Legendary filmmaker David Lynch passed away on Thursday, and many of his collaborators posted tributes online including actor Kyle MacLachlan. Maclachlan got his first film credit starring in Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Dune, followed by his next movie Blue Velvet and then in his acclaimed mystery TV series Twin Peaks a few years later. The two worked together closely for many years — as MacLachlan emphasized in his Instagram post featuring nine photos of them together, mostly from years past where MacLachlan clearly regarded Lynch as a mentor. He wrote a long tribute to Lynch there, and many fans and colleagues commented to say how much this eulogy resonated with them.
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“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,” MacLachlan began. “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 was 25 years old when he made his big screen debut as Paul Atreides in Dune, and his very next role was in Lynch’s mystery thriller Blue Velvet. He then had three years and two movies away from Lynch before reuniting on Twin Peaks. He wrote that their “friendship blossomed” throughout these projects, adding, “I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I’d ever met.”
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“David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human,” he went on. “He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath. 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.”
In the end, MacLachlan addressed Lynch directly, writing, “David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.”
Fans commented their condolences for MacLachlan and their own fond memories of Lynch. They also remarked on the collection of photos here, most of which appear to be on the older side. Only three show Lynch with white hair, the others likely coming from the production and release of Dune, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks.
Lynch’s family announced his passing on social media on Thursday. The filmmaker would have been 79 years old on Monday, January 20th. tributes to Lynch continue to fill social media at the time of this writing.
