For well over three decades, Mike Myers has been providing comedy for the masses. From “Saturday Night Live” to “Wayne’s World” and “Austin Powers,” the Canadian actor has made his mark on television and film and is back with possibly his most intensive project yet.
In his newest venture, Netflix’s “The Pentaverate,” Myers takes on the role of eight different characters alongside co-stars Debi Mazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Ken Jeong and Jennifer Saunders. But in the most recent Sunday Sitdown, Myers took a trip down memory lane with TODAY’s Willie Geist before discussing his multiple roles in the new streaming giant's hit.
The 58-year-old actor took it back to late '90s when he spoke to Willie about the touching inspiration from a family member for Austin Powers’ nemesis, Dr. Evil, both of which were portrayed by Myers.
“My mom gave me some great advice,” he told Willie. “She had said, ‘Don’t forget that the villain is the hero of his own story.’ That was a big influence on Dr. Evil. And she said, ‘The world loves happy survivors.’ And she said, you know, Barney Rubble, Bugs Bunny, Tony Curtis, Bruce Willis in ‘Die Hard,’ happy survivors.”
Myers added, “My mom also said, ‘The essence of a hero is plasticity. The ability to change. The essence of a villain is being steadfast,’ which I thought was a great piece of advice.”
Myers' three children are now getting to the age where they are beginning to watch some of his work. The actor shares Spike, 10, Sunday, 8, and Paulina, 6, with his wife of nearly 12 years, Kelly Tisdale.
“They’ve seen my stuff. Not all of it,” Myers explained. “They’re so incredibly different. Like, my son, the oldest, is on Earth. He has to touch things, he has to bounce stuff. My middle daughter is in the sky. She, like, bumps into stuff. It’s all ideas and all thoughts. And my youngest is in Hades, who will find any Fabergé egg in any room … and will smash it.”
Myers continued, adding, “Spike’s like, ‘I can’t wait to be an actor.’ Sunday’s like, ‘I’m not sure,’ and Paulina, I said, ‘Paulina, you have to go to bed now, dude.’”
His children, as it turns out, are quite particular about his work and aren’t fans of every single role. “Shrek,” for instance, is not a family favorite in the Myers household. “The Cat in the Hat,” however, received the children's stamp of approval, while Dr. Evil is a personal favorite of Spike’s.
Myers recently reprised his role as Dr. Evil for a Super Bowl commercial for General Motors earlier this year alongside Seth Green as Scott Evil, Rob Lowe as Number Two, and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina.
When stopping by TODAY to give an exclusive first look at the ad in February, Myers also teased a possible fourth installment to the “Austin Powers” franchise. At the time, the actor expressed that he’d “love” to do another movie in the series, but couldn't confirm any truth to the sentiment.
When Willie broached the topic during their Sunday Sitdown interview, Myers gave the exact same explanation as he had months prior, explaining, “I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project, should it exist or not exist."
“I think it’s coming,” Willie said, to which Myers replied, “Or it’s not coming.”
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