Mike Myers: The Man with the Mojo

By: Ayana Coleman-Dixon

Mike Myers is an extremely talented and charismatic individual who has helped create and has starred in many stand-out films that have grossed over billions of dollars altogether. Some examples would include classics like his Austin Powers franchise, which has made an estimated $473,231,964 in total, the Shrek franchise totaling about $3,510,794,482, and Wayne’s World $169,895,128 just to name a few. How did these films become so popular? Why were people globally so infatuated by the odd comedy that Mike Myers has brought to the big screen? It’s a thing Mike Myers himself calls his “mojo” that audience viewers feel attracted to when they see a Mike Myers film. 

Mike Myers was born on May 25th, 1963 in Ontario, Canada to British parents. His upbringing had a heavy influence on him with his various characters and impersonations as an actor and comedian. When Myers was growing up, he auditioned for commercials and joined comedy groups when he could. He grew up wanting to be an actor and finally got his big break when he auditioned in front of SNL creator Lorne Michaels. He quickly won over Michaels and was cast as a member of Saturday Night Live, a popular late-night comedy show many of us know and love. He’s best known for the bizarre and hilarious characters he portrayed on the show that is still memorable today, such as his portrayal of Linda Richman, Dieter, and Wayne Campbell. These were characters all inspired by the world and people around him, and this made people in America fall in love with his acting capabilities. The audience loved it so much his character of Wayne Campbell ended up getting him a movie deal with him being one of the main writers. 

Being one of the screenwriters of your first movie is a big deal, so it was even more amazing when Wayne's World became a huge success at the box office. This put Mike Myers on the map as a comedian and an actor to look out for. This reaction led to another successful box office sequel: Wayne's World 2 (1993). So, in 1996, Myers left SNL to venture off and create new characters to transfer his imagination to the big screen. This was when Austin Powers: The International Man of Mystery (1997) was written and brought to life.

The storyline is about a British spy named Austin Powers who goes on these crazy, hilarious, and spoofy undercover spy adventures with a beautiful love interest as his sidekick. This movie earned close to $55,000,000 dollars its opening weekend and got great reviews on specifically Mike Myers and his notable talent. One of the reviews from Empire Online mentions how “ It's a cult hit already. Be there or be square, baby.” All the characters in the film, especially Dr.Evil, are notable and stand out on their own, there seems to be no clashing of characters. Also, it took me a long time to realize until I watched the films recently to realize Mike Myers was playing most of the characters in his Austin Powers films.

One of the most famous Mike Myers films he stars in is the Shrek franchise. It’s about the story of an ogre who finds himself paired with a chattering donkey to save a princess in distress. This is such an odd tale that goes against the typical fairytale of the prince ending up with the princess, and they live happily ever after. All the characters are again very notable and stand out, which goes to show Mike Myers likes to pick movies that really stand for what he believes to be true comedy gold. These were childhood movies that a lot of people my age grew up watching. Obviously, many of us didn’t understand the secret innuendos that weren’t really age-appropriate for kids. Regardless, Shrek is a movie for the whole family to see and laugh at. The franchise has grown tremendously and even has a feature at Universal Studios. There is also reportedly going to be another Shrek film coming out soon (according to NME), so hopefully, it’ll be a smash hit.

There have also been major flops with Mike Myers films especially some of his recent work. He did work and acted in the Cat in the Hat (2003), but it was a dud and it even got a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. Also his The Love Guru (2008) movie was not as successful but he’s known to take risks in his acting career in general. He’s taken more serious roles like playing a British general in the Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Bastard (2009). But as of recently, he’s focused on being a father to his three children with his wife Kelly Tisdale. But there are talks of a stage musical prequel for the Austin Powers franchise from Biography, so maybe there are hopes that he’s going to make a strong return. 

Even on Mike Myers’ break, he’s still very loved by the public and will continue to succeed down the road. Why? Simply, because he just has this mojo and charismatic personality that many people and audience members adore. The movies he chooses to star or participate in just bounce off his eccentric personality and compliments him as a person. Even if people haven’t met him personally, you still feel as if you somehow know and relate to him. Most of his characters are funny and relatable in the sense that he gives depth to his comedic characters. It’s more than just for laughs and giggles. Myers is one of the greats in Hollywood and has made such classics that many can hold onto for the rest of their lives. And if he’s able to touch so many people with his acting and films, he’s had a very fruitful and prosperous career.