Austin Powers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Austin Powers | |
|---|---|
| Austin Powers series character | |
| First appearance | Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery |
| Last appearance | Austin Powers in Goldmember |
| Created by | Mike Myers |
| Portrayed by | Mike Myers |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 1939-11-12 |
| Occupation | Spy for the Ministry of Defence |
| Title | Sir Austin Danger Powers, KBE |
| Family | Nigel Powers (father) Dr. Evil (brother) Scott Evil(nephew) Mini-Me (brother clone) |
| Spouse(s) | Vanessa Kensington (deceased) |
| Address | London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Austin Powers is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films. He first appeared in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and is portrayed by Mike Myers.
Apart from being a satire of James Bond Austin Powers also represents the archetypal 1960s mod, with his constant advocacy for free love, his use of obscure expressions and his clothing style (including crushed velvet suits and Beatle boots), though the womanizing side of him could be said to neatly combine his 1960s side with his James Bond template in itself. With his flamboyant ways and never-changing dress-sense, he is deliberately made to stick out from his surroundings -- though invariably escaping detection when disguised -- particularly when he talks about things that would have had no place in the 1990s.
In the many instances he takes off his clothes, he is revealed to have a very hairy chest. Much of his attitude toward relationships could be a parody of Bond's lack of reflection with regard to the loss of a woman. For example, after Vanessa explodes on their honeymoon, Austin mourns at first, then joyously exclaims, "Wait a tick ... that means I'm single again! Oh Behave!" and proceeds to dance through the hotel in the nude. Some of his abilities include a kind of hypnosis he learned in India from Guru Shastri, "a chaste man, who died from a disease that had all the hallmarks of syphilis." He also has the ability to use his "Mojo" at will to seduce women.
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[edit] Austin Powers series
Powers was born on November 12, 1939, son of Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), and brother of Doug "Dougie" Powers, also known as Dr. Evil. Austin and Dougie's mother died in an assassination attempt when they were babies, separating them in the process. Austin grew up with his father, and went on to attend an espionage boarding school with Dougie (now known as Dr. Evil), his roommate and unbeknownst to him, his brother. While at boarding school, he was awarded the title of International Man of Mystery, much to the dismay of Dougie. This event would destroy the relationship between the two and cause them to become enemies.
Following his schooling, Powers went on to join the Ministry of Defence and became a famous spy. After exiling Dr. Evil to space, Austin was cryopreserved in 1967 in case Dr. Evil should return from space. Eventually, Dr. Evil returned and Austin was unfrozen and partnered with Miss Kensington, who was the daughter of Austin's former partner Mrs. Kensington. Once he had been unfrozen, they started their adversarial relationship while he attempted to adjust to the culture shock of losing 30 years' worth of time.
[edit] In popular culture
- When registering for hotel stays, Rubén Sierra used the alias "Austin Powers" to avoid unwanted fan attention.[1]
- Austin Powers appears in the Boys music video by Britney Spears and the Beautiful Stranger music video by Madonna
- In the British television comedy The Office, David Brent wears an Austin Powers costume while participating in a dating game.
- Roger Ebert, in a review of the film Beowulf, argued that it was a satire of the poem, stating that, "This leads to a great deal of well-timed "Austinpowerism", which translates as 'putting things in the foreground to keep us from seeing the family jewels.'"[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Batting Third, Charlie Wattsizname"; thesmokinggun.com; [[October 5, 2007.]
- ^ Roger Ebert. "Beowulf", Chicago Sun-Times, 2007-11-15. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
[edit] External links
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