Those teeth, that chest hair, that libido… The irresistible charms of Mike Myers are back. The release of “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” has overshadowed the anticipated buzz of other sequels and has thrust Mike Myers back into the limelight.
In “The Spy Who Shagged Me,” Austin Powers’ life force, the secret behind his libido, has been stolen by his arch nemesis, Dr. Evil. Austin hurtles back in time to the Swinging Sixties in an effort to save the world from massive destruction, but most importantly, bring back his mojo. Who is this man of mystery that has Hollywood’s boots scrambling to theaters?
“Austin Powers is a spy, a secret agent from the sixties,” said Mike Myers. “He’s a photographer by day and an International Man of Mystery by night. From the sixties, he is frozen and then unfrozen in the nineties to battle his nemesis Dr. Evil,” he said.
Austin Powers has returned with playful vengeance. What does he do to make beautiful women like Elizabeth Hurley, Heather Graham and Kristin Johnston want to be his Power Girls? Is it his groovy sportswear, British accent, or his spunky swagger? Whatever the reason, Mike Myers is to blame.
Much of his inspiration was found in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough horsing around with his older brothers. These days, he finds inspiration while in the bathtub, trying out new material and characters on his wife, Robin Ruzan. Myers confessed that he managed to drive his wife batty with his penchant for lampooning the Scots and an endless array of oversexed Bond like characters.
Quintessential leading man Robert Wagner returned to play Dr. Evil’s second in command, Number Two. When traveling back to the sixties, it could have been easy to create a younger Robert Wagner with hair and makeup, but Myers had other ideas. Inspiration for the Young Number Two was found not in the bathtub, but on the golf course.
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“I was out on the golf course with Mike Myers and we were playing around,” said Rob Lowe. “And we were talking about how much we like Robert Wagner and how great he is in the first ‘Austin.’ And I just off the top of my head did this sort of throw-away impression of Robert Wagner. Mike just cracked up. He pulled out his cell phone and made me call his wife and do it for her,” he said.
“And I didn’t really think anything of it beyond that,” Lowe said. “But, about four months later, Mike sent me the script for the movie to see what I thought. And I’m reading it going, ‘Oh, Mike‘s in another hit, it’s funny.’ And then, on page 15 or whatever it is in the script, it said, ‘Enter: Young Number Two, as played by Rob Lowe‘ in parenthesis. That’s the thing about Mike, you gotta watch what you say or he’ll use it in a major motion picture,” he said.
While catapulting his way back to the Summer of Love, Austin meets his match in CIA operative Felicity Shagwell played by Heather Graham. After years as an indie queen, Graham dives headfirst into a comedy shagfest.
“He is really fun,” said co-star Heather Graham. “I’m in awe of how many funny things he can think of on the spot. He is just an improvisational genius guy. And he’s really serious too. He’s very hardworking,” she said.
Not only did Myers bring back Dr. Evil’s henchwoman — Frau Farbissina, played by the talented Mindy Sterling, but he also welcomed the return of Scott Evil, played by Seth Green. Green and Myers used their improvisational skills to create some of the most amusing dialogue in the film.
“He is very good about making sure everybody’s energy is high,” said co-star Seth Green. “He has seemingly endless energy. But he’s always eating sugar. I think that has something to do with it,” he said.
Mike Myers also co-wrote and produced New Line Cinema’s newest Shagadelic installment of Austin Powers. Shagging, grooving and making funny films takes up a lot of time. When asked if he ever has time to sleep, Myers said, “Yes, I sleep. Yes I sleep. I want to go on record as saying, yes, I sleep.” The sexiest secret agent since Mata Hari, after all, is human.
