peoplepill id: verne-troyer
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United States of America
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The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
American actor
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Sturgis, St. Joseph County, Michigan, USA
Place of death
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Age
49 years
Stats
Height:
0.81 m
Weight:
16 kg
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was 2 ft 8 in (81 cm) tall.

Early life

Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, on January 1, 1969, the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician. He had two siblings, Davon and Deborah. He stated that his parents "never treated me any different than my other average-sized siblings. I used to have to carry wood, feed the cows and pigs and farm animals." Troyer was initially raised Amish, but his parents left the faith when he was a child. During his childhood, Troyer spent much time visiting Amish relatives in Centreville, Michigan. He graduated in 1987 from Centreville High School, where a plaque was dedicated to him in 2003.

Career

Troyer's film career began when a former president of Little People of America contacted him, looking for someone to serve as a stunt double for the infant character "Baby Bink" in John Hughes' film Baby's Day Out (1994). He gained further work as a stunt double with some minor comedic roles in several films of the 1990s, including Dunston Checks In, Jingle All the Way (both 1996), Men in Black (1997), and My Giant (1998).

He first met with Jay Roach to discuss portraying Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series, directed by Roach and starring co-creator Mike Myers, before filming for the series' second film began. Myers was impressed with Troyer's performance, rewriting the script for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) to give Mini-Me more screen time and remove the character's death. Troyer reprised the role three years later in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and collaborated again with Myers on The Love Guru (2008).

After reaching a large audience as Mini-Me, Troyer portrayed Griphook in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), and played the role of Percy in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). He also made several appearances as himself in reality television series, including The Surreal Life (2005), Welcome to Sweden (2007), and the British Celebrity Big Brother 6 (2009), in which he placed fourth.

Personal life

On June 25, 2008, a private home video was leaked of Troyer and his former live-in girlfriend Ranae Shrider having sex. The video, recorded in 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, and Shrider's hometown of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ. Kevin Blatt, the man responsible for brokering the deal for Paris Hilton's sex tape in 2003, tried to sell the video. Troyer, through his long-time attorney, Ed McPherson, sued TMZ, Blatt, and online rental company SugarDVD, for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement.

In May 2015, Troyer, his girlfriend Brittney Powell, and her son Tyson appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap, where she switched places with Hines Ward's wife.

In early April 2018, Troyer was admitted to a hospital after an incident in his home. He had previously been admitted to rehab to undergo treatment for alcoholism.

Death

Troyer died at a hospital in Los Angeles on April 21, 2018, aged 49. His death was later ruled a suicide by alcohol intoxication.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotesRef(s)
1994Baby's Day OutBaby Bink's stunt doubleDebut role
1996Dunston Checks In
1996Jingle All the WayLittle Santa Claus
1996Pinocchio's RevengePinocchio's Miniature Double
1997Volcano
1997Men in BlackAlien Son
1997WishmasterCreature Stage #1
1997RocketMan
1998My GiantWrestler
1998Fear and Loathing in Las VegasWee WaiterBilled as "Verne J. Troya"
1998The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonaldSundaeDirect-to-video
Voice by Dee Bradley Baker
1998Mighty Joe YoungBaby Joe
1999Here Lies LonelyVirgil
1999InstinctGorilla Performer
1999Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeMini-Me
2000Bit PlayersMarty Rosenthal
2000How the Grinch Stole ChristmasBand Member
2001Bubble BoyDr. Phreak
2001Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneGriphookVoice by Warwick Davis
2002Run for the MoneyAttila
2002Austin Powers in GoldmemberMini-Me
2003Pauly Shore Is DeadHimself
2007PostalHimself
2008The Love GuruCoach Punch Cherkov
2008CollegeHimself
2009The Imaginarium of Doctor ParnassusPercy
2012Keith Lemon: The FilmArchimedes
2013ConvenienceDwight
2015Trailer Park Boys: Drunk, High, and Unemployed: Live in AustinHimself
2015Gnome AloneThe Gnome
2018The DeliveryThe BossShort film
Posthumous release
2019Aliens, Clowns & GeeksEmperor Beezel-ChuggPosthumous release
2020The 420 Movie: Mary & JaneTito the TerriblePosthumous release
Final film role

Television

Year(s)TitleRoleNotesRef(s)
1995-1996Saban's Masked RiderFerbusSuit Actor
1999–2000Shasta McNastyVerne
2000Jack of All TradesNapoleon Bonaparte
2002Sabrina the Teenage WitchAngus
2003Boston PublicTaylor Prentice2 episodes
2004Karroll's ChristmasSpike
2005The Girls Next DoorHimselfEpisode "Fight Night"
2005The Surreal LifeHimself
2005Half & HalfReggie"The Big Thorne in My Side Episode"
2006Bo! in the USA
2007The Surreal Life: Fame GamesHimself
2007Welcome to SwedenHimself
2008–2015Celebrity JuiceHimself
2008The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...Commentator
2008The Podge and Rodge ShowHimself
2009Celebrity Big BrotherHimself
2009Friday Night with Jonathan RossHimself
2009The Paul O'Grady ShowHimself
2009WWE RawGuest host
2013Lemon La Vida LocaHimself
2013The Body Shocking Show (2013 TV Series)Himself
2013LegitHimself
2014BGO.com TV Campaign
2014Whose Line Is It Anyway?HimselfSeason 10, episode 3
2014Through the KeyholeHimself
2015Celebrity Wife SwapHimself
2017Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park: USAHimselfEpisode: "Los Angeles 2"

Music videos

YearArtistSongAlbum
1999Madonna"Beautiful Stranger"Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
1999Mel B"Word Up"Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
2002Moby"We Are All Made of Stars"18
2004D12"My Band"D12 World
2005Ludacris"Number One Spot"The Red Light District
2009Forever the Sickest Kids"What Do You Want from Me"The Weekend: Friday and Diary of a Wimpy Kid
2014Steve Aoki featuring will.i.am"Born to Get Wild"Neon Future I

Video games

YearTitleVoice roleRef(s)
2016Let It DieJackal X

Web

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013Story Cops with Verne TroyerGlenn PeckFunny or Die Exclusive
2018My 90-Year-Old RoommateVerne TroyerEpisode: Verne Troyer; posthumous release
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