Biography

Michael Anderson took this first breath in Denver on a Halloween night. Subject to a genetic anomaly known as osteogenesis imperfecta, he grew up in a wheelchair. Once he graduated high school, he traveled America, singing for tips and living in his car. For six years, he attended the University of Colorado where he majored in numerous subjects ranging from philosophy to microbiology. After college, he began working for Martin Marietta, trouble-shooting the N.A.S.A. computers in the ground-support system of the space shuttle. During this time, he made the documentary "Little Mike," which won a silver medal in the International Film and Television Awards. Soon thereafter, he moved to New York City, where his film and television career began. For many years, Anderson was most well-known among fans of director David Lynch for his work as a backwards-talking dream figure on the cult favorite T.V. series Twin Peaks (1990). Anderson also worked with Lynch for the experimental performance piece Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990) and the T.V.-pilot-turned-feature film Mulholland Drive (2001). Anderson gained further recognition and success for his work on the H.B.O. series Carnivàle (2003).
- IMDb mini biography by: Michael J. Anderson

Known for playing strange, mysterious characters

He worked at NASA as a computer expert.

Developed the strange skill of speaking phonetically backwards while attending a junior high school for exceptional children, using it as a secret language among friends.

A former computer specialist for Martin-Marietta.

Was once leader of a band called "Wayward Gene and the Natural Selection" that played in various New York clubs.

Retired from acting in 2014.

After doing The Man from Another Place I would sometimes see people in public, and they'd start trembling. You know, like, "This REALLY isn't going well..."

You know, Twin Peaks (1990) is one of those Rorschach ink blot things, where everybody finds their own favorite thing. So it's hard for me to point to something and say, 'Man, this part is the greatest' when it all has its own special thing.

I never knew what I was doing on Twin Peaks (1990), and when I think I did figure it out, David Lynch would tell me 'No, that's not it'. As soon as he had erased whatever my theory was, we were ready to go again