# Michael J. Anderson

Michael J. Anderson (born October 31, 1953) is a retired American actor 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 noted 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 shortened stature of 3 feet 7 inches (1.09 m) tall.
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. He appeared as himself in a 1984 documentary called Little Mike: A Videoportrait of Michael Anderson. He also appeared in the 1985 music promo video for Yoko Ono's song "Hell in Paradise".

## Acting career

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 speaking in an unusual manner.
Anderson had used phonetically reversed speaking as a secret language with his junior high school friends, 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 dream world apart from the real world. Lynch was unaware of Anderson's familiarity with the phonetic reversal method when he cast Anderson in the part, and had hired a trainer to help 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.
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
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. 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 2014, his last role being 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 which 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."
In 2016, Anderson falsely accused Lynch of crimes ranging from pedophilia to 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."

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | Monsters | Holly | Episode: "Holly's House" |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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

| 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)