepting a guest-spot invitation from fellow Canadian Lorne Michaels, producer of SNL. As Myers's popularity grew, he became a regular cast member; he remained active on the show until 1995.

Among the characters Myers popularized on SNL was Wayne Campbell, a teenage cable-access host living in his parents' basement. This led to his breakthrough in movies. Wayne's World (1992) earned $121 million at the box office. The quickly made sequel, Wayne's World 2 (1993), disappointed, as did his next film, So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), although it later gained cult status in home rentals.

Myers credits his British roots (his parents emigrated to Canada from Liverpool) and his father's love of Pink Panther movies with influencing the creation of his swinging '60s spy character Austin Powers. He wrote, co-produced and starred in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). Encouraged when the film hit big, he wrote the sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). He pulled off a third success with Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Always stretching creatively, Myers's band, Ming Tea, wrote title tracks for the latter two Austin Powers films.

Additional film work includes 54 (1998), Shrek (voice, 2001, and sequels in 2004, 2007 and 2010), The Cat in the Hat (2003) and America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) a feature documentary of actors and performers responding to the tragedy of 9/11. The Love Guru (2008), not a success with audiences, was followed by an appearance in Inglourious Basterds (2009).

In 1989, SNL staff writers won a group Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program. In 1998 Myers received an MTV Movie Award for best dance sequence in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and in 1992 shared an MTV Award for best screen duo with Dana Carvey. In 2002 his star was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 2003 to Canada's Walk of Fame.