Who Is That: Crispin Glover

Name: Crispin Glover
Occupation: Actor
Genre: Film
Born: April 20, 1964

Let's call a spade a spade, when your middle name is Hellion you're bound to lead a life of eccentricity met with raised eyebrows. And thusly Crispin Hellion Glover is one of the most unique personalities in history to appear on the big screen.

While his commercial success as an actor has been up and down for most of his career, Hollywood directors always come back to him before too long. Tim Burton is the latest to utilize Glover's talents, having cast him in the upcoming films 9 and Alice in Wonderland.

Beginning his career at the age of 13 in several films, sitcoms, and television movies, Glover's breakthrough came with his unforgettable performance as George McFly in Robert Zemeckis' timeless classic Back to the Future. This film's release came just after, and completely overshadowed, Glover's work in a short film entitled The Orkly Kid which he has said was one of his favorite performances.

Always opting for the more artistic and alternative paths, Glover turned down the offer to reprise his role in Back to the Future II (and successfully sued the producers for using his likeness in the second film). He would instead go on to win critical praise for his performance as an ever-stressed murder witness in the indie film River's Edge alongside soon-to-be superstar Keanu Reeves.

Over the next fourteen years, Glover's film appearances would be few and far between, though he would put forth memorable work in films such as What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Little Noises, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and as Andy Warhol in Oliver Stone's The Doors. He would also focus on writing books which he self-published under his Volcanic Eruptions publishing company.

Commercial success and mainstream audiences would be reintroduced to Crispin Glover in 2000 when he appeared in the smash hit film adaptation of Charlie's Angels. His performance as the "Creepy Thin Man" would win over audiences and even land him a revival of the role in the sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

In recent years Glover has made appearances in films such as Crime and Punishment, Incident at Loch Ness, Epic Movie, and was reunited with Robert Zemeckis for the huge-budgeted Paramount Picture Beowulf.

Glover also appeared in a supremely dark and disturbing remake as the title character in Willard, a macabre story of a man who befriends the inhabitants of his mouse and rat infested basement. The film earned him critical praise for his performance, but the movie did not do well in the box office.

Aside from his upcoming performances in Tim Burton's highly anticipated releases of 9 and Alice in Wonderland, Glover is also set to star alongside Judd Nelson in the horror film The I Scream Man, as well as the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine with John Cusack, Lizzy Caplan, and Chevy Chase.

When it comes to Crispin Glover, he's somewhat like receiving a birthday present from a stranger. You have no idea what to expect, but you simply must unwrap that present and find out.

Below is the richly bizarre music video made for the film Willard in which Glover sings to an over-sized rat named "Ben".