Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Mindy Sterling is back again as the forbidding Frau Farbissina. Ardently devoted to Dr. Evil, she makes conjugal visits to the prison where he is being incarcerated. Like any good mother, she is ever hopeful that Dr. Evil and Scotty will eventually bond and develop a nurturing, healthier evil father-son relationship.

"Frau is this genre-driven character," says Jay Roach. "She’s the den mother of our Addams Family."

"Frau is a big part of Dr. Evil’s life," explains Mindy Sterling. "As the only woman in this group of misfits, she has the woman’s touch and sees things from a softer side. She keeps the evil staff in line. She lets everyone know when it’s time to stop, when enough is enough, and she decorates the different lairs."

Audiences will be happy to note that Frau Farbissina’s trademark screech is still in evidence. "I have no idea where that scream came from," Sterling says incredulously. "I really didn’t think about it concretely. I just suddenly decided, ‘what is more hideous than yelling in a shrill voice?’ It was just one of those things that worked out well. To this day when I get really angry, I find myself yelling like that," she laughs.

Austin Powers in Goldmember introduces several new young faces who will probably look eerily familiar to moviegoers. Casting directors Juel Bestrop and Jeanne McCarthy were once again asked to perform miracles as they did for The Spy Who Shagged Me. Along with their associate Blythe Cappello, Bestrop and McCarthy pounded the pavement and saw literally hundreds of applicants in a daunting search to cast the young versions of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. The roles went to newcomers Aaron Himelstein and Josh Zuckerman.

"There are probably thousands of kids who like to impersonate Austin and Dr. Evil," says Jay Roach, "but not many could do it at Mike’s level of performance, it’s not as easy as it might look. And it’s not just about imitating the catch phrases; it’s about perfecting the physicality and the small mannerisms of each character. Until we met Aaron and Josh, we weren’t completely convinced that we shouldn’t simply have Mike do some digital version of his younger selves."

"We were equally impressed by Evan Farmer who plays ‘Young Number Two’ and Eddie Adams as ‘Young Basil,’" Lyons says. "Evan’s voice sounds so much like Robert Wagner, it’s incredible. Both R.J. and Michael York were curious and came to set when we were shooting these scenes – I think they were just as bowled over as we were."

"The kids knocked it out of the park," praises Mike Myers. "It was a bit spooky."

Roach is not surprised the secondary characters have become as popular as they have. "I remember from watching Hitchcock films how much time he put into casting every single character," he says, "even in selecting some of the extras. Juel and Jeanne give that same kind of attention to everything they do and they should receive a great deal of the credit for any success we’ve had."

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