Taking to the SXSW stage with Charli xcx’s “365” and “Babygirl” status symbols, Kyle MacLachlan proves that even 40 years into his career, he remains a pop culture fixture.
MacLachlan began by speaking about renowned filmmaker David Lynch, whom he credits for launching his career. After meeting a casting agent in Seattle, MacLachlan submitted an audition tape to Lynch and producer Raffaella De Laurentiis for the role of Paul Atreides in the 1984 film “Dune.” After two screen tests, he landed the role.
“It was a severe learning curve, and then ‘Dune’ came out and didn’t do very well,” MacLachlan said. “I was back at ground zero, and then David came (to me with) ‘Blue Velvet.’ My career started to go from there.”
MacLachlan’s image became synonymous with Lynch’s work, which often gets categorized as surrealist and is known for its dark subject matter and dream-like sequences. Their creative partnership spanned 40 years, ending with Lynch’s passing on Jan. 16. Despite starring in films that dealt with heavy topics such as sexual assault and violence, MacLachlan recalls his experience with Lynch as extraordinary.
“Every time I was in front of the camera with David, it felt magical because the environment he created was so special,” MacLachlan said.
MacLachlan’s characters, such as Jeffrey Beaumont and agent Dale Cooper, and online persona differ greatly. He has carved out a unique niche in Gen Z pop culture — lip-syncing to Chappell Roan in a hot dog costume, paying homage to his past roles through trending TikTok audios and befriending Gen Z ‘it’ girls like Charli xcx and Lorde.
“I’m a pretty goofy, silly person by nature,” MacLachlan said. “It’s a chance for me to really let that out because in film, I don’t have that.”
MacLachlan also discussed his upcoming projects, including two podcast ventures. In 2024, he released “Varnamtown” with investigative journalist Josh Davis. The duo traveled to a small town in North Carolina after discovering that Pablo Escobar may have completed a deal there in the 1980s. In exchange for allowing the drug lord to land planes and ships in the area, townspeople allegedly received large sums of money and cocaine. MacLachlan is currently working with his wife’s production company, Full Picture, and CBS to adapt the podcast into a series. He also mentioned another podcast in which he interviews younger generations about their experiences.
“I was interested in his connection with … youth audiences,” said Taylor Dickenson, a former Full Picture intern. “We know from his social media that’s something he’s invested in, but to see him go a step further and do the podcast was really cool.”
The actor’s upcoming projects include roles in Amazon Prime Video’s TV series “Fallout” and “Overcompensating” and A24’s horror film “Altar.” MacLachlan ended the panel by sharing one last anecdote about Lynch.
“Every day he was creating,” MacLachlan said. “He was either painting, sculpting, making music or writing. I think to David, these worlds that he created were real. They were ongoing, parallel to our universe, which I think is why he was able to tap into them in such an interesting and complete way.”
