Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson (born October 31, 1953) is an 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 Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle. He 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.
Michael J. Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Anderson in 2006 | |
| Born | October 31, 1953 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1983–2016 |
| Known for | Twin Peaks Carnivàle |
Prior to his acting career, Anderson worked as a computer technician for Martin Marietta, working on 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
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."[7]
Filmography
Television
| 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 | Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine | Bartender #1 | |
| 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) | |
| 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
| 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
Anderson portrayed "Punt" in the PlayStation video game Road Rash: Jailbreak.
Music appearances
- (1989) "Turtle Song", music promo video by alternative band Hugo Largo
- (2000) Lodge Anathema (with The Nether-Carols)
References
- "Michael J. Anderson". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- O'Connor, John J. (September 19, 1984). "TV Review; 'Highway To Heaven' With Landon". The New York Times.
- "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.
- Triplo.com Archived April 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- 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.
- Rodley, Chris (ed.) (2005). Lynch on Lynch (Rev. ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-571-22018-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Sutherland, Sabrina (September 20, 2017). "I'm Sabrina Sutherland, Executive Producer of Twin Peaks. AMA". Reddit. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
