If Austin Powers star Mike Myers was any more proud of his Liverpudlian roots he'd have a 1970s Kevin Keegan perm and a cheeky little 'tache.

You see, despite being born in Ontario, Canada, in 1963 the comic genius, who is believed to have made at least $50million for 'Austin Powers In Goldmember', says his offbeat humour is the legacy of his Scouse parents, Eric and Bunny.

"I grew up in a very English household in Canada. And there's nobody more English than an Englishman who no longer lives in England. My dad had control of the clicker. He used to walk up and change channel and make sure everything was English," says Mike.

The late Eric was an Encyclopedia Britannica salesman, who had a passion for the surreal humour of Monty Python and comic actors Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers, while mum Bunny was a former actress who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

In Goldmember, ardent Liverpool FC fan Mike introduced Austin's dad, Nigel Powers, hilariously performed by Sir "My name is" Michael Caine. The resemblance to Mike's father was totally deliberate.

"I wrote Michael Caine a very long, beggy, ass-kissy letter, 'Please, please, please be in my movie!' And then I had a conversation with him on the phone, which was very lovely because he was calling to say he would love to do it," says Mike.



"Michael Caine is exactly like my real father was, but with a southern English accent. My dad had a Liverpool accent. We ended up finishing each other's sentences and being this little nation of two."