Mike Myers has shocked the crew of his latest film by hiring assistants to protect him from the sun and carry his water bottle.

The Austin Powers actor is reportedly causing a stir with his demanding behaviour on the set of comedy The Love Guru, in which he stars with Jessica Alba.

A source told the New York Daily News: "Mike has two male assistants who follow him everywhere he goes. One carries a parasol to shade his pale skin from the sun and the other carries a fresh bottle of chilled water with a straw so Mike can take sips easily.

"And Mike gets easily distracted by the sun hitting any reflective surfaces, so he makes people run around the set with black tape to cover each one. When they are filming outside, the sun is constantly shifting, but as quick as a flash people are dashing around with black tape and covering every surface."

The insider added that both Myers and Alba are struggling to master the film's Bollywood dance routine, saying: "[Mike] is a terrible dancer, and he had so much trouble getting the moves down that he changed the Bollywood scene until it was actually flamenco dance moves - but the set is still Indian!"