Michael Caine calls Mike Myers 'a comic genius'
Michael Caine says Mike Myers is "a comic genius on a par with Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness".
And Myers says he was delighted to sign up Caine for the latest Austin Powers movie because his late father Eric was such a fan.
Caine stars as Austin's dad Nigel Powers in the upcoming movie Austin Powers In Goldmember.
Caine said: "I thought the film was a great idea and I was very flattered to be asked.
"I think Mike is on a par with Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness as a comic actor and that's why I wanted to work with him."
Myers says he was delighted to sign up Caine because his Liverpool-born father Eric, who died from Alzheimer's disease in 1991, had been such a fan of the actor.
"My father actually worshipped Michael Caine, so to have him playing my father is just amazing.
"Nobody is more English than an Englishman who no longer lives in England. My father loved everything English and he loved English comedy.
"He brought us up on all the great movies with Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness and Monty Python. He literally forced me to watch them. He was also a huge James Bond fan and was so proud that Bond was British."
The Austin Powers films, which spoof the Bond series, were conceived by Myers as a tribute to his father.
