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Michael Berryman

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Michael Berryman
Berryman on November 18, 2007
Born
Michael John Berryman

(1948-09-04) September 4, 1948 (age 76)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1975–present
Websitemichaelberryman.com

Michael John Berryman (born September 4, 1948)[1] is an American character actor.[2] Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition characterized by the absence of sweat glands, hair, and fingernails; his unusual physical appearance has allowed Berryman to make a career out of portraying characters in a number of cult films, horror films and B movies. He first came to prominence for his roles in Miloš Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977). He has appeared in a wide range of feature films and television series, including Star Trek, The X-Files, and Highway to Heaven, in which he portrayed Satan.

Early life

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Michael John Berryman was born September 4, 1948, in Los Angeles, California, the second of two children of Sloan and Barbara Berryman.[1] He has one elder sister, Virginia.[3] Berryman is of partial German descent;[4] his German great-grandfather was a doctor who worked in Vienna.[5] Berryman's mother was a nurse, and his father was a U.S. Navy neurosurgeon[1] who was deployed to the Hiroshima fallout zone in the wake of the atomic bombing.[6]

Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare genetic condition that affects the development of sweat glands, skin, hair, and fingernails.[7] The condition also led Berryman to develop craniosynostosis, requiring him to undergo cranial reconstructive surgery as a child.[3]

He was raised Roman Catholic and attended Saint Monica Preparatory in Santa Monica.[8] Berryman became an avid surfer from a young age.[4] After completing high school, Berryman attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he studied botany and zoology.[9] Prior to becoming an actor, he worked as a florist.[7]

Career

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Berryman played Pluto in Wes Craven's 1977 horror film The Hills Have Eyes[2] and the 1985 sequel The Hills Have Eyes Part II.[2] He has also made appearances in the science fiction and fantasy movies My Science Project (1985), Weird Science (1985), Armed Response (1986), Evil Spirits (1990), The Guyver (1991), and Brutal (2007). He appeared in the 1975 Academy Award-winning drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.[2] His time on set for The Hills Have Eyes proved difficult for him, since, during the 4-month shoot, temperatures in the desert routinely surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit and, without sweat glands, he had to take special precautions to avoid suffering heatstroke.

He had a role in The Crow (1994) as "The Skull Cowboy", Eric Draven's guide to the land of the living. Berryman's scenes were cut from the original theatrical release, but can be found on some DVD releases under "Deleted Scenes".

He has appeared in Star Trek and some episodes of The X-Files.[2] He appeared in the 1985 Mötley Crüe video for "Smokin' In the Boys Room", as well as the introduction to the band's song "Home Sweet Home". He also portrayed the devil in two episodes of Highway to Heaven: "The Devil and Jonathan Smith" (1985) and "I Was a Middle-Aged Werewolf" (1987).

Berryman is a popular draw at genre conventions, such as the 2002 Horrorfind convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and the 2007 Eerie Horror Film Festival in Erie, Pennsylvania. He also appeared in 2001 and 2002 at the Horrorfind convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 7 and 8 attending as a guest of "The Milwaukee County Massacre", a horror film convention and music festival. Berryman appeared at the "Scarefest" convention in Lexington, Kentucky, and at the Spooky Empire convention in Orlando, Florida, on October 17–19, 2008. He appeared in Roseville, Minnesota, at Crypticon 2008 for "A November to Dismember" on November 14–16, 2008 for the show's third year.

Berryman starred in the British-Canadian horror film Below Zero (2012), directed by Justin Thomas Orstensen.[10] He was also a special guest at the third annual San Antonio Horrific Film Fest in August 2010,[11] the Cinema Wasteland convention in April 2011 and the Contamination Convention in Missouri in June 2012. From 2014 to 2018 he played the founder of Zona in Z Nation. In 2024, he starred in a horror film, They Turned Us Into Killers with Taryn Manning, Scout Taylor-Compton and Kane Hodder.[12]

Personal life

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Berryman is a strong advocate for environmental protection and lived on a wolf sanctuary for ten years.[13]

Awards

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Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
1978 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actor – Horror for The Hills Have Eyes
2007 Won EyeGore Award Career Contribution in Horror Genre

