Mulholland Drive star Naomi Watts and Twin Peaks actor Kyle MacLachlan paid heartfelt tributes to filmmaker David Lynch following his death on Thursday at the age of 78.
After making his debut as Paul Atreides in Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Dune, MacLachlan starred in the 1986 crime film Blue Velvet and then as agent Dale Cooper in the 1990 television series Twin Peaks. He went on to feature in the 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and in the third season of the series titled Twin Peaks: The Return.
MacLachlan said that he owes his life and his career to the late filmmaker. “While the world has lost a remarkable artist, I’ve lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own,” he wrote in his tribute shared on Facebook.
“Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie. He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision. What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to,” MacLachlan said, adding that the filmmaker was the “the most authentically alive person” he had ever met.
“David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human. He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath,” the 65-year-old actor mentioned.
Reminiscing a beautiful memory with Lynch, the veteran actor wrote, “I can see him now, standing up to greet me in his backyard, with a warm smile and big hug and that Great Plains honk of a voice. We’d talk coffee, the joy of the unexpected, the beauty of the world, and laugh.”
MacLachlan said that his friendship with Lynch blossomed as they always wanted the best for each other. “His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic fate of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other,” he said. “I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone,” he added.
Concluding his note, Maclachlan wrote, “David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.”
Naomi Watts worked with Lynch in his 2001 thriller film Mulholland Drive, which premiered as a pilot episode of a Twin Peaks-esque television series, only to be cancelled and turned into a film later on, which would go on to become one of his most celebrated works. Lynch was nominated for an Academy Award for best director for the film.
Watts, who also appeared in the third season of Twin Peaks, penned a poignant tribute where she mentioned that the filmmaker had put her on the “map”. In her note, she wrote, “My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave… The world will not be the same without him. His creative mentorship was truly powerful. He put me on the map. The world I’d been trying to break into for ten plus years, flunking auditions left and right.”
Recalling the beginning of her career when she was failing at auditions before finally meeting Lynch and feeling comfortable, Naomi wrote, “Finally, I sat in front of a curious man, beaming with light, speaking words from another era, making me laugh and feel at ease. How did he even “see me” when I was so well hidden, and I’d even lost sight of myself.”
Naomi said that it wasn’t just his art that inspired her. “His wisdom, humor, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before,” she said.
“Every moment together felt charged with a presence I've rarely seen or known. Probably because, yes, he seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of. And David invited all to glimpse into that world through his exquisite storytelling, which elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers across the globe,” she wrote, before expressing her grief over the director’s passing.
“I just cannot believe that he's gone. I’m in pieces but forever grateful for our friendship. I’m yelling from the bullhorn: Godspeed, Buddy Dave! Thank you for your everything. —Buttercup xox,” she concluded her note.
Lynch’s family confirmed his death on social media on Thursday. “It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way,” they issued a statement on Facebook.