Key Highlights
- A teenage Mike Myers once received life-altering career advice directly from his idol, the legendary John Candy.
- Candy gave Myers a specific, actionable plan: join the Second City comedy workshops to learn the craft and discover if he truly had a passion for it.
- Myers followed this advice, which led him to develop iconic characters like Wayne Campbell and eventually launched his career on Saturday Night Live.
- The incredible story was recently revealed by Mike Myers’ brother, Paul Myers, the author of a new biography on John Candy.
The Encounter That Shaped a Comedy Legend
For many aspiring performers, getting advice from a star can be a vague, unhelpful experience. But for a 16-year-old Mike Myers, a chance meeting with John Candy provided the exact blueprint he needed for success, a story recently shared by his brother, Paul Myers.
While promoting his new biography, John Candy: A Life in Comedy, Paul recounted the pivotal moment. A young Mike Myers, determined to break into comedy, waited by the stage door to speak with his hero.
“He’s like 16, and he says ‘Excuse me, Mr. Candy, how do I get into comedy?’” Paul explained. “And anyone could have answered that question any different way… But John gave him this advice.”
Candy’s Practical and Profound Guidance
Instead of offering generic encouragement, John Candy laid out a clear path. His advice was not just about achieving stardom but about finding genuine passion and fulfillment in the work itself.
Candy told the aspiring comedian:
“Go to Second City. They have workshops. Learn about comedy. If you like it, you’ll stay with it. If you’re not into it, you’ll find out early and do something else with your life. And if you love it, you might still not make it, but you could be working at something you love, and that’s great.”
This well-thought-out advice emphasized the importance of loving the craft above all else. As Paul Myers noted, “That’s great advice to give anyone about any career. Right?”
From Advice to Austin Powers
Mike Myers took the advice to heart. After high school, he joined Second City’s Canadian touring company before eventually moving to its main stage in Chicago. It was during his time with the legendary improv troupe that he began creating and honing the characters that would make him famous, most notably Wayne Campbell.
This character became his ticket to Saturday Night Live, and the rest is history. The Wayne’s World sketches and subsequent movies catapulted Myers to international fame, leading to other blockbuster roles in franchises like Austin Powers and Shrek.
Years later, in a full-circle moment, John Candy spotted Mike Myers in a restaurant and approached him. He told Myers how much he loved the newly released Wayne’s World movie, likely having no idea that he was speaking to the very same kid whose life he had changed with a single piece of advice years earlier.