Michael J. Anderson (October 31, 1953) is an American actor known for his role as the Man from another place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, notable for being a 'little person'.

Anderson was born with a genetic bone condition osteogenesis imperfecta. He grew up in a wheelchair. In his late 20s he was the subject of a 30-minute documentary called "Little Mike" (1984), directed by Norris J. Chumley, which began as an NYU student film production. He formed the New York band, Wayward Gene and the Natural Selection, which played in local clubs. He also worked for NASA as a computer expert.

Anderson appeared in a few episodes of Twin Peaks. The Man From Another Place is attired in a red suit and speaks in an unusual manner. He first appears in Special Agent Dale Cooper's cryptic dream about the murder of Laura Palmer, set in a red room. Anderson's Man also materializes in Lynch's film prequel to Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. His character expresses more malevolent intent in the film than he did in the series.

Anderson portrayed a full-size man in Lynch's Mulholland Drive, using a prosthetic body. From 2003 to 2005, Anderson played carnival manager Samson Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle.

Among his other appearances are in the soap opera Port Charles, guest appearances like: "Peter Dreeb" in the Picket Fences episode "Mr. Dreeb Comes to Town", a hotel manager in the The X-Files episode "Humbug", Rumpelstiltskin in the "If Wishes Were Horses" episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and as a returning leprechaun in the eighth season of the supernatural dramedy series Charmed.

Anderson used phonetically reversed speaking as a secret language with his junior high school friends and then coincidentally played a character in Twin Peaks where he used the same method of speaking.

Michael Anderson was born in Huron, South Dakota at 10:30pm, on Halloween Night. Subject to a genetic anomaly known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta, he grew up in a wheelchair and had over a hundred broken bones by age 20. After graduating 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, troubleshooting the NASA 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 NYC 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 TV series Twin Peaks. Anderson also worked with Lynch for the experimental performance piece Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted and the TV-pilot-turned-feature film Mulholland Dr.. Anderson gained further recognition and success in recent years for his work on the HBO series Carnivàle.