David Lynch
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David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Lynch received critical acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities. In his 58-year career, he was awarded numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. In 2007, a panel of critics convened by The Guardian announced that "after all the discussion, no one could fault the conclusion that David Lynch is the most important filmmaker of the current era." Lynch studied painting before he began making short films in the late 1960s. His first feature-length film was the independent surrealist film Eraserhead (1977), which saw success as a midnight movie. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the biographical drama The Elephant Man (1980) and the mystery films Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001). His romantic crime drama Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed the space opera adaptation Dune (1984), the surrealist neo-noir Lost Highway (1997), the biographical drama The Straight Story (1999), and the experimental film Inland Empire (2006). Lynch and Mark Frost created the ABC series Twin Peaks (1990–91), for which Lynch was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Lynch co-wrote and directed its film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and its limited series revival (2017). He has also worked as an actor, including his portrayals of FBI agent Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks and director John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2022), as well as guest roles in TV series such as The Cleveland Show (2010–13), Louie (2012), and Robot Chicken (2020, 2022). Lynch's other artistic endeavours included his work as a musician, encompassing the studio albums BlueBOB (2001), Crazy Clown Time (2011), and The Big Dream (2013), as well as painting and photography. He has written the books Images (1994), Catching the Big Fish (2006), and Room to Dream (2018). He has directed several music videos for artists such as Chris Isaak, X Japan, Moby, Interpol, Nine Inch Nails, and Donovan, and commercials for Calvin Klein, Dior, L'Oreal, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, and the New York City Department of Sanitation. A practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), he founded the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to fund the teaching of TM in schools and has since widened its scope to other at-risk populations, including the homeless, veterans, and refugees.
Known for
Credits
The Fabelmans (2022)
as John Ford
Dune (1984)
as Spice Miner (uncredited)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
as Gordon Cole
The Elephant Man (1980)
as Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
Inland Empire (2006)
as Bucky J, the gaffer (voice)
Hollywood Mavericks (1990)
as Self
Plankton Salesmen (2017)
as Self (archive footage)
Nadja (1995)
as Morgue Receptionist
Lynch 2 (2007)
as Self
Welcome to Twin Peaks (1997)
as Self - Interviewee / Gordon Cole
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
as Self
Bad Binoculars (2017)
as Self
Lucky (2017)
as Howard
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
as Gordon Cole
Morceaux de Cannes (2021)
Actor
The Black Ghiandola (2017)
as Man In Black
Mysteries of Love (2002)
as Self (archive footage)
Why Are We Creative? (2018)
as Self
David Lynch: The Art Life (2017)
as Self
Beatles '64 (2024)
as Self
Night Flight: Born Again (2016)
as Self
Side by Side (2012)
as Self
Lynch/Oz (2023)
as Self (archival footage)
Girlfriend's Day (2017)
as Narrator (voice)
The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)
as Self
Message to the Allied Forces (1991)
as Gordon Cole/Self (Voice)
Dynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com (2007)
as himself
WHAT DID JACK DO? (2017)
as Detective
Made in the USA (1993)
as Self
I Don't Know Jack (2002)
as Self
Rammstein in Amerika (2015)
as Self
Lynch (one) (2007)
as Self
Brunes et Blondes (2010)
as Self
Blue Velvet Revisited (2016)
as Self
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013)
as Self
The Amputee (1974)
as The Nurse
David Wants to Fly (2010)
as Self
Elvis | Viva Las Vegas (2008)
as Self
I Know Catherine, the Log Lady (2026)
as Self
In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story (1999)
