Highlights
- Mike Myers was well-prepared for his small appearance in "Bohemian Rhapsody" as Ray Foster and took his small role seriously, which motivated the rest of the cast to do the same.
- Mike Myers in "Bohemian Rhapsody" makes sense because of his famous scene in "Wayne's World" where he sang and headbanged to the song.
- In "Inglourious Basterds," Mike Myers was initially chosen for a role that was supposed to be played by Adam Sandler, but he ended up playing a British General after an eight-hour chat with Quentin Tarantino.
Mike Myers is a man of many faces and voices. Although he was known for comedy classics like Wayne's World, the Austin Powers franchise and his voice work in the Shrek movies, he has also had unlikely cameos in more serious movies.
In 2009, he appeared in Tarantino's rewrite of World War II history and in 2018 he played a memorable role in the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. Both seen unlikely cameos for an actor known for his larger than life characters, but actually make sense when you hear the back story behind them.
Here are some of the reasons why the Canadian actor makes an unlikely appearance in these two dramas.
The Real Reason Behind Mike Myers' Appearance In Bohemian Rhapsody
Mike Myers appears in the music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody as EMI record executive Ray Foster. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt, with unkept hair and a messy beard, Myers' character is against the band releasing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as the first single from their album A Night at the Opera.
“No-one is going to be head-banging in the car to Bohemian Rhapsody,” Myer's character says in the minor role.
There was a reason the Canadian actor was brought in for such a small role. In Myer's 1992 movie Wayne's World, the actor and his co-star Dana Carvey famously sung and head banged to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in the car. The song’s inclusion in the opening of the film helped it to return to the chart at number two in 1992.
Although Ray Foster is a fictional character, he is loosely based on record executive Roy Featherstone. Unlike the character the Austin Powers actor played, Featherstone was said to have been very supportive of the band, but had some doubts about 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as a single.
How Mike Myers Came To Appear In Bohemian Rhapsody
Rami Malek loved working for the Saturday Night Live alum and explained he had been attached to the movie for a long time due to his love for the British rock band. Gwilym Lee, who played Brian May in the biopic, admitted starring against the comedy actor was "surreal."
"I've been a complete fan of his. I've loved his films, and it was like the most surreal thing sitting opposite of him -- that would be surreal in its own right, let alone having to actually act and perform with him. It was one of the greatest days," the British actor explained.
Joseph Mazzello, who plays bassist John Deacon, explained how well-prepared Myers was on the set of the Oscar-winning movie. "He came in in character right at the beginning of the day and until the end of the shoot. That was something that was really incredible to behold."
The Pacific star added: "But also, it was early in the shoot, too. And you would think, 'Oh, he's coming in for a couple of days. It's sort of a gig. He's there to have a laugh.' But he cared so much about getting the performance right, and about getting all of his lines, and making everything perfect."
"And that was a really cool thing to see, the perfectionist element to his personality. And it sort of, I think, gave us the motivation to be, like, 'Yeah, if he's coming in for just this little bit, and is taking it this seriously, we have to match that.'"
Inside Mike Myers' Cameo In Inglourious Basterds And Which Other Comedy Icon Was Set To Appear Instead
Mike Myers appears in Quentin Tarantino's World War II film, Inglourious Basterds as British General Ed Fenech. He appears for just five minutes, meeting Michael Fassbender's Lieutenant Archie Hicox to deliver information about the plan to take out the Nazis during a film premiere.
It's easy to miss Myers in the role, appearing under makeup. Initially the part was set to be played by another comedic actor.
Upon being released, Alex Billington revealed in a 2008 article on FirstShowing: "I really couldn't have been more satisfied with the casting on ['Inglourious Basterds'] until now. Quentin Tarantino has passed on Adam Sandler and picked up Mike Myers instead... I really hope this isn't a role that I'm going to hate."
Tarantino later confirmed the rumor the Sandler was set to star in the movie, only he was set to play Sergeant Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz. The role later went to Eli Roth after Sandler was busy making Funny People. “Here’s the problem. [Judd] wrapped up all the good Jews [for ‘Funny People’],” Tarantino joked. “That was the problem. Seth Rogen and all the good Jews were doing ‘Funny People.’ I’m killing Hitler with baseball bats and there’s no good Jews available! David Krumholtz, nobody! All the good Jews were all wrapped up! I’m doing the Jewish male fantasy!”
In an interview on Rob Lowe's podcast, Mike Myers revealed his excitement at appearing in the movie, "[Tarantino] said he's doing a movie about World War II — would [I] want to play a British General? And I was like, 'Yeah of course I want to play a British general!'"
Myers was offered the role after being called directly by the Pulp Fiction director. The two were only supposed to talk for 45 minutes but ended up chatting about for eight hours. “I love war movies! I wouldn’t want to actually be in a war, just like I don’t think anybody wants to be in a horror film situation, but, you know, both my parents were in WW2,” Myers explained.
The Love Guru actor explained that he was fascinated by the Kill Bill director's creative process. Myers also explained that Tarantino described the movie as a “macaroni combat,” a Japanese-coined phrase describing the subgenre of European replications of American war movies. “I’m reading the script and I’m like, ‘Holy sh*t, they f**king kill Hitler!’” Myers exclaimed.