Who Did Jerry Springer Play In Austin Powers?
When the public learned that notorious talk show host Jerry Springer died at 79 years old on April 27, 2023, plenty of social media users memorialized his career online. Of course, chief among his achievements and single-handedly responsible for his notoriety were the thousands of episodes of "The Jerry Springer Show" he hosted. The cultural cachet he developed from that gig eventually landed him in plenty of film cameo roles playing with his talk show host persona.
Among these is a part in the second "Austin Powers" film, "The Spy Who Shagged Me." Springer plays himself during a simulacrum of an episode of his real-life TV show featuring various shades of evil men. Main villain Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) uses his appearance to try to reconnect with his son Scott Evil (Seth Green), but in typical "Jerry Springer Show" fashion, the animosity Scott feels for his supervillainous dad explodes into a fistfight. Springer's real-life friend Steve Wilkos, who worked as head of security on "Jerry Springer," even shows up to hold Dr. Evil back.
On the morning that news of Springers' death first circulated, the Lights, Camera, Barstool Twitter account shared a clip of this scene to the tune of more than 22 thousand likes, suggesting that Springer's "Austin Powers" role may well stand as one of the highlights of his body of acting work.
The Austin Powers crew loved the Jerry Springer scene
A twenty-year retrospective on "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" that The Independent published in 2019 includes a section about its Jerry Springer cameo, revealing that multiple involved parties had a great time replicating his notorious talk show for the film.
"I wondered if Jerry would go for it because we're clearly making fun of his circus act," director Jay Roach said. "He not only went for it, but he was fully enthusiastic." He then went on to praise how Springer remained committed through the scene's conclusion, where he personally fistfights Dr. Evil.
Scott Evil actor Seth Green recounted the Jerry Springer scene fondly as well. In fact, his favorite line in "The Spy Who Shagged Me" is an insult Dr. Evil deploys that Mike Myers first heard in a John Gotti documentary. "Reacting outrageously on that show was a great showcase for Scott Evil, who is the most confused, hurt and traumatized kid," Green said. "I really had a lot of fun with getting to play that solemn, angry teen in front of a booing audience."
Springer's "Austin Powers" cameo, then, stands as testament to the talk show host's self-awareness, and how willing he was to mine his own persona for comedy in a scene still making viewers laugh decades later.