As Mini-Me in Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Verne Troyer earned his claim to fame as the smaller imitation sidekick of Dr. Evil (Mike Myers). The hilarious summer sequel to Austin Powers received critical acclaim, as well as success at the box office, in addition to sending Troyer into stardom.
Born January 1, 1969, in Sturgis, MI, Troyer began his acting career in 1993, after relocating to Arlington, TX. Standing less than three feet tall, he appeared in his first feature role in Baby’s Day Out, playing the stunt double of the film’s nine-month-old protagonist. He then appeared in numerous films including My Giant (1998) and Wes Craven’s Wishmaster (1997), as well as the 1997 alien movie Men in Black starring Will Smith.
After standing in the limelight of Austin Powers 2 in 1999, Troyer found roles in several major motion pictures. In The Grinch – the Christmas 2000 Dr. Seuss-based feature starring Jim Carrey – Troyer played a dual role as two different “Who’s” (elf-like inhabitants of “Whoville"). He appeared in the strange – even distasteful – romantic comedy Bubble Boy in 2001, as Dr. Phreak. That same year, the box-office smash hit Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’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.