Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar (played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) appeared on the SNL 40th anniversary special and proved they are just as loved as they were a quarter-century ago. The recurring skit “Wayne’s World” was such a hit on Saturday Night Live that it propelled Myers onto the big screen for the feature film Wayne’s World in 1992. Here’s some things you should know about both of them.
1. WAYNE BEGAN LIFE ON A DIFFERENT SERIES ALTOGETHER.
Though it’s Saturday Night Live that made Wayne Campbell a household name, the character—which Mike Myers began working on when he was still a teenager—began his on-screen life on Canadian television, first on the alternative video show City Limits and later on It’s Only Rock & Roll in 1987 in a sketch called “Wayne’s Power Minute.” When Myers joined the cast of SNL in 1989, he brought Wayne with him. "Wayne’s World" made its SNL debut on February 18, 1989.
12. “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY” ALMOST DIDN’T MAKE IT INTO THE FILM.
In 2014, Myers told Marc Maron on his WTF podcast that using “Bohemian Rhapsody” was one of the things he fought for hardest on Wayne’s World. “They wanted Guns N' Roses. Guns N' Roses were very, very popular, they were a fantastic band,” Myers said. “Queen, at that point—not by me and not by hardcore fans—but the public had sort of forgotten about them. Freddie [Mercury] had gotten sick, the last time we had seen them was on Live Aid and then there were a few albums after where they were sort of straying away from their arena rock roots. But I always loved ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ I thought it was a masterpiece. So I fought really, really hard for it. And at one point I said, ‘Well, I'm out. I don't want to make this movie if it’s not ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’”
That’s just a sampling of the things you’ll learn about Wayne’s World in a trivia list at mental_floss.