Verne Troyer

Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor and occasional stunt coordinator and performer. He was best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was Template:Convert tall.<ref>As stated by Troyer during interview on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, September 25, 2009.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life

Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, on January 1, 1969,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Troyer was initially raised Amish, but his parents left the faith when he was a child.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During his childhood, Troyer spent much time visiting Amish relatives<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Centreville, Michigan. He graduated in 1987 from Centreville High School, where a plaque was dedicated to him in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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).<ref name="People">Template:Cite news</ref> 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),<ref name="TDT">Template:Cite news</ref> and My Giant (1998).<ref name="Tribute">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is also known for an appearance in an Apple PowerBook G4 advertisement.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

He first met with Jay Roach to discuss portraying Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series,<ref name="CNN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="HP">Template:Cite news</ref> Troyer reprised the role three years later in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and collaborated again with Myers on The Love Guru (2008).<ref name="TDT" />

After reaching a large audience as Mini-Me, Troyer portrayed Griphook in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001),<ref name="NYT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and played the role of Percy in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009).<ref name="TG">Template:Cite news</ref> He also made several appearances as himself in reality television series, including The Surreal Life (2005), Welcome to Sweden (2007),<ref name="TDT" /> and the British Celebrity Big Brother 6 (2009), in which he placed fourth.<ref name="BBC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In early April 2018, Troyer was admitted to a hospital after an incident in his home.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> He had previously been admitted to rehab to undergo treatment for alcoholism.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Troyer died at a hospital in Los Angeles on April 21, 2018, at age 49. His death was later ruled a suspected suicide by alcohol intoxication. He was interred with his parents in Leonidas Cemetery in St. Joseph County, Michigan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1994	Baby's Day Out	Baby Bink's stunt double	Debut role	<ref name="People" />
1996	Dunston Checks In			<ref name="TDT" />
	Jingle All the Way	Little Santa Claus		<ref name="TDT" />
	Pinocchio's Revenge	Pinocchio's Miniature Double		<ref name="AICN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1997	Volcano			<ref name="PR">Template:Cite news</ref>
	Men in Black	Alien Son		<ref name="TVG">Template:Cite news</ref>
	Wishmaster	Creature Stage #1		<ref name="TVG" />
	RocketMan			<ref name="CB">Template:Cite news</ref>
1998	My Giant	Wrestler		<ref name="Tribute" />
	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	Wee Waiter	Credited as Verne J. Troya	<ref name="BFI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald	Sundae	Direct-to-video Voice by Dee Bradley Baker	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Mighty Joe Young	Baby Joe		<ref name="BFI"/>
1999	Here Lies Lonely	Virgil		<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Instinct	Gorilla Performer		<ref name="BFI"/>
	Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	Mini-Me	Credited as Verne J. Troya	<ref name="APNewsObit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2000	Bit Players	Marty Rosenthal		<ref name="RT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	Band Member		<ref name="BFI"/>
2001	Bubble Boy	Dr. Phreak		<ref name="TVG" />
	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	Griphook	Voice by Warwick Davis	<ref name="APNewsObit" />
2002	Run for the Money	Attila		<ref name="TVG" />
	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Mini-Me		<ref name="APNewsObit" />
2003	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
2007	Postal	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
2008	The Love Guru	Coach Punch Cherkov		<ref name="APNewsObit" />
	College	Himself		<ref name="BFI"/>
2009	The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus	Percy		<ref name="TVG" />
2012	Keith Lemon: The Film	Archimedes		<ref name="BFI"/>
2013	Convenience	Dwight		<ref name="BFI"/>
2015	Trailer Park Boys: Drunk, High, and Unemployed: Live in Austin	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
	Gnome Alone	The Gnome		<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	The Delivery	The Boss	Short film Posthumous release
2019	Aliens, Clowns & Geeks	Emperor Beezel-Chugg	Posthumous release	<ref name="AICN" />
2020	The 420 Movie: Mary & Jane	Tito the Terrible	Posthumous release Final film role	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1995–1996	Saban's Masked Rider	Ferbus	Suit Actor	<ref name="People" />
1999–2000	Shasta McNasty	Verne		<ref name="TVG" />
2000	Jack of All Trades	Napoleon Bonaparte		<ref name="TVG" />
2002	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Angus		<ref name="APNewsObit" />
2003	Boston Public	Taylor Prentice	2 episodes	<ref name="APNewsObit" />
2004	Karroll's Christmas	Spike		<ref name="TVG" />
2005	The Girls Next Door	Himself	Episode "Fight Night"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
	The Surreal Life	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
	Half & Half	Reggie	"The Big Thorne in My Side Episode"	<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
2006	Bo! in the USA			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	The Surreal Life: Fame Games	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
	Welcome to Sweden	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
2008	The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...	Commentator		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	The Podge and Rodge Show	Himself		<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2008–2015	Celebrity Juice	Himself
2009	Celebrity Big Brother	Himself		<ref name="BFI" />
	Friday Night with Jonathan Ross	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
	The Paul O'Grady Show	Himself		<ref name="BFI" />
	WWE Raw	Guest host		<ref name="TVG" />
2013	Lemon La Vida Loca	Himself		<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Body Shocking Show	Himself
	Legit	Himself		<ref name="RT" />
2014	BGO.com TV Campaign			<ref>bgo.com TV advertisement featuring Verne Troyer Template:Webarchive from bgo.com</ref>
	Whose Line Is It Anyway?	Himself	Season 10, episode 3	<ref name="TVG" />
	Through the Keyhole	Himself
2015	Celebrity Wife Swap	Himself		<ref name="TVG" />
2017	Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park: USA	Himself	Episode: "Los Angeles 2"	<ref name="TVG" />

Music videos

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

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Template:Abbr
2016	Let It Die	Jackal X	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Story Cops with Verne Troyer	Glenn Peck	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	My 90-Year-Old Roommate	Verne Troyer	Episode: "Verne Troyer"; posthumous release

External links

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• Template:Find a Grave
• Verne Troyer interview, Movieset.com