List of Austin Powers characters
The following is a list of fictional characters from the Austin Powers series of films.
Austin Powers is a series of American spy action comedy films: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. The films were produced and written by Mike Myers, who also starred as the title character and Dr. Evil. They were directed by Jay Roach and distributed by New Line Cinema.
The franchise parodies numerous films, TV shows and characters—including the James Bond series, Jason King, Danger Man, The Prisoner, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Matt Helm and The Avengers, to name just a few—and incorporates myriad other elements of popular culture as it follows a British spy's quest to bring his nemesis down. The character represents an archetype of 1960s Swinging London, with his advocacy of free love, his use of obscure impressions and his clothing style.
The films poke fun at the outrageous plots, rampant sexual innuendo, and two dimensional stock characters associated with 1960s spy films, as well as the cliché of the ultra suave super spy.
The general theme of the films is that the arch villain Dr. Evil plots to extort large sums of money from governments or international bodies but is constantly thwarted by Powers, and his own inexperience with life and culture in the 1990s.
In Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin and Dr. Evil are awakened after being cryogenically frozen for thirty years. Continuing to incorporate cultural elements of the 1960s and 1970s, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember feature time travel as a plot device and deliberately overlook inconsistencies. A proposed fourth film, Austin Powers 4, has reportedly been in development since 2005, but due to numerous issues regarding the death of Verne Troyer and sensibilities regarding minors being exposed to explicit sexual content, it is currently being stalled.
Main characters
Austin Powers
- Portrayed by: Mike Myers
- Appears in: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin Powers in Goldmember
- Based on: James Bond and other secret agents
In all three films, Austin learns of a new plot by Dr. Evil and intervenes to prevent it. His quests to prevent Dr. Evil from carrying out his schemes often involve his meeting various types of people, getting into fights, and getting caught up in wacky situations. He has a new young and sexy female ally in every film.
Dr. Evil
- Portrayed by: Mike Myers
- Appears in: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin Powers in Goldmember
- Based on: Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Dr. Evil's schemes often include an attempt to take over the world or to blackmail it. One example is when he threatened to destroy Washington, D.C. and further major cities unless he was paid one hundred billion dollars. Aside from his schemes, Dr. Evil and his son Scott talk to each other, but he is a completely awful father, and Scott is often shown to be far more intelligent than his father.
He was originally born Douglas Powers, son of Nigel Powers and twin brother to Austin Powers. He has a son with Frau Farbissina named Scott Evil, who is also the grandson of Nigel Powers and the nephew of Austin Powers.
Austin's allies
Basil Exposition
- Portrayed by: Michael York
- Appears in: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin Powers in Goldmember
- Based on: M
Vanessa Kensington
- Portrayed by: Elizabeth Hurley
- Appears in: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
- Based on: Tracy Bond
In Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, she is revealed to be a Fembot when she tries to kill Austin while they are in their honeymoon suite. Later, Basil claims the ministry knew this ahead of time.
Felicity Shagwell
- Portrayed by: Heather Graham
- Appears in: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
- Based on: Anya Amasova, Holly Goodhead
Felicity is notable for having slept with Fat Bastard in the line of duty to place a tracking device on him, which at first Austin is unhappy with. However, he eventually forgives her, and they work together to defeat Dr. Evil. She was originally intended to appear in the third film, in a scene that explained what happened to her character, but the scene was cut from the final release.
Foxxy Cleopatra
- Portrayed by: Beyoncé Knowles
- Appears in: Austin Powers in Goldmember
- Based on: Rosie Carver, blaxploitation-style characters
Her character is inspired by "blaxploitation"-style characters played by Pam Grier and Tamara Dobson.
Number 3
- Portrayed by: Fred Savage
- Appears in: Austin Powers in Goldmember
Nigel Powers
- Portrayed by: Michael Caine, Scott Aukerman
- Appears in: Austin Powers in Goldmember
- Based on: James Bond, Harry Palmer, Charlie Croker for use of Mini as spy-car.
He and his son are very much alike: they both enjoy a jet-setting, playboy lifestyle, and both are incomparable ladies' men. Their relationship is nevertheless strained, as Nigel was absent for much of Austin's childhood, and seems uninterested in having anything more than a casual friendship with his son. During Austin's knighthood ceremony, Nigel did not show up to be there for him, and Austin is later seen singing "Daddy Wasn't There" with his band, Ming Tea. He later reveals that he feels neglected by Nigel, who often gives him minimal respect. However, they manage to make up by the end of the film.
Nigel is also extremely prejudiced against Dutch people, but hypocritically claims that he does not tolerate anyone who cannot stand the cultures of other people. He shared the same feelings with the Belgians after they made his son, Dougie, Evil, while pointing out that they share a border with the Dutch.
Mrs. Kensington
- Portrayed by: Mimi Rogers
- Appears in: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
- Based on: Emma Peel