Dana Carvey on His Relationship With Mike Myers and the Origins of Dr. Evil

Dana Carvey can capture just about anyone’s voice, including his former boss, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels.

“When I first got on ‘SNL’ no one I knew was doing him,” Dana told Howard on Wednesday’s Stern Show. The impression was born after Dana realized Lorne often bit on his fingernail in tense situations. Howard asked if Dana’s imitation of Michaels led to Mike Myers’ “Austin Powers” character Dr. Evil, who also put his pinky finger towards his mouth and sounds strikingly similar to Lorne.

“When I saw Mike do it, I did kind of go, hmm,” Dana said of seeing Dr. Evil for the first time. “Look, it’s a really funny affectation because it’s so specific.”

But when Howard asked Dana if he’s ever confronted Myers about the similarities, Dana joked, “Um, I’m in therapy now.” He holds no resentment and set the record straight that he and Mike have a good relationship with one another.

“When you look back at it, you get a better perspective,” Dana said. “We were like siblings a little bit.”

He also expressed gratitude for Mike asking him to be the sidekick in their wildly popular “SNL” sketch and feature film “Wayne’s World.”

“We were never meant to be a comedy team. Mike just invited me into the sketch. But you know, I’m really grateful that he did,” Dana told Howard. He continued, “Later on in your career you realize how great it is to have someone who cares that much, so when I had Mike next to me, I was always comfortable because someone was really, really working his ass off.”