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1975 Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze Coroner
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Ellis
1977 The Hills Have Eyes Pluto
Another Man, Another Chance First Bandit
1978 The Fifth Floor Mental Patient
1980 Co-Ed
1981 Deadly Blessing William Gluntz
1983 Likely Stories, Vol. 3 Man on television commercial
1984 Voyage of the Rock Aliens Chainsaw
Invitation to Hell Valet
The Hills Have Eyes Part II Pluto
1985 Weird Science Mutant Biker
Cut and Run Quecho
My Science Project Mutant #1
1986 Armed Response F.C.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Starfleet display officer
1987 The Barbarians Dirtmaster
Off the Mark Acme Labs Man
Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III Cpl. Catlett
1988 Alf (TV series) Lab Man S02E25
Saturday the 14th Strikes Back The Mummy
Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Conspiracy" Captain Rixx
1989 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Sybok Warrior Uncredited
1990 Aftershock Queen
Solar Crisis Matthew
Evil Spirits Mr. Balzac
Far Out Man Angry Biker
1991 The Guyver Lisker
Wizards of the Demon Sword Highway Man #1
Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time Pilgrim #1
Teenage Exorcist Herman
The Secret of the Golden Eagle
Tales from the Crypt: "The Reluctant Vampire" Rupert Van Helsing
1992 Little Sister Teacher
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies Larry
1994 The Crow The Skull Cowboy Scenes Deleted
Double Dragon Maniac Leader
1996 Spy Hard Bus Patron with Oxygen Mask
Mojave Moon Angel
1997 Gator King The Tech
2000 The Independent Himself
Rebel Yell Bouncer Uncredited
Two Heads are Better than None Chives, the butler
2005 The Devil's Rejects Clevon
2006 The Absence of Light The Seer
Fallen Angels Mort
Penny Dreadful Gas Station Worker
2007 Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield Jack
Dead Man's Hand Gil Wachetta
Brutal Leroy Calhoun
2009 Brother's War Col. Petrov
Smash Cut Philip Farmsworth Jr.
Outrage Obeah
Necrosis Seymour
2010 The Tenant Arthur Delman
Satan Hates You Mr. Harker
Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster Zombie Head
Mask Maker Fred
2011 Below Zero Gunnar
Beg Clayton Starks
The Family William
2012 The Lords of Salem Virgil Magnus
2013 Self Storage Trevor
Army of the Damned Crazy Earl
2014 Apocalypse Kiss David Horn
Erebus Jonah Crane
2015 Kill or Be Killed Dr. Pepperdine
2016 Smothered Himself
Potent Media's Sugar Skull Girls Hobbs
2017 The Evil Within Cadaver
Death House Crau
Z Nation The Founder
ONE PLEASE Ice Cream Man
2018 Violent Starr The Godmichael
2019 Shed of the Dead Derek [14]
Midnight Evil Grandpa Forney Film A.K.A. Midnight Devils
2021 New York Ninja Plutonium Killer (voice)
2024 They Turned Us Into Killers Jed
(TBC) Room 9 Jed Bedford

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Berryman, Michael 1948–". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Michael Berryman". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Berryman 2023, pp. 1–6.
  4. ^ a b Hanley, Ken H. (July 24, 2013). "Calgary Horror Con: Michael Berryman". Diabolique Magazine. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023.
  5. ^ Berryman 2023, p. 26.
  6. ^ Berryman, Michael. "Interview with Michael Berryman of Hills Have Eyes & Devil's Rejects at Frightmare in the Falls 2019". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Michael Berryman Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  8. ^ Berryman 2023, pp. 13–20, 46.
  9. ^ Berryman 2023, pp. 57–58.
  10. ^ Miska, Brad (3 March 2010). "Michael Berryman Deep Frozen in 'Below Zero 3D'!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  11. ^ Johnson, Scott A. (July 7, 2010). "San Antonio Horrific Film Festival Wants Your Films!". Dread Central. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  12. ^ Squires, John (2023-12-14). "'They Turned Us into Killers' Exclusive Trailer – Scout Taylor-Compton Gets Bloody Revenge This January". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  13. ^ "A Conversation With Michael Berryman". go.Jimmy.go. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  14. ^ Shed of the Dead (2019) - IMDb. Retrieved 2024-10-24 – via www.imdb.com.

Bibliography

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