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
Dune (1984)
as Spice Miner (uncredited)
The Elephant Man (1980)
as Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
The Fabelmans (2022)
as John Ford
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
as Gordon Cole
Inland Empire (2006)
as Bucky J, the gaffer (voice)
Beatles '64 (2024)
as Self
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
as Gordon Cole
Side by Side (2012)
as Self
Plankton Salesmen (2017)
as Self (archive footage)
Morceaux de Cannes (2021)
Actor
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
as Self
Lucky (2017)
as Howard
Heart Beat (1980)
as Painter (uncredited)
Heart of the Festival (2002)
as Self (archive footage)
Girlfriend's Day (2017)
as Narrator (voice)
Destination Dune (1983)
as Self
WHAT DID JACK DO? (2017)
as Detective
Lynch (one) (2007)
as Self
Nadja (1995)
as Morgue Receptionist
Lynch 2 (2007)
as Self
David Lynch: The Art Life (2017)
as Self
Blue Velvet Revisited (2016)
as Self
I Know Catherine, the Log Lady (2026)
as Self
The Amputee (1974)
as The Nurse
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2006)
as Self
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013)
as Self
La Traversée du désir (2009)
as Self
Lumière & Company (1995)
as Self
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988)
as Self - Audience Member
Lynch/Oz (2023)
as Self (archival footage)
Made in the USA (1993)
as Self
Hollywood Mavericks (1990)
as Self
Why Are We Creative? (2018)
as Self
Critic (2008)
as Self (voice)
The 8th Floor (2014)
as Self
What Is Cinema? (2013)
as Self
Moby Doc (2021)
as Self
The Man with the Gray Elevated Hair (2017)
as Self
Brunes et Blondes (2010)
as Self
Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart (2004)
Actor
The Black Ghiandola (2017)
as Man In Black
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch (1990)
as Self
A Fall from Grace (—)
as William Tabb
Zelly & Me (1988)
as Willie
The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune (2021)
as Self (voice) (archive footage)
A Very Lovely Dream: One Week in Twin Peaks (2017)
as Self
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch (1997)
as Self
Along for the Ride (2016)
as Self
Mysteries of Love (2002)
as Self (archive footage)
Great Directors (2009)
as Self
Crazy About the Movies: Dennis Hopper (1991)
as Self
Curtains Up (2018)
Actor
Professor Goudet's Lessons (2013)
as Self
The Reality of Truth (2016)
as Self
Rammstein in Amerika (2015)
as Self
Two Blue Balls (2017)
as Self
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money (1996)
as Self
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise (2013)
as Self
Elvis | Viva Las Vegas (2008)
as Self
Tell It Martin (2017)
as Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments (2004)
as Self
Twin Peaks: The Phenomenon (2017)
as Self
Behind the Red Curtain (2017)
as Self
I Had Bad Milk in Dehradun (2017)
as Self
Night Flight: Born Again (2016)
as Self
The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld (2025)
Actor
A Bloody Finger in Your Mouth (2017)
as Self
On Meditation (2016)
as Self
A Slice of Lynch (2007)
as Self
A Pot of Boiling Oil (2017)
as Self
The Way of Samodelkin (2009)
as Stranger in a dream
In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story (1999)
as Self
The Polish Accountant (2017)
as Self
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) (2003)
as Self
The Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2004)
as Self
Between Two Worlds (2014)
as Self
Eraserhead Stories (2001)
as Self
The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)
as Self
Memory Film (2012)
Actor
Brand: A Second Coming (2015)
as Self
David Wants to Fly (2010)
as Self
Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers (2017)
as Self
The Number of Completion (2017)
as Self
See You on the Other Side Dear Friend (2017)
as Self
2012: Time for Change (2010)
as Self
Meeting the Beatles in India (2020)
as Self
The Making Of A Mockumentary (2025)
as Himself (archive footage)
My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014)
as Self
Bad Binoculars (2017)
as Self
Rocksteppy (2017)
as Himself
No Frank in Lumberton (1988)
as Self
I Don't Know Jack (2002)
as Self
Ringo Starr: A Lifetime of Peace and Love (2014)
as Self
Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul (2001)
as Self
Welcome Home: Mary Reber and the Twin Peaks Palmer House (2021)
as Self
Early Experiments (2008)
Actor
David Lynch: Insight (2017)
as Self
BlueBob Egg (2002)
as Billy Groper
The A-Z of Separating People from their Money (1998)
as Self
Red Fish (2009)
as O Sábio
The Music of David Lynch (2016)
as Self
David Lynch in Oslo (2010)
as Self
David Lynch: Don't Look at Me (1989)
as Self
Sailing with Bushnell Keeler (1967)
Actor
David Lynch: 1985 (2005)
as Self
Return to Mulholland Drive (2003)
as Self
Dynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com (2007)
as himself
Shadows of Paradise (2016)
Actor
Eyes Behind the Lens (2026)
as Voice (Uncredited, Archive)
The Sound of Lynch (2007)
Actor
David Lynch: The Idea Dictates Everything (2021)
as David Lynch
Boat (2003)
as The Man
What Would David Lynch Do? (2026)
as Self (Archived Footage)
Out Yonder — Chicken (2007)
Actor
Twin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008 (2008)
as Self
When Lynch Met Lucas (2010)
Actor
This Is Sparklehorse (2022)
as Self
Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff (1994)
as Himself
Hollyshorts Greeting (2008)
as Himself
Does That Hurt You? (2003)
as Self
The Soul Detective (2009)
as Himself
It's a Beautiful World (2014)
as Self
Ångesthunden och Malmö under vatten (2011)
as Himself
The Original Image - David Lynch (2019)
Actor
Out Yonder — Teeth (2003)
Actor
Meditation, Creativity, Peace (2012)
as Self
David Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film (2019)
as Himself
Ruth, Roses, and Revolver (1987)
as Himself
The Disc of Sorrow Is Installed (2002)
Actor
David Lynch: The Virtual Life (2020)
as himself
Out Yonder — Neighbor Boy (2002)
Actor
David Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange (2025)
as Self (archive footage)
Donovan: The Donovan Concert - Live in L.A. (2007)
as Himself
Lamp (2003)
as Self