CNN
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With the passing of beloved director David Lynch, many of the actors he worked with – as well as countless admirers – have paid tribute to his legacy.
Lynch’s family announced that the filmmaker died earlier this week at the age of 78.
Kyle MacLachlan, one of Lynch’s most enduring stars, shared one of the first tributes after the news broke Thursday, writing on Instagram: “Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my understanding, David Lynch brought me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget film. He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and really my life. , to his vision.
He was referring to Lynch’s lofty 1984 sci-fi opus, “Dune,” the duo’s first collaboration, in which MacLachlan played Paul Atréides (a role that was reprized by Timothée Chalamet in Denis Villeneuve’s more recent films ). Lynch and Maclachlan later worked together on two of the filmmaker’s most iconic projects, 1986’s “Blue Velvet” and the “Twin Peaks” series, which included three seasons and a prequel feature film.
MacLachlan wrote of Lynch: “I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I had ever met. David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed like the best version of human.
In a nod to Lynch’s enigmatic approach to storytelling, MacLachlan added: “He wasn’t interested in answers because he understood that questions are the engine that makes us who we are . »
“As the world has lost a remarkable artist, I have lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel to worlds I could never have conceived on my own,” said -he also wrote.
Naomi Watts, who starred in Lynch’s twisty 2001 tale “Mulholland Drive,” wrote on her Instagram: “He put me on the map. »
Speaking a bit about her attempts to find her big break as an actress in Hollywood during this time, Watts continued: “The world I had been trying to break into for over ten years, missing auditions left and right . Finally, I sat down in front of a curious man, radiating light, speaking to me words from another era, making me laugh and putting me at ease. How could he “see” me when I was so well hidden and even lost sight of me?!”
In pictures: famous director David Lynch
Watts went on to write that it wasn’t just Lynch’s art that “impacted” her.
“His wisdom, humor and love gave me a special sense of self-confidence that I had never had before. Every moment spent together seemed charged with a presence that I have 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 part of. And David invited everyone to get a glimpse of this world through his exquisite storytelling, which has elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers around the world.
Watts and MacLachlan shared photo galleries that spanned decades and showed their evolving friendship with Lynch.
Isabella Rossellini, MacLachlan’s co-star in “Blue Velvet,” shared a more recent photo of herself with the filmmaker on her Instagram, writing simply: “I loved him so much. Thank you for all your kind messages.
Mädchen Amick, one of the most recognizable faces in the world of “Twin Peaks,” said in a statement to CNN: “It is difficult for me to find the words to express the loss of, yes, a masterful genius, but more importantly, from a simply wonderful guy. David Lynch was my mentor.
Calling him his “North Star,” Amick wrote that Lynch “saw me grow up. He saw me become a mother. He encouraged me when I took my place in the director’s chair. These long conversations we had at his home on the hill will be very dear to my heart. We laughed. We cried. We remained inspired.
But tributes to Lynch also came from his fellow filmmakers. In a statement, Martin Scorsese wrote that Lynch “truly was a visionary – in fact, the word could have been invented to describe the man and the films, series, images and sounds he left behind.
“He created shapes that seemed on the verge of collapse, but which never happened. He put images on the screen unlike anything I or anyone else had ever seen – he made everything strange, strange, revealing and new.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety that he “loved David’s films. “Blue Velvet,” “Mulholland Drive” and “Elephant Man” defined him as a singular dreamer and visionary who made films that felt handmade.
And Ron Howard wrote on X that Lynch was a “fearless artist who followed his heart and soul and proved that radical experimentation could produce unforgettable cinema.”