'It Follows' Actor Mike Lanier Has Died Aged 48

You might remember Mike Lanier if you ever had nightmares after watching It Follows - at over seven foot he played the 'Giant Man' in the 2014 supernatural horror film.

Mike was known as the 'gentle giant' and is in the Guinness Book of World Records as one half of the world's tallest twins.

According to Bruins Nation, he sadly passed away at the end of April aged 48 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, which was complicated by acromegaly, the pituitary gland disorder that resulted in his extraordinary height.

RADiUS-TWC/It Follows

Movie Web reported that Lanier was also known for his stint playing college basketball for UCLA in the early 1990s where he played 19 games. He also got a degree in Sociology from the prestigious school during that time.

Standing at 7'7'' tall, Lanier was Michigan's tallest man alive in 2015, and one of the tallest twins in the world along with his brother, Jim.

It has also been reported that Lanier had recently got married.

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Back in 2015 Local 4 interview Lanier, he said: "As soon as new people see me it's just always a circus.

"Flying is very expensive. I can only fit in the first class. Dating is very frustrating because I have so many people coming up to me I have no idea if the girl is interested in me or if she's just curious about my height.

The condition that Lanier had meant that his body produced too much growth hormone. And his body would continue to grow in size.

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He told Local 4: "People think it's alright to just come up and ask me how tall I am, to pull my arm, to interrupt my conversations. It's quite frustrating cause I'm a person."

But being the 'Gental Giant' he was meant that he appeared in movies such as It Follows.

He played the brief but unforgettable role of 'Giant Man', one of the many forms that the mysterious 'it' takes in the film.

Lanier admitted that during filming he wasn't even given a script. Instead, he was told to be as intimidating as he could without changing expressions and to have that 'serious I'm gonna get you look'.

The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, people make donations to acromegaly.org to help people with this rare disease.

Rest in Peace, Mike Lanier.

Topics: Basketball, TV and Film, Actor, Community

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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