Myers starstruck meeting Leafs
TORONTO – Rabid hockey fan Mike Myers says he was “star-struck” and “tongue twisty” when it came to shooting a scene for “The Love Guru” at the Air Canada Centre with his beloved Maple Leafs
“This is a Canadian boy’s dream come true,” Myers said during a recent conference call to promote the film, in which he plays a self-help guru trying to lift the Leafs’ spirits so they can win their first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Myers’s character, Guru Pitka, is a fame-hungry spiritual leader recruited by a fictional Leafs owner (played by Jessica Alba) to help her star player repair his relationship with his wife so the team can improve morale.
Pop star Justin Timberlake plays the L.A. Kings goalie who has stolen the heart of said wife.
Myers says he first thought of his guru character after embarking on his own spiritual quest following his father’s death in 1991.
Giving the film a hockey slant was the actor’s way of imagining something he may never see again in his lifetime, he said jokingly.
“The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and I thought the only way I’ll probably see a Stanley Cup in my lifetime is if I write it,” said Myers, who grew up in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, where he played street hockey, took power skating lessons and worshipped “hockey gods.”
So what does he think it will take for the team to achieve the ultimate victory once again?
“We need two good centres, we need somebody who can captain the power play from the point and we need two goalies that peak at the same time, that much I do know,” said the “Shrek” star.
“We need to instil in the team a one-for-all and all-for-one, 16W (playoff wins) mentality.”
The Emmy winner also wants Leafs captain Mats Sundin, who is weighing his options for next season, to stick around.
“They should do everything in their power to keep him,” said Myers. “I am a massive Mats Sundin fan. He’s a great player, a great Leaf and a great guy.”
Rob Blake, the L.A. Kings captain and Simcoe, Ont., native, impressed Myers with his acting abilities while shooting “The Love Guru” at the Air Canada Centre during a pre-season Leafs game last September.
“He knocked it out of the park, he did such a great job,” said Myers, who was nearly speechless during the experience.
“I revert, I become like an eight-year-old,” he said of his reaction to being amongst the players. “When they were around I just got quiet.”
“The Love Guru” opens in theatres on June 20.
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