Myers thinks latex bald caps don't look authentic enough on the big screen, so he shaved his head to play Dr. Myers claimed that up to 40 percent of the dialogue in the film was Improvised - most famously, the "Shhh" conversation between Dr. Hockey fan Myers named two of the characters, General Borschevsky ( Elya Baskin) and Commander Gilmour ( Charles Napier), after two of his favorite Toronto Maple Leafs players.ġ3. One of the fembots is played by Cindy Margolis, the pinup who claimed, in the early years of the Web, to be the most downloaded woman on the Internet.ġ2. But because I was so obsessed with Austin, I used to torment Mike by squeezing, stroking, and petting him at every opportunity." She added, "When I see Mike now, I still launch massive physical attacks on him, which send him fleeing for cover."ġ1. Second, as she recalled in 1999, "I'm ludicrously tactile, and Mike isn't at all. First, his antics kept her on the verge of cracking up and breaking character, which is why Vanessa so seldom makes eye contact with Austin. She found acting opposite Myers difficult for two reasons. "Austin Powers" marked the first time that Elizabeth Hurley, then best known as Hugh Grant's model girlfriend, proved she could carry the lead role in a movie.
Another "SNL"-er, Will Ferrell, launched his movie career in "Austin Powers" as the unkillable henchman Mustafa.ġ0. Evil's resentful son went instead to Seth Green.ĩ. Yet another "SNL" comic, Colin Quinn, was offered the role of Scott Evil, but he turned it down. (Insert "Cat Scratch Fever" joke here.)Ĩ. The pet was played by a feline named Ted Nude-Gent. Similarly, Myers spoofed Blofeld's fluffy Persian cat as the hairless Mr. Myers' " Wayne's World" co-star Dana Carvey reportedly grumbled that Myers' Michaels impression was actually his imitation of Carvey's own Michaels impression.ħ. Evil is clearly modeled to look like Blofeld from the Bond films, but his voice and gestures - even the pinky-to-the-mouth movement - were reportedly mimicry of Myers' old "Saturday Night Live" boss, Lorne Michaels.
Evil, but while Carrey was interested, he was unavailable because he was making "Liar, Liar."Ħ. Originally, Myers didn't want to play both hero and villain. There are countless references to James Bond films throughout the "Powers" saga, but also references to many now-forgotten Bond knock-offs of the 1960s, from Dean Martin's Matt Helm franchise to James Coburn's " Flint" movies to Michael Caine's Harry Palmer films (the source of Austin's chunky horn-rims).ĥ.
Ruzan urged him to write the routine down, and in three weeks, Myers had a screenplay.Ĥ. It made him wonder what had happened to all the 1960s swingers, which prompted him to flirt with then-wife Robin Ruzan in a now-familiar English voice, where he would spout now-familiar archaic catchphrases.
Other inspirations were the British humor favored by Myers' father, who had emigrated to Canada from England, and the Burt Bacharach song "The Look of Love" (a tune associated with the 1967 Bond spoof " Casino Royale"), which Myers heard one day on a car radio. Ultimately, Hoffs' husband, Jay Roach, would direct all three "Austin Powers" movies.ģ. The band's name came from a fictional beverage company in an obscure Italian thriller (1965's " The 10th Victim") starring original Bond Girl Ursula Andress. Austin Powers was the name Myers came up with as the band's lead singer, Sweet played bass as "Sid Belvedere," and rhythm guitarist Hoffs was "Gillian Shagwell."Ģ. The musicians would perform together in Los Angeles under swinging-'60s-style pseudonyms. Myers started the band in the mid-'90s, along with alt-rocker Matthew Sweet and Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs. Ming Tea, the psychedelic band that appears between scenes of the movie, seems like an afterthought, but it was actually the birthplace of the Austin Powers character. So hop in our time machine and travel back 20 years to learn the defrosted spy's top secrets.ġ. Released 20 years ago this week, on May 2, 1997, the modest and often obscure spoof of 1960s British spy movies launched a blockbuster franchise, countless catchphrases (and your friends' terrible impersonations), and perhaps the most beloved character in Mike Myers' gallery of goofballs. Has it really been two decades since the release of " Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery"? Yeah, baby! (Sorry not sorry).