 Mike Myers (I) (qv) has revealed in interviews that the Austin  Powers character was created based on a couple of instances  involving his family. His father loved watching British comedies  with actors like Peter Sellers (qv) and Alec Guinness (qv), so  Myers always wanted to play an English character in a comedy. He  also said that one night after coming home from hockey practice, he  started flirting with his wife in an English accent. His wife  laughed and told him to write the routine down, so he could do it  again. Writing the routine down led to this script.