With one of the best ensemble casts assembled in recent memory, Amsterdam touts a list of star-studded actors. This list includes Christian Bale, John David Washington, Margo Robbie, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Remi Malek, Zoe Saldana, Robert De Niro, Michael Shannon, and of course Mike Myers. Myers plays Paul Canterbury one half of the comic relief in the film along with Michael Shannon.
Myers sits down with Dave Morales to chat about the film, working with David O. Russell, and also reveals some surprising facts about his parents and their role in World War II. (Interview down below)
Working With David O. Russell
To say that Myers was excited to work with director David O. Russell would be an understatement Myers explains to Morales. “David called me up and he said I’m doing this movie and I’d like you to be in it. In my mind, I’m just like tell me when and what to wear I’m already in. I think there’s a humanity in David O Russell’s work.”
The comic veteran tells BackstageOL how working with Russell gave Myers an opportunity to explore his character on a deeper more emotional level.
“There’s a whole bunch of filmmakers out there that are kind of European honestly and whereas sometimes the Europeans don’t allow you to access your character’s emotions. It’s all about accessing these people, you fall in love with these people and I think that it’s almost in that Hal Ashby way. Where you care about the people and there are messages in there. It’s almost like Flintstones Vitamins, you’re eating Barney and Dino and it’s fun. You don’t need to know what’s good for you but it’s good for you.”
Although Amsterdam takes place in the 1930s, Myers explains how Russell makes the turbulent political times of the past still hold relevance today.
“I think he’s managed to talk about a sensitive topic in our culture right now. Which is the rise of authoritarianism by talking about a time when we had a choice and didn’t choose.”
Family Ties
While most people know Myers as Canadian, he has British roots (both of his parents are English) and is a British citizen.
“Both my parents fought in World War II, my mom was in the Royal Air Force in England, and my dad was in the Royal Engineers. When they talked at the dinner table, they talked about fighting the fascists, not the Germans, not the Italians, and the importance of that war.
“It’s a very important thing, once you lose democracy (it’s a very fragile thing) it’s gone. For me, it feels more like John David’s relationship with Christian Bale and Margot feels more like a Paul Newman and Robert Redford relationship and it travels that lightly,” added Myers.
Honoring Where You Come From
Myers is no stranger to accents, some of his most popular roles have accents. Most notably those of the Austin Powers series, ranging from British to Scottish. He tells Morales why it was important for him to get this voice right for the role of Paul Canterbury.
“Well being of British origin and a British citizen it’s very important to me that I try my very best with this Canadian accent to honor it. Because in England your accent says so much about where you’re from and your education status and all that.”
Myers goes on to say “So, it was very important to me to play a civil servant and England one of the reasons that England was able to have a British Empire was that they have these people with plausible deniability that they were working for the British government. To the world, they make glass eyes but then they’re called upon on her majesty’s service to do this.”
The Spy Who Raised Me
In a surprising reveal, Myers tells the story of how he found out his mother had top-secret security clearance during her time in the Royal Airforce.
“My mom had a top security clearance, she knew that the English (the RAF ) were reading all the Luftwaffe messages. I was watching TV with my mom and it says And now it can be told that all of the lot Luftwaffe messages were being read at RAF horn church.”
“And my mom says I can’t believe they’re telling you that. I said You knew? You didn’t tell me? She goes I signed a piece of paper Michael. She signed the War of Secrets Act, she wouldn’t even tell me and that’s the better generation,” said Myers.
In light of the Queen’s passing and inspired by his parent service and values, Myers felt it necessary to honor his parents and past generations of brits with this role.
“So I wanted to honor that better generation of people and watching the passing of the queen has been very emotional. I was gutted when the queen passed away because that’s the values that my parents had and I tried to channel all of that into Paul Canterbury.”
Amsterdam starring Mike Myers, Christian Bale, Margo Robbie, and John David Washington releases in theaters on October 7, 2022.
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