Verne Troyer
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.[1][2]
Verne Troyer
April 21, 2018 (aged 49)
- Actor
- comedian
- stunt performer
1994–2018
2 ft 8 in (81 cm)
Brittney Powell (2007–2018; his death)
Early life[edit]
Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, on January 1, 1969,[3] the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician.[4] 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."[5] Troyer was initially raised Amish, but his parents left the faith when he was a child.[6] During his childhood, Troyer spent much time visiting Amish relatives[7] in Centreville, Michigan. He graduated in 1987 from Centreville High School, where a plaque was dedicated to him in 2003.[8]
Career[edit]
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).[9] 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),[10] and My Giant (1998).[11] He is also known for an apparition in a Apple PowerBook G4 adv.[12]
He first met with Jay Roach to discuss portraying Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series,[13] 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.[14] Troyer reprised the role three years later in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and collaborated again with Myers on The Love Guru (2008).[10]
After reaching a large audience as Mini-Me, Troyer portrayed Griphook in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001),[15] and played the role of Percy in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009).[16] He also made several appearances as himself in reality television series, including The Surreal Life (2005), Welcome to Sweden (2007),[10] and the British Celebrity Big Brother 6 (2009), in which he placed fourth.[17]
Personal life[edit]
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,[18] was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ.[19] 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.[20]
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.[21]
In early April 2018, Troyer was admitted to a hospital after an incident in his home.[22][23] He had previously been admitted to rehab to undergo treatment for alcoholism.[23][24]