"I grew up in Michigan, in a very small town, Centreville. In my graduating class, I had like 92 people"
About this Quote
The intent isn’t to impress; it’s to normalize. Troyer is signaling, almost defensively, that before the spotlight and the tabloid economy of “look at him,” he was just another kid in a place small enough that everyone knows your business. That detail matters because small-town life cuts two ways: it can mean community, but it can also mean nowhere to hide. For someone with dwarfism, being “known” in a town of 92 classmates can read as intimacy and exposure at the same time.
The subtext is a demand for proportionality. Hollywood often reduces actors like Troyer to spectacle, a sight gag, a prop. By grounding himself in the banal math of class size, he reclaims authorship over his narrative: my life has coordinates; my story didn’t begin on a set. It’s also a subtle reminder that fame doesn’t erase where you’re formed. Centreville isn’t trivia; it’s a counterweight to the cultural tendency to flatten him into one character and one joke.
Quote Details
| Topic | Graduation |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Troyer, Verne. (2026, January 15). I grew up in Michigan, in a very small town, Centreville. In my graduating class, I had like 92 people. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-grew-up-in-michigan-in-a-very-small-town-168646/
Chicago Style
Troyer, Verne. "I grew up in Michigan, in a very small town, Centreville. In my graduating class, I had like 92 people." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-grew-up-in-michigan-in-a-very-small-town-168646/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I grew up in Michigan, in a very small town, Centreville. In my graduating class, I had like 92 people." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-grew-up-in-michigan-in-a-very-small-town-168646/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