as Self
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988)
as Self - Audience Member
Lumière & Company (1995)
as Self
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch (1997)
as Self
Moby Doc (2021)
as Self
2012: Time for Change (2010)
as Self
The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld (2025)
Actor
Eraserhead Stories (2001)
as Self
La Traversée du désir (2009)
as Self
My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014)
as Self
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise (2013)
as Self
The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune (2021)
as Self (voice) (archive footage)
Along for the Ride (2016)
as Self
David Lynch in Oslo (2010)
as Self
Boat (2003)
as The Man
Change Begins Within (2012)
Actor
The 8th Floor (2014)
as Self
Between Two Worlds (2014)
as Self
David Lynch: Insight (2017)
as Self
Meeting the Beatles in India (2020)
as Self
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) (2003)
as Self
A Pot of Boiling Oil (2017)
as Self
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch (1990)
as Self
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money (1996)
as Self
The Music of David Lynch (2016)
as Self
Zelly & Me (1988)
as Willie
A Bloody Finger in Your Mouth (2017)
as Self
The Reality of Truth (2016)
as Self
Ringo Starr: A Lifetime of Peace and Love (2014)
as Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments (2004)
as Self
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2006)
as Self
Heart of the Festival (2002)
as Self (archive footage)
Brand: A Second Coming (2015)
as Self
David Lynch: Don't Look at Me (1989)
as Self
The Polish Accountant (2017)
as Self
The Number of Completion (2017)
as Self
Critic (2008)
as Self (voice)
Professor Goudet's Lessons (2013)
as Self
The Man with the Gray Elevated Hair (2017)
as Self
Return to Mulholland Drive (2003)
as Self
Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart (2004)
Actor
See You on the Other Side Dear Friend (2017)
as Self
Destination Dune (1983)
as Self
Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers (2017)
as Self
A Slice of Lynch (2007)
as Self
The Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2004)
as Self
Welcome Home: Mary Reber and the Twin Peaks Palmer House (2021)
as Self
Out Yonder — Neighbor Boy (2002)
Actor
Great Directors (2009)
as Self
Out Yonder — Chicken (2007)
Actor
Crazy About the Movies: Dennis Hopper (1991)
as Self
Heart Beat (1980)
as Painter (uncredited)
The Sound of Lynch (2007)
Actor
It's a Beautiful World (2014)
as Self
A Very Lovely Dream: One Week in Twin Peaks (2017)
as Self
I Had Bad Milk in Dehradun (2017)
as Self
Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff (1994)
as Himself
Curtains Up (2018)
Actor
Sailing with Bushnell Keeler (1967)
Actor
What Is Cinema? (2013)
as Self
Rocksteppy (2017)
as Himself
Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul (2001)
as Self
On Meditation (2016)
as Self
The Soul Detective (2009)
as Himself
Tell It Martin (2017)
as Self
Early Experiments (2008)
Actor
Red Fish (2009)
as O Sábio
David Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film (2019)
as Himself
Ruth, Roses, and Revolver (1987)
as Himself
Behind the Red Curtain (2017)
as Self
No Frank in Lumberton (1988)
as Self
Does That Hurt You? (2003)
as Self
Meditation, Creativity, Peace (2012)
as Self
I Have a Radio (—)
as Singing Voice
David Lynch: The Virtual Life (2020)
as himself
Two Blue Balls (2017)
as Self
The Original Image - David Lynch (2019)
Actor
The Straight Story: On Set With David Lynch (2024)
as Self
The Disc of Sorrow Is Installed (2002)
Actor
David Lynch: 1985 (2005)
as Self
Shadows of Paradise (2016)
Actor
Out Yonder — Teeth (2003)
Actor
What Would David Lynch Do? (2026)
as Self (Archived Footage)
David Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange (2025)
as Self (archive footage)
Memory Film (2012)
Actor
The Way of Samodelkin (2009)
as Stranger in a dream
This Is Sparklehorse (2022)
as Self
When Lynch Met Lucas (2010)
Actor
Twin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008 (2008)
as Self
Donovan: The Donovan Concert - Live in L.A. (2007)
as Himself
Ångesthunden och Malmö under vatten (2011)
as Himself
Lamp (2003)
as Self
Hollyshorts Greeting (2008)
as Himself
BlueBob Egg (2002)
as Billy Groper
Straight Talking: A Making Of (2024)
as Self