They played public access pals Wayne and Garth, but behind the scenes, the relationship between former Saturday Night Live stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey was laced with resentment for decades. Following some painful one-upmanship during the filming of 1992's Wayne’s World, the two stars parted ways acrimoniously after Myers allegedly lifted one of his most famous characters from Carvey. Read on to learn about the feud between the one-time costars and why Carvey says he’s finally forgiven Myers.
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They were never really a comedy duo, despite appearances.
While it’s hard to imagine Wayne without Garth now, the original idea was for "Wayne’s World" to be just that—a series of solo Wayne moments and musings based on Myers’s “Wayne’s Power Minute” sketch from his days on Canadian television. However, to get the sketch on Saturday Night Live, Myers required a co-host, per Primetimer, and wisely leveraged the more established Carvey to be his sidekick. "We were never meant to be a comedy team,” Carvey told Howard Stern in 2016. “Mike just invited me into the sketch. I'm grateful that he did.”
Even if Myers had been game to give Wayne a more lovable sidekick in the form of meek best friend Garth, he certainly wasn’t making the film version a creative collaboration with Carvey, who was by then a household name nominated for multiple Emmys thanks to fan-favorite characters like the Church Lady. According to one source speaking to Vanity Fair in 2000 (as reported by Entertainment Weekly), by the time the first Wayne's World movie was being developed, his insecurity even led him to try to leave his sketch co-star out of the equation. “Mike didn’t want Dana in the movie because he felt insecure that someone who had his own creative ideas would get in the way," the source claimed.
Carvey claimed Myers stole one of his characters.
Although ScreenRant reports that Carvey actually quit the film when he realized that Myers was cutting out additions he made to its script to beef up Garth's part, he was convinced to return and the comedy became a surprise box office hit. However, making Wayne's World left Myers at odds with some his collaborators, including director Penelope Spheeris, who he blocked from directing the sequel because she ignored his input on editing, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While his co-star did sign up to party harder in Wayne’s World 2, Carvey would also soon fall out with Myers when the latter embarked on his next successful franchise.
According to Carvey, the hapless villain Dr. Evil from Myers’s wildly successful 1997 comedy Austin Powers began as an impression of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels—which Myers supposedly stole from Carvey. The comedian discussed the alleged theft in his 2016 interview with Stern and can even be heard slipping into his decidedly Dr. Evil-sounding impression of his former boss during the discussion. However, there was no evidence to prove the bit was Carvey’s. “I did it backstage,” he said, admitting he didn’t think he could bite the hand that fed him—Michaels’s—in public. Despite the resulting rift between him and Myers, Carvey told Stern, “We never really talked about it.”
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They buried the hatchet after teaming back up for Super Bowl commercial.
Uber EatsSpeaking to Stern again in February 2022, Carvey revealed the two had resolved their differences and were getting along swimmingly. “We’ve come full circle since I talked to you last. We’ve become very very close friends,” the star explained. He went on to say that filming a 2021 Uber Eats Super Bowl commercial reuniting Wayne and Garth had led to Myers and Carvey “talking more” and growing closer.
Myers also spoke fondly of his former co-star in a GQ video in 2022. “He’s the most joyful performer I’ve ever worked with," he said of Carvey. "If I hadn’t worked with Dana and learned that you have to get the fun molecules into the funnel that get into the film, I don’t think I could have done Austin Powers.”
Carvey says he’s “always game” for Wayne’s World 3.
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesSeeing the love found again between the two comedians begs the question: Could there be another Wayne’s World sequel in the future? Carvey addressed the query earlier this year during an event honoring another former SNL cast member, Adam Sandler. According to Daily Mail, when asked if Wayne’s World 3 is a possibility, he replied, “Yes, it is,” cordially adding, “I’m always game. Love Mike Myers. Just a brilliant guy.”
