Michael J. Anderson (born October 31, 1953) is a retired American actor. He is best known for his role as The Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks and the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. He is also known for playing Samson on the HBO series Carnivàle.
Early life and career Anderson has the genetic disorder osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that leads to frequent breaks in long bones and improper healing, leaving him with a height of .
Before 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. He appeared as himself in the 1984 documentary Little Mike: A Videoportrait of Michael Anderson. He also appeared in the 1985 promo video for Yoko Ono's song "Hell in Paradise".
Acting career Anderson's first acting role was in the series Monsters, appearing in two episodes in 1988 and 1990. Anderson appeared as The Man from Another Place in four episodes of David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, attired in a red suit and speaking in an unusual manner.
Anderson had used phonetically reversed speaking as a secret language with his junior high school friends,Triplo.com and the same method was used in the series. Anderson would speak into a recorder. This was then played in reverse, and Anderson was directed to repeat the reversed original. This "reverse-speech" was then reversed again in editing to bring it back to the normal direction. This phonetic reversal created the strange cadences, rhythms, and accentuation that set Cooper's dreamworld apart from the real world.Confessions of an Area 51 Employee (David Lynch, Twin Peaks) Lynch was unaware of Anderson's familiarity with the phonetic reversal method when he cast Anderson, and had hired a trainer to help with enunciation. When he found out Anderson could already talk backward, he canceled the trainer and wrote more difficult lines of dialogue for Anderson.Man from another Place teaches how to speak in the Red Room
Anderson's character first appears in Special Agent Dale Cooper's cryptic dream about the murder of Laura Palmer, set in a red room. Anderson also appeared as the Man from Another Place in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the prequel film to Twin Peaks.
Anderson portrayed Rumpelstiltskin in the 1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "If Wishes Were Horses" and appeared two years later in The X-Files episode "Humbug". He portrayed a man of average height in Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive, using a prosthetic body. From 2003 to 2005, Anderson was a cast member of the TV series Carnivàle. Other television and film roles include Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Charmed, Cold Case, and Adventure Time. Anderson retired from acting in 2014. His last role was in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.
Controversies In 2015, Anderson was asked to reprise his role as The Man from Another Place for Twin Peaks' third season but declined over compensation. The character instead appears as a talking, CGI-created luminescent tree that is introduced as "the evolution of the arm" and voiced by an uncredited actor. When asked who provided the voice, executive producer Sabrina Sutherland replied, "Unfortunately, I think this question should remain a mystery and not be answered."
Filmography Television Year Show Role Notes 1988–1990Monsters Holly; Household God Episodes: "Holly's House"; "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" 1996 Night Stand with Dick Dietrick Jimmy Episode "Staff Talent Show". Credited as "Michael Anderson" 1998 Maggie Episode "Ka-Boom" Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show Omar Episode "Honey, I've Joined the Bigtop" 1999 The Phantom Eye Doll Man/Carl Port Charles Peter Zorin2000This is How the World EndsCustomerCameo in unaired Gregg Araki MTV pilot 2001 Black Scorpion Episode "Crime Time" 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. 2014 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 No Such Thing as Gravity Botanist 1990 Whatever Happened to Mason Reese Sushi Chef Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted Lightman 1991 Mannequin Two: On the Move Jewel Box Bearer 1992 In the Soup Little Man Fool's Fire Hop-Frog 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 Snow White: The Fairest of Them All Sunday 2003 Sticky Fingers Irate Man Tiptoes Bruno 2004 Big Time Henri Blunderbore
Video games Year Game Role 1994 Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine Bartender 2000 Road Rash: Jailbreak Punt Music appearances (1985) "Hell in Paradise," music promo video by Yoko Ono (1989) "Turtle Song", music promo video by alternative band Hugo Largo (2000) Lodge Anathema (with The Nether-Carols)
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