Martin Klebba (born June 23, 1969) is an American actor and stunt performer. He has a form of dwarfism called acromicric dysplasia; he is 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 m).[1] Klebba is best known for his role as Marty in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Martin Klebba | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Klebba in 2007 | |
| Born | June 23, 1969 Troy, Michigan, U.S. |
| Education | Athens High School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Height | 4 ft 1 in (124 cm) |
| Spouse | Michelle Dilgard |
| Children | 2 |
Personal life
editKlebba was born and grew up in Troy, Michigan, graduating from Athens High School.[2]
Klebba runs a nonprofit foundation called Coalition for Dwarf Advocacy, which gives 100% of its donations to the cause of helping little people.[3]
Career
editEarly career
editKlebba was an occasional guest on The Howard Stern Show in the 1990s and early 2000s, and was given the nickname "Marty the Midget".[4]
Film
editMartin Klebba has acted in various productions, most notably the Pirates of the Caribbean series as Marty, a dwarf pirate member of Captain Jack Sparrow's crew in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The character was originally named "Dirk," but someone, possibly director Gore Verbinski, preferred the actor's real name instead.[5] Klebba reprised his role in the sequels Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, and Dead Men Tell No Tales. On the role, Klebba was quoted in saying he's a normal guy who fell into the franchise, one stunt turned into four out of five movies.[6]
In 2003, Klebba played the ring announcer in the Cradle 2 the Grave. In 2009, Klebba played the role of "Count Le Petite" in All's Faire in Love, a romantic comedy set at a Renaissance fair. He has also been in low budget horror/comedy films Feast II: Sloppy Seconds & Feast III: The Happy Finish as "Thunder."
He has numerous stunt credits as well including Hancock, Zombieland, Bedtime Stories, Evan Almighty, Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie, and Van Helsing. Wearing motion capture pajamas, "Marty" stood in for the Dimorphodon who grapples with Chris Pratt in Jurassic World.
Television
editKlebba starred as Friday, one of the seven dwarfs, in the 2001 made-for-TV film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All. In 2003, Klebba starred as Hank Dingo in the Comedy Central made-for-TV movie Knee High P.I.. He also made an appearance as a demon in the Charmed, season 6 episode Witch Wars (2004). He has also appeared in iCarly and Drake & Josh as Nug Nug.
Klebba made many appearances as Randall Winston in the television series Scrubs. He starred in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "The Chick Chop Flick Shop" (2007) as Dickie Jones, and in the CSI: NY episode "Uncertainty Rules" (2010) as Calvin Moore. Also in 2010, Klebba guest starred as Hibachi in Pair of Kings, a Disney TV series. He played Todd Moore in the Bones (TV series) season 5 episode "Dwarf in the Dirt" (2010).
Klebba has also been featured on the TLC reality show, Little People, Big World, with his good friend Amy Roloff. He will be featured in one episode of VH-1's I'm Married to a..., in which his average sized wife talks about being married to a little person.
In 2011, Klebba appeared on The Cape as a series regular named "Rollo". He also appeared once again as one of Snow White's dwarves in Mirror Mirror (2012), which starred Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, and Lily Collins.
Music Videos
editKlebba appears as the "New Year Baby" in the music video for "Truth" by the South African rock band, Seether.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Planet of the Apes | Monkey Grinder's Pet | Uncredited role |
| Corky Romano | Mini Bouncer | ||
| How High | Party Guest | ||
| 2002 | Run Ronnie Run | Music Video Doorman | |
| Big Fat Liar | Kissing Bandit | Uncredited role | |
| Death to Smoochy | Rhinette / Krinkle Kid #3 | ||
| Men in Black II | Family Child Alien | ||
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | Dancer | Uncredited role | |
| Blood Shot | Secret Weapon | Short film | |
| 2003 | National Security | Security Guard | Uncredited role |
| Cradle 2 the Grave | Fight Announcer | ||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Marty | ||
| El Matador | Me Too | ||
| A Light in the Forest | Boar | ||
| Looney Tunes: Back in Action | Dancing Yosemite Sam | ||
| The Haunted Mansion | Pickwick | Uncredited role | |
| 2004 | Van Helsing | Dwerger | |
| 2005 | Americano | Matador | |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Marty | |
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Marty | |
| Cougar Club | Short Boss Man | Uncredited role | |
| The Santa Trap | Special Ops Elf | ||
| 2008 | Hancock | Prisoner | Uncredited role |
| Feast II: Sloppy Seconds | Thunder | Direct-to-video | |
| 2009 | Feast III: The Happy Finish | Thunder | |
| American High School | Principal Mann | ||
| All's Faire in Love | Count Le Petit | ||
| 2010 | A Short Film | Cowboy | Short film |
| 2011 | Night of the Little Dead | Little Dead | |
| In the Gray | – | Producer only | |
| 2012 | Project X | Dwarf Partygoer | Credited as Angry Little Person |
| Mirror Mirror | Butcher | ||
| 2013 | Movie 43 | Killer Chaun | |
| Oz the Great and Powerful | Nikko | ||
| Blood Shot | Marud | ||
| 2014 | The Hungover Games | Fruito | |
| The Bag Man | Guano | ||
| Left Behind | Melvin Weir | ||
| 2015 | Jurassic World | Dimorphodon | |
| Ted 2 | Chucky | ||
| 2016 | Range 15 | Zombie Klebba | |
| All Hallows' Eve | Barnaby | ||
| 2017 | Eloise | Mental Patient | |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | Marty | ||
| 2019 | Viy 2: Journey to China | Captain | |
| 2025 | The Electric State | Herman | Post-production |
| Snow White | Grumpy |
Television
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Charmed | Bar Guest | Episode: "Witch Wars" |
| 2001 | Snow White: The Fairest of Them All | Friday | Television film |
| 2009 | Bones | Todd Moore | Episode: "The Dwarf in The Dirt" |
| 2011 | Pair of Kings | Hibachi | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Thundermans | Troll | Episode: "Happy Heroween" |
| 2021 | Pacific Rim: The Black | Spyder (voice) | Recurring role (season 1) |
References
edit- ^ Marty the Midget got married, archived from the original on 2021-07-12, retrieved 2021-07-12
- ^ McClatchy-Tribune Information Service (2011-01-05). "Martin Klebba has fun with his slightly shady character on 'The Cape'". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- ^ Cooper, Chet. "Martin Klebba". Ability. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
- ^ "MarksFriggin.com - Stern Show Archive (For The Week Of 9/9/2002 to 9/13/2002)".
- ^ Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean, pg.83
- ^ "'Marty' meets pirate film fans". 24 July 2022.