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Deep Roy
Deep Roy (53725207113).jpg
Roy at the 2024 Brussels Comic Con
Born
Mohinder Purba

(1957-12-01) 1 December 1957 (age 67)
Nairobi, Kenya Colony
Other names Gurdeep
Occupation
  • Actor
  • puppeteer
  • stuntman
Years active 1976–present
Height 132 cm (4 ft 4 in)

Gurdeep "Deep" Roy (born Mohinder Purba; 1 December 1957) is a talented actor, puppeteer, and stuntman from Kenya and Britain. He is known for playing many unique characters in movies and TV shows. Because he is 132 centimeters (about 4 feet 4 inches) tall, he often plays smaller characters.

You might know him as Teeny Weeny from The NeverEnding Story. He also played all the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was also Keenser in the Star Trek movies. On TV, he has appeared in popular shows like The X-Files, Doctor Who, and Eastbound & Down.

Life and career

Deep Roy was born on December 1, 1957, in Nairobi, Kenya. His family was Indian and Sikh. He started studying accounting in London but left when he was 18. After that, he joined The Slim Wood School of Comedy.

He began his career in entertainment in England in the 1970s. He performed as a stand-up comedian in local clubs. In 1970, he performed on stage in a play called Miracle Worker. His first TV role was in 1976 in an episode of The New Avengers. Later that year, he made his first movie appearance in The Pink Panther Strikes Again.

One of his early and memorable TV roles was as Mr. Sin in the Doctor Who series The Talons of Weng-Chiang. He also played different characters in the TV show Blake's 7. You might be surprised to learn that he was a stand-in for the famous Jedi Master Yoda in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He isn't officially credited, but you can see him in many behind-the-scenes photos dressed as Yoda.

Deep Roy has played apes in two movies. He was in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. He also played a young gorilla boy and Thade's niece in the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes.

He has worked with director Tim Burton on several films. These include Big Fish (2003) and Corpse Bride (2005), where he voiced General Bonesapart. His most famous collaboration with Tim Burton was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). In this movie, he played all 165 Oompa-Loompas! Director Tim Burton called him the "hardest-working man in show biz" because of all his hard work. For this role, Roy had to train a lot in dance, yoga, and even playing some musical instruments.

He has taken on many other interesting roles. These include parts in The X-Files, Flash Gordon, and Return to Oz where he was a puppeteer for the Tin Woodman. He was also a puppeteer for The Dark Crystal. In The NeverEnding Story, he played Teeny Weeny, who rode a racing snail. He also appeared as Droopy McCool in Return of the Jedi.

In 2009, he appeared in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as an Egyptian border guard. He also played Keenser, Scotty's assistant, in the movie Star Trek. He played Keenser again in the sequels Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. Deep Roy also had a bigger speaking role as Aaron in the HBO comedy Eastbound & Down. In 2012, he starred in a short film called The Ballad of Sandeep.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1976 The Pink Panther Strikes Again Italian Assassin
1980 Flash Gordon Fellini
1980 The Empire Strikes Back Yoda stand-in
R2-D2 (double)
Uncredited
1982 The Dark Crystal Additional performer
1983 Return of the Jedi Droopy McCool/puppeteer
R2-D2 (body double)
Ewok
1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Primate sequences
1984 The NeverEnding Story Teeny Weeny Voice overdubbed
1985 Return to Oz Tin Man
(puppeteer)
1988 Alien from L.A. Mambino
1991 Howling VI: The Freaks Toones
2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas Post office clerk
2001 Planet of the Apes Gorilla kid / Thade's niece
2003 Big Fish Mr. Soggybottom
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Oompa-Loompas Singing voice provided by Danny Elfman
2005 Corpse Bride General Bonesapart Voice
2009 Star Trek Keenser
2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Egyptian guard
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness Keenser
2016 Star Trek Beyond Keenser

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1976 The New Avengers Klokoe Episode: Target!
1977, 1986 Doctor Who Mr. Sin/Posicarian delegate (uncredited) The Talons of Weng-Chiang/Mindwarp
1978–1980 Blake's 7 Decima/The Klute/Moloch/Link 4 episodes
2001 The X-Files Beggar man Episode: Badlaa
2010 Eastbound & Down Aaron 4 episodes

Music videos

Year Title Role Artist
1996 "Grind" Evil Cherub 1 Alice in Chains
2007 "Calm Down Dearest" Jamie T
2021 "Atenção" Oompa-Loompas Pedro Sampaio and Luísa Sonza

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Deep Roy para niños

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