Verne Troyer

Verne Jay 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]

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]

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]

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] He was interred in Leonidas Township, St. Joseph County, Michigan. He was carried on by his spouse Genevieve Gallen and his nephew Makai huddleston

• Verne Troyer at IMDb
• Verne Troyer at Find a Grave
• Verne Troyer interview, Movieset.com