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Mike Myers was quite nervous on Saturday Night Live.
During the Vulture Festival in 2024, the 61-year-old comedian reflected on his early days on the long-running sketch comedy show.
“When I came to Saturday Night Live and realised how f—ing good these guys were, I was scared to death. “I had an anxiety attack,” he explained, identifying his former co-stars Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, and Jan Hooks.
“It was unbelievable,” Myers explained.
The Emmy winner, who appeared on the show from 1989 to 1995, remembers being cast after performing at a Second City concert.
“I did my sketch, ‘Wayne and Nancy,’ where I come from the audience,” he told me. “And I came from the audience and it f—ng killed, which was unbelievable because I had only been in the show for like two seconds.”
He went on to say, “There were cheers and whistles. There was a jet taking off. I’m not sure what happened, but the audience went for it and enjoyed it.”
Myers also appeared in the closing improv session that night, which drew plaudits from the audience.
Two weeks later, the Shrek star revealed that he was in Chicago when he received “a call from [SNL creator] Lorne Michaels.” He answered, ‘I understand you do a Wayne character.'”
During his stint on SNL, Myers was best known for his portrayal of Wayne in the recurring skit “Wayne’s World,” in which he played the titular long-haired metalhead who broadcasts a weekly program from his parents’ basement. Carvey frequently played Wayne’s best friend, Garth, in the sketches.
The comedy sparked a 1992 film and a 1993 sequel starring Myers and Carvey, both produced by Lorne Michaels.
In a recent interview with Vulture, Myers stated that the character was influenced by his own experiences at the time. Wayne’s early renditions, he explained, mirrored his “punk rock” phase and his desire to explore.
“One of the things about starting out in show business up in Canada is there’s no money in it, which is kind of great because in a weird way it makes you experiment more,” he told me.
He also stated that Canada was a place to flourish and “get your 10,000 hours.”
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET.
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