David Lynch’s favourite on-screen surrogate: “Maybe he’s kind of an alter ego”
There are some creative combos in which an actor and director are like two peas in a pod, whether it be Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, or Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennot. It is rare for two souls to completely align, with a creative synergy that transcends to the screen and leads to some of the most electric and synchronised collaborations of all time.
Films like Lady Bird, Raging Bull and Bottoms are made through the inherent understanding and connection between the central performer and director, translating their ideas through the language of cinema. However, there is one partnership that is perhaps most famous in television and film, with the legendary David Lynch frequently working with one star who transformed his work.
Kyle MacLachlan is the sweetheart of Hollywood – a genuinely kind and generous soul who brought iconic characters like Special Agent Dale Cooper to life and stole our hearts through his endearingly optimistic and innocent persona, and a bright light within the darkness of Twin Peaks. It’s a character trait that extends to his real-life self, with the actor being almost uncanny to his character, yet he is able to adapt to such dark stories.
The actor first worked with Lynch for his fabled adaptation of Dune in 1984, a commercial flop that led MacLachlan to worry that he had blown his breakout role and would never be asked by Lynch to work with him again. However, much to his surprise, Lynch called him up a year or so later with the script for Blue Velvet, and the pair were as thick as thieves ever since.
MacLachlan became a regular in his story worlds, with Lynch describing his relationship to the actor by saying, “There are some actors I return to—Kyle MacLachlan, for instance. I like Kyle, and maybe he’s kind of an alter ego. But the rule of thumb, obviously, is to get the right person for that role. And that’s what you go for. So the thing is, even though Kyle is my friend, if he’s not right for the part, unfortunately, he doesn’t get that part.”
Adding, “What’s also really interesting is that when you work with somebody, you pick that person for a particular role. But then, during lunch or something, you see another side of that person. And you remember that. So if there’s another role that comes up, and somebody says, ‘Well, Kyle couldn’t do that,’ you may remember this side of him and say, ‘Yes, he could.’”
New sides to a person can be revealed in any given moment, with the most inconspicuous of events showing a new quality that makes you see them in a different light, something that Lynch was able to see in people and use in his work. He was able to see things in people that they couldn’t see themselves, meaning that he could recognise the light and dark in MacLachlan and find the perfect role for him as Dale Cooper. All it takes is one person to see your potential, and this was all it took for Lynch to make MacLachlan one of the most beloved actors of all time.
