Mike Myers Was Intimidated by ‘SNL’ Castmates: “I Was Scared S—tless!”

Mike Myers was a mainstay on Saturday Night Live from 1989 to 1995, creating such memorable characters as Dieter, host of the avant-garde German variety show Sprockets, the mundane superhero Middle Aged Man, and, of course, Wayne Campbell, whose public-access show Wayne’s World became a sensation, spawning the catchphrase “party on!” and two theatrical films in the 1990s. Myers’s stint on SNL led to a long career in comedy, with the actor appearing in the Austin Powers and Shrek movies, to name just a couple of his achievements. With so much comedic gold to offer viewers, it may come as a surprise that Myers wasn’t always so sure of himself.

In an appearance on Vulture’s Good One podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), Myers revealed that when he first arrived at SNL, he was completely blown away by the talent surrounding him.

“When I got to Saturday Night Live and saw how f—ing good these guys were, I was scared s—less. I had an anxiety attack… Phil Hartman. I mean, Dana Carvey. [Kevin] Nealon, Jan Hooks, who I also worship. You know, it was unbelievable.”

Jon Lovitz and Al Franken were both cast members at the time Myers joined as well. They would soon be joined by several other talented comedians, including Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, and Adam Sandler, creating what many view as some of SNL‘s most entertaining and memorable sketches.

Mike Myers Wasn’t Too Familiar With ‘SNL’ Prior to Joining the Cast

Myers has Wayne Campbell to thank for getting him onto SNL. He performed the character on the Second City stage, where, to his surprise, the sketch took off.

“I did my sketch… 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… I mean, 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, I’m in Chicago, and I get a call from Lorne Michaels. And he said, ‘I understand you do a Wayne character.'”

Wayne, with the addition of sidekick and best friend Garth, played by Dana Carvey, debuted during Myers’s first year on SNL. The quick rise to success was not only anxiety-inducing for Myers, it was a bit ironic too, given that he wasn’t all that familiar with SNL before joining. He explained that in Canada, the show aired at the same time as the Toronto Maple Leaf games, and so Myers kept up with the hockey team rather than the sketch comedy show.

Then, in 1983, Myers moved to England, a place where SNL wasn’t terribly popular. It wasn’t until Myers returned to Canada in the mid-’80s that he finally began watching the show regularly.

Myers was last seen in the 2022 David O. Russell film Amsterdam. He’s currently working on Shrek 5, which is set to be released on July 1, 2026, 25 years after the original movie in the franchise.

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The longest-running sketch-comedy/satire show on television, premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live is a weekly series that features new hosts for each episode, with a core cast of actors and comedians that rotate over time. Episodes feature several skits that are sometimes ad-libbed on the fly, with the hosts engaging in most of them, and also provide musical guest performances that cap off each night.