Sir Austin Danger Powers is a fictional character from the '' Austin Powers'' series of films, and is created and portrayed by

Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...

. 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 ...

of '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and '' Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). He is a womanizing, hard-partying

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...

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

cryonics Cryonics (from ''kryos'', meaning "cold") is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains in the hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism by the mainstream scien ...

experiment, then unfrozen years later. 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 violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

Personality

Austin Powers was a character seen as a homage of the 1960s/1970s Bondmania, being influenced by

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

, and other characters as 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''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

) 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 a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

who would go on to play Austin's father, Nigel, in Goldmember), especially his thick horn-rimmed glasses, and the flamboyant dress sense of Jason King (played by Peter Wyngarde). 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 (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues we ...

, 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 1990 ...

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

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' 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's then wife, Robin Ruzan, encouraged him to write a film based on Austin Powers. Obituaries of Simon Dee (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 that his British-born father was the inspiration behind Austin Powers.

Other media

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

purchased the rights to produce an animated 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 that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's " Beautiful Stranger",

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of 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 has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

' " Boys". * Powers appears in all video games based on the film series, including '' Austin Powers Pinball'', '' Austin Powers: Welcome to My Underground Lair!'', '' Austin Powers: Oh, Behave!'', and '' Austin Powers Operation: Trivia''. * Powers is featured in an episode of the web show '' Epic Rap Battles of History'', where he is pitted against

. He is performed by the series co-creator Peter Shukoff.

In popular culture

The May 2010 game '' Red Dead Redemption'' features an achievement called Austin Overpowered, requiring players to clear out hideouts in the New Austin region of the game. In November 2010, he was voted #23 in ''

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

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Austin Austin Powers characters Fictional cryonically preserved characters Fictional British spies Fictional people from London Fictional knights Fictional twins Fictional judoka Fictional writers Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional gunfighters in films Fictional spies in films Fictional photographers Film characters introduced in 1997 Male characters in film Time travelers

Personality

Development

Other media

In popular culture

See also

References