Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Anderson in 2006 | |
| Born | October 31, 1953 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1968–2013 |
| Known for | Twin Peaks Carnivàle |
| Height | 3 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. Despite previous years praising David Lynch as an artist, Anderson has since been vocal against Lynch and the show itself, even branding the original run as boring.
Early life and career
[edit]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] He also appeared in the 1985 music promo video for Yoko Ono's song "Hell in Paradise".
Acting career
[edit]Anderon'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 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 appeared as the Man from Another Place in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the prequel film to Twin Peaks.
The strange cadence of the Man's dialogue was achieved by having Anderson 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, a technique called phonetic reversal. This created the strange rhythm and accentuation that set Cooper's dream world apart from the real world.[6] Anderson recalls that the phonetic reversal was not difficult to master as, coincidentally, he had used it as a secret language with his junior high school friends. Lynch was unaware of this when he cast Anderson in the part, and had hired a trainer to help Anderson with enunciation. When he found out Anderson could already talk backwards, he cancelled the trainer and wrote more difficult lines of dialogue for Anderson to read.[7]
In 1993, Anderson portrayed Rumpelstiltskin in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "If Wishes Were Horses", and appeared two years later in The X-Files episode "Humbug". Anderson portrayed a man of average height in Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive, using a prosthetic body.[8] From 2003 to 2005, Anderson was a cast member of the TV series Carnivàle. Other television and film roles included Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Charmed, Cold Case and Adventure Time. Anderson retired from the acting industry in 2013, his last role being in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.[9]
Controversies
[edit]In 2015 Anderson was asked to reprise his role as The Man from Another Place for Twin Peaks' third season but declined over compensation.[citation needed] Instead the character appears as a talking luminescent tree, introduced as "the evolution of the arm".[9] 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."
Despite previous years praising Lynch as an artist, Anderson has since been vocal against Lynch and the show itself, even branding the original run as boring, stating: "I couldn't watch TP when it originally aired because it was so BORING. Every time I tuned in, it was people talking in a room. That's it. And if I stayed long enough to hear what they were saying, they would be talking about NOTHING. I figured out that I couldn't follow the plot, (or had to make one up) because there WAS NO PLOT. A man went to a town to investigate a murder. That's it. Nothing else ever happens. Just people talking in rooms. And all this taking NEVER advanced the murder investigation ONE BIT. I liked the part that I was in, (because I was in it), but it still didn't make a hoot of sense. Hard to watch."
Anderson has repeatedly made anti-Semitic and anti-Islam posts and comments online, revealed he is a strong Donald Trump supporter with staunch anti-globalism leanings, and made many comments about "political correctness" that were critisised. In 2016, Anderson falsely accused Lynch of crimes ranging from pedophilia, rape and murder. His allegations against Lynch have never been corroborated or substantiated in any way. Lynch's daughter acknowledged them in an Instagram post, wherein she said she hoped Anderson "receives the help and peace he needs."[10]
Filmography
[edit]Television
[edit]| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Monsters | Holly | Episode: "Holly's House" |
| 1990 | 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
[edit]| 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
[edit]| Year | Game | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine | Bartender |
| 2000 | Road Rash: Jailbreak | Punt |
Music appearances
[edit]- (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)
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Confessions of an Area 51 Employee (David Lynch, Twin Peaks) Archived June 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Man from another Place teaches how to speak in the Red Room
- ^ Rodley, Chris, ed. (2005). Lynch on Lynch (Rev. ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-571-22018-2.
- ^ a b Sutherland, Sabrina (September 20, 2017). "I'm Sabrina Sutherland, Executive Producer of Twin Peaks. AMA". Reddit. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ^ Dickey, Josh (2017-05-22). "The sad, bizarre reason why The Man From Another Place isn't in 'Twin Peaks'". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
External links
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| National | |
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