Sir Austin Danger Powers is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...

from the ''

Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American spy action comedy films: '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). The films were produced ...

'' series of films, and is created and portrayed by

Mike Myers Michael John Myers Order of Canada, OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Acto ...

. He is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and ''

Austin Powers in Goldmember ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and stars Mike Myers in four roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers a ...

'' (2002). He is a womanizing, hard partying British spy embodying the

Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...

psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

and hippie culture of the 1960s who, with his nemesis Dr. Evil, was frozen in a

cryonics Cryonics (from el, κρύος ''kryos'' meaning 'cold') is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticis ...

experiment. The series' humor follows his attempts to adjust to the modern world as he continues to try to save it from

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Personality

Austin Powers was a character seen as a parody of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

, and being influenced by Evelyn Tremble (played by

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

) in the spoof James Bond 1967 movie '' Casino Royale''. Other notable influences were Harry Palmer (played by

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

who would go on to play Austin's father, Nigel, in Goldmember), especially his thick

horn-rimmed glasses Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials. They are characterized b ...

, and the flamboyant dress sense of Jason King (played by

Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King (character), Jason King, ...

). The character of Austin Powers represents an archetype of 1960s

, with his advocacy for

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern o ...

, his use of obscure expressions and his clothing style (including crushed velvet suits and Beatle boots).

Development

Myers,

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/ power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 199 ...

and

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles. Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...

formed the faux British 1960s band Ming Tea after Myers' ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' stint in the early 1990s. The band members all performed under pseudonyms with 1960s personas. Myers adopted the pseudonym and character of Austin Powers. This group made a number of live club and television performances in character. Myers' then wife, Robin Ruzan, encouraged him to write a film based on Austin Powers. Obituaries of

Simon Dee Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd (28 July 1935 – 29 August 2009), better known by his stage name Simon Dee, was a British television interviewer and radio disc jockey who hosted a twice-weekly BBC TV chat show, ''Dee Time'', in the late 1960s. Af ...

(1935–2009), the radio and BBC television presenter, stated that his "Sixties grooviness" made him the inspiration for the character. Heavily influenced by British pop culture growing up,

has claimed his British-born father was the inspiration behind Austin Powers.

Other media

* HBO purchased the rights to produce a cartoon series based on the ''Austin Powers'' films in May 1999. Despite announcing plans for a thirteen-episode season, HBO ultimately shelved the project. * Austin Powers has been used for advertising numerous products and endorsements, such as Pepsi Cola. * He also appears in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s for Madonna's "

Beautiful Stranger "Beautiful Stranger" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on May 19, 1999, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records as a single from the soundtrack of the film, '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me''. Madonna ...

", Beyoncé's " Work It Out" and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' " Boys". * The video games he appears in are '' Austin Powers Pinball'', '' Austin Powers: Welcome to My Underground Lair!'', '' Austin Powers: Oh, Behave!'', and '' Austin Powers Operation: Trivia''. * Powers is feature in an episode of the web show ''

Epic Rap Battles of History ''Epic Rap Battles of History'' (ERB) is a YouTube web series and music project created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The series pits historical and pop culture figures against one another in a rap battle format ...

''. He is performed by the series co-creactor Nice Peter.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

International Man of Mystery ''Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (or simply ''Austin Powers'') is a 1997 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the first installment in the ''Austin Powers'' series. It stars franchise co-producer and writer Mike My ...

'' (1997) * '' The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) * '' Goldmember'' (2002)

In popular culture

In November 2010, he was voted #23 in ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

''s list "The 100 Greatest Characters of The Last 20 Years."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Austin Austin Powers characters Fictional cryonically preserved characters Fictional British secret agents Fictional people from London Fictional knights Fictional twins Fictional judoka Fictional writers Fictional photographers Film characters introduced in 1997 Male characters in film Time travelers