It's the most Candian reason. #shorts #mikemyers #snl #canada #comedy #youtubeshorts
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00:00Apparently, when Lorne Michaels hired Mike Myers, he had never watched SNL before.
00:04Why?
00:05Well, for the most Canadian reason ever.
00:07Apparently, Toronto Maple Leafs superfan Mike Myers was too busy taping hockey games on
00:11Saturday nights to check out the late night sketch show.
00:14He was admittedly less interested in joining the cast of SNL than he was about joining
00:18his friends in another sketch group, Kids in the Hall.
00:20And over the years, Myers has made no secret of the fact that his comedic influences were
00:24mostly British, citing names like Monty Python, Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, and Dudley Moore.
00:29Plus, he took inspiration from Canada's own SCTV, as well as U.S. humorists like Mel
00:34Brooks.
00:35Another fun fact, Lorne Michaels hired Mike Myers for SNL without ever having seen him
00:39perform.
00:40I didn't audition, I just got a call, and I was just in the cast, and I didn't really
00:44actually know I was hired for the first little while, exactly.
00:48Michaels took a chance on Myers at the recommendation of Martin Short and a few others.
00:52At the time, Myers was killing it at Second City and had already come up with the Wayne
00:56Campbell character, performing Wayne on stage and in several Canadian TV segments.
01:00Sans Garth, of course.
01:01But in retrospect, his casting was basically the sketch comedy version of a blind date.
01:06Thankfully, it worked out.