Michael J. Anderson

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's television series Twin Peaks, the prequel film for the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and as Samson on the HBO series Carnivàle.

Early life and career
Anderson 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 3 ft tall.

Prior to his acting career, Anderson worked as a computer technician for Martin Marietta. 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 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 murder of Laura Palmer, 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 Carnivàle.

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.

Music appearances

 * (1985) "Hell in Paradise," music promo video by Yoko Ono
 * (1989) "Turtle Song", music promo video by alternative band Hugo Largo
 * (2000) Lodge Anathema (with The Nether-Carols)