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Michael J. Anderson

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Not to be confused with Michael John Anderson.
Michael J. Anderson
Anderson in 2006
Born (1953-10-31) October 31, 1953 (age 71)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1968–2013
Known forTwin Peaks
Carnivàle
Height3 ft 7 in (109 cm)

Michael J. Anderson (born October 31, 1953) is a retired American actor known for his roles as The Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks,[1] the prequel film for the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,[1] and as Samson on the HBO series Carnivàle.

Early life and career

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Anderson has the genetic disorder osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that leads to frequent breaks in long bones and improper healing, leaving him with a shortened stature of 3 feet 7 inches (1.09 m) tall.[citation needed]

Prior to his acting career, Anderson worked as a computer technician for Martin Marietta. He was part of the ground support system for NASA's Space Shuttle.[2][3] He appeared as himself in a 1984 documentary called Little Mike: A Videoportrait of Michael Anderson.[2]

Acting career

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Anderson appeared in four episodes of Twin Peaks. The Man from Another Place is attired in a red suit and speaks in an unusual manner. Anderson used phonetically reversed speaking as a secret language with his junior high school friends[4] and then played a character in Twin Peaks where he used the same method of speaking, which was recorded and played backwards. Anderson then synced his lips to the reversed recording for film. He first appears in Special Agent Dale Cooper's cryptic dream about the murder of Laura Palmer, set in a red room.[5] Anderson also appears as the Man from Another Place in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the prequel to Twin Peaks.

Anderson portrayed a man of average height in Lynch's Mulholland Drive, using a prosthetic body.[6] From 2003 to 2005, Anderson was a cast member of the TV series Carnivàle.

In 2015 Anderson was asked to reprise his role as The Man from Another Place for Twin Peaks' third season but declined.[7] His character instead appears as a treelike computer-generated effect and is voiced by an uncredited actor. When asked who provided the voice for the CGI character, executive producer Sabrina Sutherland replied, "Unfortunately, I think this question should remain a mystery and not be answered." Anderson has since retired from the acting industry.[7]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Show Role Notes
1990 Monsters Household God Episode "Household Gods"
1990–1991 Twin Peaks The Man from Another Place 4 episodes
1992 Picket Fences Peeter Dreeb Episode "Mr. Dreeb comes to Town"
1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rumpelstiltskin Episode "If Wishes Were Horses"
1994 Cyberkidz Doctor Fubbles, Iggy Credited as "Bart Williams"
1995 The X-Files Mr. Nutt Episode "Humbug"
1998 Maggie Episode "Ka-Boom"
1998 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show Omar Episode "Honey, I've Joined the Bigtop"
1999 The Phantom Eye Doll Man/Carl
1999 Port Charles Peter Zorin
2000 This is How the World Ends Customer Cameo in unaired Gregg Araki MTV pilot
2001 Black Scorpion Episode "Crime Time"
2001 Snow White: The Fairest of Them All Sunday (Violet)
2003–2005 Carnivàle Samson 24 episodes
2006 Charmed O'Brian the Leprechaun 2 episodes
2010 Cold Case Nathaniel "Biggie" Jones Episode "Metamorphosis"
2011 Adventure Time Gummy (voice) Episode "The Silent King"
2012 Transactions Appeared with Jerry Seinfeld in a commercial for Acura ("Last Living Munchkin") Aired during the 2012 Super Bowl.
2013 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Dancing Man (voice) and as Professor Horatio Kharon (voice) Episodes "Stand and Deliver", "Nightmare In Red"

Film

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Anderson at CarneyCon, 2006
Year Film Role
1983 Buddies Thai Buyer
1984 Little Mike: A Videoportrait of Michael Anderson Himself
1987 The Great Land of Small Fritz/The King
1989 Suffering Bastards Little Elvis
1989 No Such Thing as Gravity Botanist
1990 Whatever Happened to Mason Reese Sushi Chef
1990 Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted Lightman
1991 Mannequin Two: On the Move Jewel Box Bearer
1992 Fool's Fire Hop-Frog
1992 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me The Man from Another Place
1993 Night Trap Police Officer
1994 Murder too Sweet Harry the Huckster
1995 Caged Hearts John
1996 Street Gun Lamar
1997 Warriors of Virtue Mudlap
1998 Club Vampire Kiddo
1999 Minimum Wage Zeke Bleak
2001 Mulholland Drive Mr. Roque
2001 Snow White: The Fairest of Them All Sunday
2003 Sticky Fingers Irate Man
2003 Tiptoes Bruno
2004 Big Time Henri Blunderbore

Video games

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Year Game Role
1994 Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine Bartender
2000 Road Rash: Jailbreak Punt


Music appearances

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References

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  1. ^ a b Andrea LeVasseur (2014). "Michael J. Anderson". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  2. ^ a b O'Connor, John J. (September 19, 1984). "TV Review; 'Highway To Heaven' With Landon". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "The Halloween Interview with Michael J. Anderson!". brad d studios. October 30, 2011. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  4. ^ Triplo.com Archived April 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Riches, Simon (25 March 2011). "Intuition and Investigation into Another Place". The Philosophy of David Lynch. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-3396-6.
  6. ^ Rodley, Chris, ed. (2005). Lynch on Lynch (Rev. ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-571-22018-2.
  7. ^ a b Sutherland, Sabrina (September 20, 2017). "I'm Sabrina Sutherland, Executive Producer of Twin Peaks. AMA". Reddit. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
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