Directing him inAustin Powersshowed me the level of commitment necessary to be truly funny.
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And on Sprockets, in which he played Dieter, a Pop Artloving, dance-crazed German talk-show host.
One of my personal favorites was a hypoglycemic 6-year-old named Phillip.
Hes this hilariously energetic kid whos kept in a harness and says I love you, you know.
After that, we started hanging out.
He was just as hilarious and specific as many of MikesSNLcharacters but even more so.
He came with his own complete world.
I wrote a lot of supportive notes along with some suggestions.
He liked them and then he asked me to direct it.
DirectingAustin Powerswas a life-changing event for me because I had no directing career and no hope of finding one.
The head of the studio said, Were not going to just hire Mikes buddy.
Mike said, Dont call me anymore until hes the guy.
Working with him was like going to comedy school.
Mike has an encyclopedic sense of humor.
He trained with Neil Mullarkey and other British comedians, and hes very influenced by the English tradition.
Mikes characters are often disconnected from our reality and think more of themselves than is realistic.
Its a delusion thats so funny to watch.
If you have a character whos deeply at odds with their own reality, youre going to have predicaments.
What Mike loves most are characters who straddle silliness and intelligence.
Evil looks so different from Mike, I feel like it gave him permission to lose himself more.
Its like he was possessed by that character.
When we previewed it, it never scored well.
But Mike Myers similar to the characters he creates has a certain amount of reality distortion.
To some,hemight seem delusional in his love for the material.
Committing like that is the only way it’s possible for you to be really, truly funny.
He was very generous with the other actors as they brought their own energy to the characters.
One of my favorite days of shootingAustinwas when Carrie Fisher played the therapist.
She was so nervous about it, and she didnt know if she could be funny.
Mikes love of his characters is always contagious.
It speaks to his ability to create this sense ofLets all jump in.
Thats what Mike Myers does, too.
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