He played Tini in The House of a Thousand Corpses and Cast out by the Devil by Rob Zombie, Karl in Tim Burton's Big Fish. He often got the roles of giants in other famous films and series: he was a demon in "Constantine", a tall alien in the science fiction comedy "People in Black", a huge one in "Charmed". His roles, although they were not the main ones, were remembered by the audience, and all because this actor introduced something into his characters that distinguished them from all the others. He probably gave them part of his soul. This is Matthew McGrory, a giant actor who, unfortunately, has already passed away.
early years
Matthew was born May 17, 1973 in West Chester, PA. Already at an early age, the boy began to manifest a disease associated with a violation of the pituitary gland - gigantism. It is known that when Matthew entered the first grade of elementary school, his growth was already more than one and a half meters.
In his native West Chester, McGrory studied the difficult profession of a forensic expert. But, having discovered his acting talent, he decided to quit his prestigious job. Thus began the career of a giant actor.
Matthew McGrory: movies
The film’s debut was “God on TV” (1999), in which he got the predictable role of a giant. A year later, there was a tape called "The Dead Hate the Living", and again McGrory played a tall strong man in it.
In the comedy series "Malcolm in the Spotlight," Matthew got the role of Lothar. This character was also insignificant, like the same tall alien in People in Black. McGrory began to recognize after the picture of Rob Zombie "House of a thousand corpses." In it, the actor played Tini. This character also suffered from gigantism and was completely scarred, as Dr. Satan set experiments on him in childhood. In the sequel to The House of a Thousand Corpses, the film Exiled by the Devil, Tini saves his family and enters a burning estate because he does not want to live anymore like other members of this clan of brutal killers.
In the picture "Big Fish" McGrory played the giant Karl, kind and sad, who wants to empathize, sympathize. Then there were roles in the series Charmed and Carnival, work on the films Long Time, Planet Pitts, Narrator, Constantine: Lord of Darkness, Fight with Shadow, Existence. All the characters played by McGrory were giants, but many of them turned out to be as soulful and kind as he was.
A little about gigantism and features of the disease at McGrory
Matthew McGrory, whose height was extremely high - 2 meters and 29 centimeters, suffered from gigantism. This pathology usually manifests itself already in early childhood, as happened with Matthew. Then, when such a child enters the phase of puberty, another growth spurt occurs.
This disease is manifested not only externally, it also has a number of specific symptoms that a person has to put up with throughout his life. These are headaches and joint pains, fatigue and general weakness, impaired vision. In addition, gigantism is often accompanied by diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, emphysema, infertility.
There is a cure for the disease. As a rule, it is carried out when the patient is still in childhood, and consists in taking special hormones and orthopedic correction of posture. But still it is impossible to completely recover from gigantism. The prognosis for patients is disappointing: usually their lives end early because of concomitant pathologies. So it happened with McGrory.
Matthew McGrory: Cause of Death
The actor passed away early. This happened in 2005, when McGrory was thirty-two. He lived in Sherman Oaks, California, with his girlfriend Melissa. On August 8, the actor had an attack of heart failure, and the doctors could not help him. Released by the Devil, Rob Zombie’s movie released after McGrory’s death was dedicated to the memory of the giant actor.
In 2005, McGrory was busy filming the film "Andre: The Heart of a Giant", where he played an athlete. Unfortunately, his work on this picture was never completed.
Another noteworthy fact about the actor concerns the recording of him in the Guinness Book of Records. In 2006, it was reprinted and McGrory was listed in it as the owner of the longest feet (75 cm) among living people.
What was Matthew McGrory?
Everyone who knew the actor personally said that Matthew was a gentle and kind person, a pleasant conversationalist and an attentive listener. Yes, he made a frightening impression on some people at the first meeting, but it quickly disappeared. McGrory disposed to himself, he wanted to trust, he wanted to talk to him.
The actor was associated not only with cinema, but also with music. He starred in the Iron Maiden video for the song The Wicker Man and in the Coma White video for Marilyn Manson. And if in the first video on McGrory there was an awesome mask (but, again, he inevitably wanted to follow the main character of the plot), then in the second the actor seemed to embody himself. The fragile dancer clung to him in search of support, and Manson in the image of President Kennedy sought solace from him. And invariably Matthew McGrory, sad and thoughtful, as if tired of this mortal world, supported and helped, giving the heroes hope and strength to fight on.