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 David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

's television series '' Twin Peaks'', the

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

film for the series, '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and as Samson Leonhart on the

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series ''

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''.

Early life and career

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 tall. Prior to his acting career, Anderson worked as a computer technician for

Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...

. 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''.

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 A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

friends 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

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, set in a red room. 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. From 2003 to 2005, Anderson was a cast member of the TV series ''

''. In 2015 Anderson was asked to reprise his role as The Man from Another Place for ''Twin Peaks third season but declined. 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." Anderson has since retired from the acting industry.

Filmography

Television

Film

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
(wit
The Nether-Carols

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Michael J. 1953 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Colorado People with osteogenesis imperfecta