Mike Myers had 'anxiety attack' over SNL talent
Mike Myers had an "anxiety attack" over the talent of his 'Saturday Night Live' co-stars when he first joined the show.
Mike Myers had an "anxiety attack" over the talent of his 'Saturday Night Live' co-stars.
The 61-year-old comedian - who was a cast membe on the show from 1989 to 1995 - recalled being "scared s***less" in his early days on the sketch comedy series alongside the likes of Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks and Kevin Nealon.
Speaking at the Vulture Festival, he said: "When I got to 'Saturday Night Live' and saw how f****** good these guys were, I was scared s***less. I had an anxiety attack. It was unbelievable."
The 'Wayne's World' actor reflected on how he was cast after performing at a Second City show.
He said: "I did my sketch, 'Wayne and Nancy,' where I come from the audience. And I came from the audience and it f****** killed, which was unbelievable because I had only been in the show for like two seconds.
"It was cheerstomps and whistles. It was a jet taking off. I don't know what happened, but the audience just went for it and loved it."
Two weeks later, Mike - who had also performed in the closing improvised scene - receieved a call from showrunner Lorne Michaels while he was in Chicago.
He recalled: "And he said, 'I understand you do a Wayne character.' "
'Wayne's World' went on to become a long-running sketch on 'SNL', with Dana playing Wayne's best friend Garth, and it spawned a 1992 movie of the same name and a sequel the following year.
And Mike admitted he had "always" envisaged the character in a movie.
He said: "I’d always wanted to make 'Wayne’s World' a movie. I saw it as a world.
"I think that comedy is production design and comedy movies are worlds. They’re immaculate universes that they bring you into.
"I purposely called it 'Wayne’s World' because I love 'Pee-wee’s Big Adventure' — oh my God, what a masterpiece — and Jacques Tati and the TV series 'The Monkees'.
"I love being immersed in a comedic world. I’d written it out as a movie before I even got to 'Saturday Night Live', and I was trying to figure out a way to have the brilliant Dana Carvey be in my sketch. That was about it."
