Verne Troyer

Verne Troyer
Verne Troyer attending the "Kandy Masquerade" Party at the Playboy Mansion on February 28, 2009
Pseudonym	Mini-V Verne J. Troya Verne J. Troyer Vern Troyer
Birth name	Verne J. Troyer
Born	January 1, 1969 (1969-01-01) Sturgis, Michigan, U.S.
Medium	Film, Television, Stand-up
Nationality	American
Years active	1994–present
Genres	Observational comedy
Subject(s)	Social satire
Spouse	Genevieve Gallen (2004; annulled)
Notable works and roles	Mini-Me in Austin Powers Percy in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Website	www.vernetroyer.com

Verne J. Troyer (born January 1, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, stuntman and performer, best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series. Troyer is also known for his height of 2 ft 8 in (0.81 m), the result of cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism, making him one of the shortest men in the world.

Troyer is also known for playing Griphook the Goblin in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In the two-part film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he was replaced by Warwick Davis, who played Filius Flitwick in the films and provided the voice of Griphook in the first film.

Early life

Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, which was his original residence. Troyer is the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician. He has two siblings, Davon and Deborah. He graduated from high school in 1987.

Career

Stuntman career

Standing less than 3 feet tall, he appeared in his first feature role in Baby's Day Out, playing the stunt double of the film's 9-month-old protagonist. He also did stunts in Masked Rider, Dunston Checks In, Jingle All the Way, Volcano, RocketMan, and My Giant.

Acting career

As Mini-Me in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Troyer earned his claim to fame as the "1/8th scale", cloned sidekick of Dr. Evil (Mike Myers). The sequel to Austin Powers received critical acclaim, as well as success at the box office, in addition to sending Troyer into stardom.

Troyer began his acting career in 1993, after relocating to Arlington, Texas. He then appeared in numerous films including My Giant (1998) and Wes Craven's Wishmaster (1997), as well as the 1997 alien film Men in Black.

After standing in the limelight of Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999, Troyer found roles in several major motion pictures. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Troyer played a dual role as two different Whos. He also appeared in Bubble Boy in 2001, as Dr. Phreak. That same year, the box-office smash hit Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone incorporated a ghoulish Troyer. Returning to the role that catipulted him to stardom in 2002's Austin Powers in Goldmember found Troyer taking on his most substantial role to date, with many of the film's key scenes featuring Troyer at his comic best.

Verne Troyer, May 2007

In 2005, he was a cast member of The Surreal Life.

Currently, Troyer stars in his own YouTube channel known as "VerneTroyerOfficial".

Personal life

Troyer at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International.

On February 22, 2004, Troyer reportedly married model Genevieve Gallen, but filed for an annulment the next day. Even though the couple's engagement was widely reported, Troyer and his attorney deny that the two ever had any formal wedding plans, saying that Gallen had fabricated the entire story for her own financial gain.

He now resides in Pacific Palisades, California.

Sex tape scandal

On June 25, 2008, a private home videotape was released which showed Troyer and his former live-in girlfriend Ranae Shrider having sex. The video, which had been made during the Easter Weekend of 2008 at Raffles L’Ermitage hotel, was leaked to the public by Shrider to TMZ. Kevin Blatt, the man responsible for brokering the deal for the Paris Hilton sex tape in 2003, tried to sell the video. Troyer sued TMZ, Blatt, and online rental company SugarDVD, for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Pinocchio's Revenge	Pinocchio's miniature double	First acting film role
1997	Men in Black	Alien Son
1997	Wishmaster	Creature Stage #1
1998	My Giant	Wrestler	Uncredited (One of the Seven Sweet Little Angels)
1998	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	Waiter
1998	The Wacky Adventures Of Ronald McDonald Episode 1-3	Sundae
1999	Here Lies Lonely	Virgil
1999	Instinct	Gorilla Performers
1999	Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	Mini-Me	As Verne J. Troyer
2000	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	Band Member	As Verne J. Troyer
2001	Bubble Boy	Dr. Phreak
2001	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	Griphook the Goblin	As Vern Troyer
2002	Run for the Money	Attila
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Mini Me
2004	Karroll's Christmas	Spike
2007	Postal	Himself
2008	The Love Guru	Coach Punch Cherkov
2008	College	Himself
2009	The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus	Percy

As a stuntman

Stuntman

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Baby's Day Out		First film role as a stuntman
1995	Masked Rider		Paul Pistore's stunt double
1996	Dunston Checks In		As Verne J. Troyer
1996	Jingle All the Way		As Verne J. Troyer
1997	Volcano
1997	RocketMan
1998	My Giant		Utility stunts

Television work

• Masked Rider (1995–1996) (stunts for Paul Pistore)
• Shasta McNasty (1999–2000)
• Jack of All Trades (2000) – Napoleon Bonaparte
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2002) – Angus
• Boston Public (2003) – Taylor Prentice (2 episodes)
• Karroll's Christmas (2004)
• The Girls Next Door (2005) - himself (episode "Fight Night")
• The Surreal Life (2005)
• Bo! in the USA (2006)
• The Surreal Life: Fame Games (2007)
• Welcome to Sweden (2007)
• Celebrity Juice (2008) - himself
• The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... (2008) - commentator
• The Podge and Rodge Show (2008) - himself
• Celebrity Big Brother (2009) - himself
• Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2009) - himself
• The Paul O'Grady Show (2009) - himself
• WWE Raw (2009) - guest host
• Celebrity Juice (2010-12) - himself

Television commercials

• Sony PlayStation (1999)
• 1-800-COLLECT (2001)
• Taco Bell (2002)
• Apple (2003)
• Cadbury Chocettes (2004)
• DirecTV (2006) - as Mini-Me from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
• Geico (2006)
• World of Warcraft (2008)
• TitleMax (2010)

Other

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Postal III	Krotchy	Voice only

External links

• Official website
• Verne Troyer at the Internet Movie Database
• Verne Troyer at AllRovi
• Verne Troyer at Yahoo! Movies
• Verne Troyer interview on Movieset.com