Mike Myers: Intentional Man Of Mystery

DURING the past three years movie audiences have experienced Will Ferrell as a bumbling anchorman, a clueless Nascar driver, a soccer coach with father issues and an I.R.S. agent who hears things. Theyve been able to satisfy their Adam Sandler cravings through his star turns as a henpecked chef, an imprisoned N.F.L. quarterback and an architect with a magical TV remote. And Jim Carrey fans have been able to enjoy him variously as an embittered lover who has his memory erased, a laid-off media executive who embarks on a crime spree or Lemony Snicket.

Mike Myers at a recording studio this month.

But where is Mike Myers?

The last time filmgoers could pay to see his multimillion-dollar grin was three long years ago, in The Cat in the Hat — if they were able to get beyond a grotesquerie of whiskers, makeup and feline prosthetics.

Until he abruptly checked out, Mr. Myers was arguably Hollywoods dominant comic force. In terms of ticket sales his three Austin Powers spy spoofs vied with franchises like X-Men and Peter Jacksons Lord of The Rings trilogy.

Yet in the years since The Cat in the Hat — a rare misfire — Mr. Myers has virtually disappeared, though he received some fairly muted mention in the gossip pages when he made public his divorce last December. And Mr. Myers, or his voice at least, did turn up once in theaters, when he played the lead role in the 2004 hit Shrek 2. (Audiences will be hearing it again next May in Shrek the Third.)

But in his most notable live-action performance, during NBCs September 2005 telethon for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Myers was merely a bit player. Paired with the rapper Kanye West, he cringed as Mr. West veered off script to tear into national hypocrisy, institutionalized racism and a president who, he said, doesnt care about black people.

Mr. Myerss decision to remove himself from the game for a time — much as he did between the 1993 release of Waynes World 2 and the 1997 debut of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery — smacks of heresy in a film industry that has made a religion of milking its most bankable comedic stars.

Mr. Myers declined to be interviewed, but he authorized his talent agent, his friends and current and past collaborators to provide a composite sketch of his time away, to explain how these long pauses fit into his creative process, and how, after all, hes been far from idle. All of those interviewed characterized this period, which may run as long as five years, as a bid to recharge his creative batteries as well as a reflection of his perfectionism and high standards.

Mike is the author of what he does, said Jay Roach, whom Mr. Myers selected to direct all of the Austin Powers films. Like a novelist writing a novel over a few years, he thinks up all the details and all the layers necessary to make things work.

David OConnor of the Creative Artists Agency, who represents Mr. Myers, seconded that notion. Mike is a bit of a different animal, Mr. OConnor said. If you look at the movies hes been in, in terms of starring vehicles, with very few exceptions they are his creations. Because they are his creations they take a greater amount of time and nurturing and gestation. He creates in many cases full comedic worlds and personas for him to inhabit, and you just cant roll those off the assembly line.

Mr. Myers himself offered a similar explanation when describing his last leave of absence to James Lipton during a 2001 appearance on Inside the Actors Studio. Theres process and theres product, he said. And when youre too long on product, you forget about your process.

Mr. OConnor said Mr. Myers now has three major products in the works: a comedy about a relationship guru; a drama about the demise of Keith Moon, the legendary drummer for the Who; and another comedy about an office worker under siege by robots. None of these projects is likely to reach theaters until 2008.

Michael Shoemaker, a producer at Saturday Night Live, said Mr. Myerss penchant for total quality control — originating the characters, writing the script, often producing his starring vehicles — stems from his tenure on that show. Here you create and produce everything yourself, Mr. Shoemaker said.

Mr. Myerss relatively limited output may have been influenced by his Liverpool-born father, Eric. Mike is such a Brit in many ways, Mr. Shoemaker said. You know those British television comedians who will make six good episodes and call it a day? Here they make 20 episodes, and some of them are good.

Legions of comedy fans would have been eternally grateful had Ben Stiller and Jack Black mustered such restraint, and turned down Envy, a 2004 commercial and critical flop predicated on dog feces, or if Robin Williams had forgone RV and Man of the Year, his two widely panned contributions to 2006.

Even in the title role in Shrek Mr. Myers wasnt satisfied with just lending his voice, insisting instead on painstaking improvements.

Of the projects he is concentrating on now, the guru seems the most deeply rooted in his imagination. In 2005 the character made his debut on some small theater stages in Greenwich Village, just as his Austin Powers persona was once honed at Los Angeles nightspots. Unrecognizable in makeup, a white wig and a yogis long flowing beard, Mr. Myers — who called himself Pitka — dispensed wild advice to the audience in a thick Indian accent.

Mr. OConnor, Mr. Myerss agent, said there were two completed drafts of the script, advanced discussions with Paramount Pictures and the possibility of sequels.

Hes a love guru, Mr. OConnor said of Pitka. Hes somebody whos become an expert on relationships. Thats what leads me to think that if it works, it can be a franchise. The guru can be thrust into all kinds of situations in that regard.

With Waynes World and Austin Powers, and presumably with his love guru, Mr. Myers has enjoyed enormous artistic control in part because, as at Saturday Night Live, he had created his own characters.

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