“Saturday Night Live” legend Mike Myers wasn’t always the stellar leading man he is today.
On a recent episode of Vulture’s Podcast ‘Good’ (via EW), Myers explained that when he first joined the prolific late-night sketch show, he was “shitless scared” after seeing the talent of his fellow cast members.
“When I got to ‘Saturday Night Live’ and saw how damn good these guys were, I was terrified. I had an anxiety attack,” Myers said.
Myers then mentioned which castmates he most admired: “Phil Hartman. I mean, Dana Carvey. [Kevin] Nealon, Jan Hooks, who I also adore. You know, it was incredible.”
While gaining international fame on the “SNL” stage, Myers’ iconic Wayne Campbell character first rose to prominence with famed Chicago improv group Second City.
Recalling one of his debut performances as Wayne Campbell in Second City, Myers said he “came out of the audience and killed it, which was incredible because I was only two seconds into the show. I mean, it was cheers and whistles. It was a plane taking off. I don’t know what happened, but the crowd just went for it and loved it.”
Just two weeks later, Myers recalled being in Chicago and “getting a call from Lorne Michaels. And he said, ‘I understand you’re playing a Wayne character.’
Despite eventually achieving stardom on “Saturday Night Live,” Myers lived in England before joining “SNL” in 1989 and “never watched the show” due to the technical limitations of his “top-loading VCR.”
“’Saturday Night Live’ was on, but I never watched it because I had one of those VCRs that was on top,” Myers said. “And it was happening at the exact same time as the Toronto Maple Leaf game, so I could only record one thing. And of course I watched the Toronto Maple Leafs. So I haven’t looked at it again for all these years.”