Legendary Saturday Night Live alum Mike Myers was one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood during the ’90s and early 2000s. With iconic roles like Wayne Campbell, Austin Powers, and Shrek under his belt, it seemed that Myers could do no wrong. Yet after nearly 20 years in show business, he vanished, which left many fans wondering: what the heck happened to him?
To put it lightly, it’s complicated, and to be fair, the recent silence from Myers isn’t just because of the classic celebrity antics we’ve all come to expect from those lucky enough to be in the public eye. (Although that’s part of it, and honestly, when is it not?)
Sure, a handful of box-office bombs, lawsuits, and overall bad behavior might have pushed Myers out of the spotlight, but who’s to say he didn’t want to be ousted? The Canadian-born entertainer is a husband, father, and all-around family man. Fame isn’t everything, and maybe at the end of the day Myers just wanted to spend some time with his loved ones.
He and his wife Kelly Tisdale live quietly in New York with their three kids. That’s about as traditional as it gets, and it’s true that Myers has been no stranger to expressing his love for family. Over the years, he’s constantly expressed his affections for his immigrated English parents, and family dynamics clearly mean a great deal to the entertainer.
There’s no question, though, that having a desire to raise a family wasn’t the only reason Myers left Hollywood, and obviously certain antics on-screen and off caused the star’s fall from grace ⏤ most notably a string of lawsuits from Universal and Imagine Entertainment surrounding the unreleased movie centered around Sprockets, a recurring SNL sketch hosted by Myers.
Couple legal troubles with box-office woes attached to movies like The Cat in the Hat and The Love Guru and there was little Myers could do to stop the decline. Roles have recently been scarce, with Myers, now 58, claiming that since his rise to stardom, he has only received 15 offers for leading parts in films or television shows.
That hasn’t stopped him from being attached to various projects over the years in a smaller capacity in movies like Inglourious Basterds, Oscar Etiquette, or Bohemian Rhapsody. He even reprised his role as the villainous Dr. Evil in a commercial for General Motors during Super Bowl LVI. His dastardly plan? To save the world from climate change only to take over the world once he’s saved it. Pretty straightforward.
It’s clear that Myers and his time away from the zeitgeist has been a mixed bag, but with rumors of a fourth installment in the Austin Powers franchise continuing to circulate, perhaps Myers could stage a comeback with the same vigor and charm that fans have loved for over 30 years, to which we say, “Yeah, baby!”
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