Carrie Fisher was hesitant to enter Austin Powers‘ groovy world. The star had a small role in 1997 film “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” but, according to director Jay Roach, Fisher was “so nervous” about the bit part. Fisher played a family therapist who works with Mike Myers’ Dr. Evil, his clone Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), and son Scott Evil (Seth Green).
“One of my favorite days of shooting ‘Austin’ was when Carrie Fisher played the therapist,” Roach wrote in a piece for Vulture. “She was so nervous about it, and she didn’t know if she could be funny. She had recently become sober after a public struggle with addiction, an experience she mined in her novel and film, ‘Postcards from the Edge.’ The hope was that her being super functional as the therapist would play against what people knew about her at the time.”
Roach continued, “That’s Mike’s genius: to recombine her background with the world of the film and find a twist on it. … He was very generous with the other actors as they brought their own energy to the characters. Mike’s enjoyment of his own characters is letting himself get lost in them and hoping you’ll get lost in them too. Committing like that is the only way you can be really, truly funny.”
Roach reflected on how Myers’ “love of his characters is always contagious,” and how that obvious affinity allowed for fellow stars to play against type.
“When we were making the first movie, it still took a lot of convincing to get people on board with his vision. Mike would call the other actors and explain, and everybody loved him from ‘SNL,’ so they trusted him and took the leap,” Roach said. “By the time the second one [with Fisher] came out, it was previewing through the roof and everyone wanted to be part of it. It speaks to his ability to create this sense of, ‘Let’s all jump in. It’ll take you places you never thought you could go.’”
“Star Wars” icon and Hollywood royalty Fisher later died at age 60 in December 2016.
