Los Angeles- SEX with 2ft 8ins Austin Powers Mini-Me star Verne Troyer was always going to be a tall order for 5ft 6ins lover Ranae Shrider.

But as the explicit leaked video of the pair’s pasionate romps proved to the world…they wouldn’t let a little thing like that come between them.

And after a judge pulled the explosive footage off the internet, actress Ranae, 22, revealed to the News of the World her own red-hot tale of the tape—and just how 39-year-old Hollywood dwarf Verne measures up in bed.

Brunette Ranae admitted: “I never imagined one day I’d date a man who barely came up to my kneecaps.

“But as soon as I met Verne I was so captivated by his personality, his size didn’t seem to matter.

“I liked him so much I even gave up wearing high heels for six months.

“But sex was very different from anything I’d experienced before, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was tricky making everything work.

“I had to kneel down just to give him a hug. And anything but the traditional missionary position was just impossible. So I’d lie on the bed and Verne would crawl up my legs to have sex with me. And as he did it his feet would be tickling my knees!

“It wasn’t quite as passionate as sex with a normal-sized man but he did his best. He didn’t wear a condom. There was no point, they’re all too big.

“On the whole though, he wasn’t short of sexy skills and tried his hardest to make up in technique what he lacked in size.”

Now Ranae has given us the low-down on their extraordinary six-month fling and revealed how pint-sized Verne:

WOWED her with his Austin staying Powers, making love THREE TIMES in 20 minutes.

ALMOST DROWNED as she tried to seduce him in the bath!

STACKED phone books on chairs so he could eat with her at the table.

LOATHED her miniature pet dog—because it was taller than him.

It was New Year’s Eve when Ranae first met Verne at Playboy boss Hugh Hefner’s party in his Beverly Hills mansion. Ranae says the chemistry was instant. She told us: “He asked for my phone number. I didn’t have anything else to do so I thought why not?”

Her first date with Verne—famous for playing midget clone versions of baddie Dr Evil in the smash Austin Powers movies—was a romantic dinner at seafood restaurant The Lobster overlooking the Pacific in Santa Monica.

Ranae recalled: “Verne told me not to reach down and hold his hand when we walked in as he didn’t want it to look like a child out with his mum.

“When we got to the table he’d fixed for the restaurant to pile three thick phone books on the seat so he could be on the same level as me. Once he’d sat down it was just like having dinner with a normal-sized man.

“We laughed all night and I noticed what amazing eyes Verne had. By the end of the meal I was smitten.

“But Verne played the perfect gent and didn’t lay a finger on me. He just dropped me home and I bent down so he could give me a peck on the cheek.

“It was two weeks before we finally had sex, at his place. I was so nervous I wanted it over and done with—in case there was no chemistry or it just didn’t work because of his size.

“It was a normal-sized bed and once Verne had clambered up, I undressed and laid down next to him.

“For a small guy he’s quite well endowed. I had no complaints.

“But the whole thing was over in three minutes.

“It was strange having sex with someone who couldn’t reach to kiss me at the same time, except for my tummy that is! I was so relieved it was over.

“But minutes later Verne was ready to go again. That night we made love three times in 20 minutes, which most bigger men only dream about doing.”

The pair’s next romp came four weeks later when Verne took Ranae for a romantic Easter break to the luxury L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

It was here they made the infamous sex tape, which last week was sensationally leaked onto the internet after allegedly being stolen from the home the couple still share.

And it was here Verne almost DROWNED in a bubble bath as Ranae tried to spice up their love-making.

“I thought it would be fun to do it in the tub,” she said. “Sadly I almost killed him. While Verne was watching TV I ran the bath, emptied a bottle of bubbles in it and called him in.

“But the bubbles were so thick and high that once he climbed in he got lost under the water and I couldn’t see him.

Frantic
“Verne’s voice is just like it is in the films and as he disappeared under the water, I heard this tiny yelp for help. I could just hear him crying, ‘Ranae, I can’t see! Get me out, I’m drowning!’

“I was frantic and started to scoop the bubbles out so I could find him. The bath was only about 3ft deep but for someone of Verne’s size it was like he’d fallen into the deep end of a swimming pool—and he CAN’T swim. I put my hand under and eventually felt his bald head and hauled him out. I couldn’t believe I’d tried to do something sexy and ended up almost killing him. He looked like a drowned rat.

Click here for pics of Verne and Ranae

“Then when I asked, ‘Shall we have sex now?’ he was so out of breath he just stomped off with foam on his shiny head and said, ‘I don’t feel like it now.’ It was dreadful.”

So the next night, when Verne asked her to star in his DIY sex video, guilty Ranae felt duty-bound to agree.

She said: “Without a doubt there’s nothing Verne enjoys more than seeing himself on screen. Watching his own films is his favourite hobby. So it was no surprise when he asked if he could film us having sex. He said we could use it to get ourselves turned on.”

Verne then turned director…telling Ranae where he wanted furniture because he was too small to move it himself. She said: “Verne ordered champagne and strawberries to get us in the mood. Then we got down to it.

“First the tape shows Verne pleasuring me for 15 minutes which was amazing. The next 45 minutes is us having sex. And we really enjoyed ourselves.”

Pizza
Within weeks the pair were so in love they rented an apartment in Hollywood together. But that’s when their little-and-large romance began to unravel. Ranae said: “The fact is, because of his size, Verne can’t do a lot of stuff. So I ended up feeling more like a carer than his girlfriend. We only had sex one more time after that.

“And at home Verne couldn’t be bothered with phone books on the chair so we ate at the coffee table, him on a stool and me on the floor.

“Luckily I didn’t have to cook much—because after two biscuits Verne is full. One slice of Hawaiian pizza and he’s happy for the rest of the day!”

And Ranae discovered there were times when Verne’s shortcomings did make him miserable. “Obviously part of him wishes he could be as big as a regular man,” she said. “Verne absolutely hated looking in the mirror.

“And he detested my little Maltese dog Lacey because when she stood on her back legs she was bigger than him.”

Booze was a problem, too. Last year Verne confessed he was battling to beat the booze after the collapse of his two-month marriage to 6ft2ins yoga instructor Genevieve Gallen.

Ranae said: “Verne regularly drinks five beers at a time, which for a man his size is lethal. I’d tell him he’d had enough but his pals just told him to ignore me. In the end Verne put his friends before me and now it’s over.

“We live in the same apartment but have separate rooms. I still care for Verne—but sadly Verne cares more about himself.”

And that’s the long and short of it.