| First: | (1997) |
| Last: | Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) |
| Series: | Austin Powers |
| Creator: | Mike Myers |
| Based On: | Ernst Stavro Blofeld |
| Portrayer: | Mike Myers Josh Zuckerman (young) Kevin Spacey (in Austinpussy) |
| Significant Other: | Frau Farbissina |
| Nationality: | Belgian |
| Full Name: | Douglas Powers |
Douglas “Dougie” Powers, commonly known as Dr. Evil, is a fictional character portrayed by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. He is the main antagonist and Austin Powers' nemesis (and secret twin brother). He is a parody of James Bond villains, primarily Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Dr. Evil routinely hatches schemes to terrorize and take over the world, and is usually accompanied by "Number Two", his second-in-command who fronts his evil corporation Virtucon Industries, his personal assistant Frau Farbissina, and his sidekick Mini-Me, a dwarf clone of himself.
American costume maker Phillip Morris had also created a long-running character named Dr. Evil in 1959. After an eight-year legal battle, New Line Cinema paid him a settlement in response to a trademark dispute.[1]
In 1997, an unnamed Saturday Night Live writer claimed Dr. Evil was based on SNL creator Lorne Michaels, saying: "It's the lower lip, the eyebrows, the whole way he talks." Another unnamed former SNL actor cited Michaels' "obsessing about minutiae, the way he ends everything by bringing his pinkie up and chewing the fingernail". Mike Myers disagreed, insisting the character was based on Donald Pleasence's portrayal of Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice.[2]
In the first film, , Dr. Evil is an internationally known criminal genius, cryogenically frozen in 1967 and reawakened in 1997. According to his own account, Dr. Evil's upbringing went as follows:
In the second film, he went on the Jerry Springer show and declared that he was the "Princess of Canada".
In the third film, Goldmember, Nigel Powers reveals that Dr. Evil is in fact Austin Powers' twin brother, Douglas "Dougie" Powers. He explains that Douglas and Austin were separated as babies following a car explosion, and that he had thought that only Austin had survived. Following the explosion, Dougie was raised in Bruges, Belgium.
Dr. Evil has a strained relationship with his son Scott (played by Seth Green), even liquidating their therapy group over an accusation of insolence. Scott points out Dr. Evil's incompetence and immaturity, as well as obvious mistakes and flaws in his plans. Scott later grows more "evil" and momentarily gains his father's respect, especially after Scott provides him a pool filled with sharks with laser-beams attached to their heads. When Dr. Evil switches sides to help Austin save the world, Scott takes over as the head of the evil organization.
Mr. Bigglesworth (played by Ted Nude Gent[3]) is a fictional cat belonging to Dr. Evil. He was originally similar to Blofeld's cat, a typical white Persian cat from the James Bond movie series. Having escaped with Dr. Evil in a cryonic capsule, he lost all his fur due to an error in the thawing process. Mr. Bigglesworth has subsequently become bald, played by a Sphynx cat, whilst Dr. Evil's miniature clone, Mini-Me, has a kitten named Mini Mr. Bigglesworth.[4] In the third installment of the franchise, Mr. Bigglesworth is only seen once.[5]
Dr. Evil employs a diverse and highly stereotypical group of minions.
Myers later revived the Dr. Evil character for a brief appearance on the December 20, 2014 episode of Saturday Night Live, a show on which Myers had previously had a regular role. During the sketch, Dr. Evil lampooned North Korea[7] and Sony Pictures on their spat over The Interview.[8] Myers once again revived the character for a brief appearance on a 2018 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a sketch where Dr. Evil has been fired from President Trump's cabinet, and again on Election Day to announce his run for Congress.
Myers subsequently played Dr. Evil in a Super Bowl LVI commercial for General Motors. Seth Green, Rob Lowe, and Mindy Sterling also reprised their roles as Scott Evil, Number Two, and Frau Farbissina. [9] In the commercial, Dr. Evil along with his henchmen take over General Motors, but his henchmen tell him that climate change is the biggest threat of the planet, making Dr. Evil the second threat on the planet. So, Evil decides he and his henchmen will save the planet, with the lineup of the company's electric vehicles. Scott Evil also informs his father he has a grandson named Kyle (but Dr. Evil names him Baby Me). [10] [11]