Kyle MacLachlan has explained why David Lynch never chose to explain any of his films and television shows, despite being constantly asked by reporters and fans alike.
Lynch, the much celebrated director of Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks and The Elephant Man died on January 15th, aged 78. His family announced his passing in a Facebook post on Thursday (16 January), writing: “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.’”
In the wake of his death, numerous tributes have been paid to Lynch by those who worked with him closely, including Naomi Watts, Nicolas Cage, Madchen Amick and Lara Flynn Boyle.
Kyle MacLachlan, who worked with Lynch on Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Dune, shared one of the most moving responses to his death and has since written an op-ed about the director, for the New York Times.
In the opening lines of his article, MacLachlan admitted that he “didn’t always understand what we were making” but eventually “realised it didn’t matter”.
The 65-year-old actor said Lynch often found words “insufficient” and “not up to the job”.
MacLachlan then explained that this is why Lynch never wanted to reveal the meanings behind his work. “He wasn’t trying to be surly or obtuse,” he wrote. “That was never David’s way. He loved connecting with people, meeting them where they were, sharing time or space or consciousness. It’s just that explaining his art after the fact seemed antithetical to the very point of making it.”
“I sat in interviews and on panels next to him and could see him struggling with questions about what things meant. Often I felt compelled to pick up the baton and talk in circles for a bit until the questioner moved on. David knew that anything he said would be putting his thumb on the scale. And he wanted people to experience his work on their own and take away what they wished.”
Speaking to Sight & Sound magazine last year, Lynch revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema due to smoking throughout his life, and said he could not “go out” because of the risk of catching Covid.
In his last public message, Lynch wished for “everyone to be free from disease” in his final appearance.
The legendary filmmaker delivered his parting message to his eponymous foundation’s Meditate America event in September 2024.
Sporting thick white hair and sunglasses, the Oscar-nominated director – who has been meditating since the 1970s – told attendees: “May everyone be happy. May everyone be free of disease. May auspiciousness be seen everywhere. May suffering belong to no one. Peace. Jai Gurudev.”
