Lothar makes the list here because, quite frankly, I needed to fill 20 slots. That said, we do see his penis more than once. Myers’s portrayal of Ken works for the point he’s trying to make about the world needing some honesty and kindness, but it’s all a tad didactic. Nor is there much in the way of comedic potential to mine. Ken’s simple, Canadian kindness is appealing, but in the idealized, perfect way that doesn’t give the character much room to grow as the show progresses. His last name, Scarborough, is borrowed from the Toronto suburb Myers grew up in. Ken is based on Glenn Cochrane, a real-life journalist who appears in the clip at the end of episode six.
#BEST MICHAEL MYERS ACTOR TV#
The Pentaverate doubles down on that, giving the floor over to Ken, a daffy Canadian TV journalist who made a career on puff-piece human-interest stories. Guru Pitka was an idea clearly influenced by Myers’s interest in New Age spirituality and self-improvement. Whereas Austin Powers and Wayne’s World were centered on characters that were outwardly outrageous but ultimately emotionally grounded by a need to fit in, The Love Guru was anchored by a sketch character with a problematic origin. As Myers’s first large-scale project after 2008’s The Love Guru, it was assumed that he’d learned some of the more valuable lessons from that ill-fated movie. The response to The Pentaverate was likely not what anyone hoped. Characters that haven’t aged well, are one-dimensional, or are completely irredeemable are not on this list. I’ve judged these characters on a variety of criteria - the character’s impact on pop culture, Myers’s ability to imbue the character with emotional credibility and depth, and finally (and most crucially), how funny each one is.
And yet, that fool’s errand is now my responsibility. It’s like putting a numerical value on a person’s diary entries. To rank the 20 best Mike Myers characters is kind of bizarre. He’s an auteur who paints with flaccid penises and hyperrealistic shit. Some of his most memorable villains are misunderstood victims who just need a hug. He portrays gremlins, grotesques, outsiders, and children with equal levels of pity and empathy. These characters are reflections of who he perceives himself to be, who he wants to be, and who he is most afraid of. The infinitely fascinating aspect of Myers’s canon is that, across film and TV, each character he disappears into can be seen as a window into his psyche. Does the portrayal of Shep Gordon in that show mean anything to a viewer who isn’t intimately familiar with Supermensch, Myers’s 2013 documentary about Alice Cooper’s talent agent? No. Netflix’s The Pentaverate - the inscrutable, bizarre, surreal, and occasionally touching miniseries that represents Myers’s comeback project - is the most acute example of this tendency. Whether it’s Danish sex addicts, Canadian local-news reporters, or Peter Sellers in The Party, Myers has a habit of creating characters from whatever pop-culture ephemera is tumbling around in his brain, with little care to whether or not the audience understands the reference. The act of watching a Mike Myers project is something like being privy to 90 minutes’ worth of inside jokes between the star and himself. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Photos Coutesty of Studios The comedian’s greatest creations are reflections of who he perceives himself to be, who he wants to be, and who he is most afraid of.
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