Born: September 4, 1948
Age: 76
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Michael John Berryman (born September 4, 1948) is an American actor.
Berryman was born with Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia which is a rare condition leaving him with no sweat glands, hair, fingernails or teeth. As a result his unusual physical appearance has allowed Berryman to make a career out of portraying characters in horror movies and other B-movies. He came to prominence with his roles in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975 and The Hills Have Eyes in 1977. He has appeared in several television shows, such as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and The X-Files.
Berryman played Pluto in Wes Craven's 1977 horror film The Hills Have Eyes and the 1985 sequel The Hills Have Eyes Part II. 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. 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, and without sweat glands, he had to take special precautions in order to avoid suffering heat stroke.
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 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and The X-Files. 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. He was also a special guest at the third annual San Antonio Horrific Film Fest on 25 August 2010 and a guest at the Cinema Wasteland convention from April 1-3, 2011. He also appeared at the Contamination 2012 Convention, held at the Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri on June 15-17, 2012.
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 |
Berryman is a strong advocate for environmental protection and lived on a wolf sanctuary for ten years.