Verne Troyer
Troyer at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2017
Born	Verne Jay Troyer (1969-01-01)January 1, 1969 Sturgis, Michigan, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2018(2018-04-21) (aged 49) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations	Actor comedian stunt performer
Years active	1994–2018
Height	2 ft 8 in (81 cm)
Partner	Brittney Powell (2007; his death 2018)
Signature

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]

Early life

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

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 first met with Jay Roach to discuss portraying Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series,^[12] 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.^[13] 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),^[14] and played the role of Percy in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009).^[15] 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.^[16]

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,^[17] was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ.^[18] 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.^[19]

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.^[20]

In early April 2018, Troyer was admitted to a hospital after an incident in his home.^[21][22] He had previously been admitted to rehab to undergo treatment for alcoholism.^[22][23]

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.^[24][25]

Filmography

Television

Music videos

Video games

Web