David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 15, 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.
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Dynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com
himself
2025
David Lynch: A Hollywood Enigma
Self - Director
2025
The Making Of A Mockumentary
Himself (archive footage)
2025
I Know Catherine, the Log Lady
Self
2025
David Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange
Self (archive footage)
2025
Encholalia
Self (Archive Footage)
2025
Beatles '64
Self
2024
The Fabelmans
John Ford
2022
This Is Sparklehorse
Self
2022
The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune
Self (voice) (archive footage)
2021
Moby Doc
Self
2021
Welcome Home: Mary Reber and the Twin Peaks Palmer House
Self
2021
This Is Pop
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2021
David Lynch: The Virtual Life
himself
2020
Meeting the Beatles in India
Self
2020
A Fall from Grace
William Tabb
2020
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
Self
2019
The Original Image - David Lynch
2019
David Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film
Himself
2019
Curtains Up
2018
Why Are We Creative?
Self
2018
Twin Peaks: The Phenomenon
Self
2017
Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers
Self
2017
Tell It Martin
Self
2017
The Polish Accountant
Self
2017
The Number of Completion
Self
2017
See You on the Other Side Dear Friend
Self
2017
Bad Binoculars
Self
2017
Two Blue Balls
Self
2017
I Had Bad Milk in Dehradun
Self
2017
Behind the Red Curtain
Self
2017
A Pot of Boiling Oil
Self
2017
A Bloody Finger in Your Mouth
Self
2017
The Man with the Gray Elevated Hair
Self
2017
A Very Lovely Dream: One Week in Twin Peaks
Self
2017
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Detective
2017
Plankton Salesmen
Self (archive footage)
2017
Lucky
Howard
2017
The Nineties
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2017
The Black Ghiandola
Man In Black
2017
David Lynch: The Art Life
Self
2017
Girlfriend's Day
Narrator (voice)
2017
Rocksteppy
Himself
2017
Along for the Ride
Self
2016
Shadows of Paradise
2016
Blue Velvet Revisited
Self
2016
On Meditation
Self
2016
The Reality of Truth
Self
2016
Night Flight: Born Again
Self
2016
The Music of David Lynch
Self
2016
Rammstein in Amerika
Self
2015
Brand: A Second Coming
Self
2015
My Beautiful Broken Brain
Self
2014
Between Two Worlds
Self
2014
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Gordon Cole
2014
The 8th Floor
Self
2014
It's a Beautiful World
Self
2014
Ringo Starr: A Lifetime of Peace and Love
Self
2014
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
Self
2013
What Is Cinema?
Self
2013
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
Self
2013
Professor Goudet's Lessons
Self
2013
Memory Film
2012
Meditation, Creativity, Peace
Self
2012
Side by Side
Self
2012
Ångesthunden och Malmö under vatten
Himself
2011
2012: Time for Change
Self
2010
Brunes et Blondes
Self
2010
Louie
Jack Dall · (2 episodes)
2010
David Wants to Fly
2010
When Lynch Met Lucas
2010
The Cleveland Show
(11 episodes)
2009
Red Fish
O Sábio
2009
The Way of Samodelkin
Stranger in a dream
2009
Great Directors
Self
2009
La Traversée du désir
Self
2009
Early Experiments
2008
Hollyshorts Greeting
Himself
2008
Twin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008
Self
2008
Elvis | Viva Las Vegas
Self
2008
Critic
Self (voice)
2008
The Sound of Lynch
2007
A Slice of Lynch
Self
2007
Lynch (one)
Self
2007
Out Yonder — Chicken
2007
Lynch 2
Self
2007
Donovan: The Donovan Concert - Live in L.A.
Himself
2007
Inland Empire
Bucky J
2006
Legends
Self · (1 episode)
2006
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
Self
2006
Edge of Outside
Self (archive footage)
2006
Robot Chicken
Mad Scientist (voice) · (2 episodes)
2005
David Lynch: 1985
Self
2005
Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart
2004
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
Self
2004
The Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’
Self
2004
Leçon de Cinéma
Self · (1 episode)
2004
Boat
The Man
2003
Does That Hurt You?
Self
2003
Lamp
Self
2003
Return to Mulholland Drive
Self
2003
Un film et son époque
Self · (1 episode)
2003
Out Yonder — Teeth
2003
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
Self
2003
The Disc of Sorrow Is Installed
2002
I Don't Know Jack
Self
2002
BlueBob Egg
Billy Groper
2002
Mysteries of Love
Self (archive footage)
2002
The Short Films of David Lynch
Self
2002
Out Yonder — Neighbor Boy
2002
DumbLand
Randy / Wife / Sparky (voice) · (8 episodes)
2001
Eraserhead Stories
Self
2001
Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul
Self
2001
In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story
Self
1999
Family Guy
Gus (voice) · (1 episode)
1999
Family Guy
David Lynch (voice) · (1 episode)
1999
The A-Z of Separating People from their Money
Self
1998
Independent Focus
Self · (1 episode)
1998
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch
Self
1997
Scene by Scene
Self · (1 episode)
1997
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
Self
1996
Nadja
Morgue Receptionist
1995
Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff
Himself
1994
Made in the USA
Self
1993
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Gordon Cole
1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Self · (1 episode)
1992
Crazy About the Movies: Dennis Hopper
Self
1991
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch
Self
1990
Hollywood Mavericks
Self
1990
Twin Peaks
Gordon Cole · (17 episodes)
1990
Cinéma, de notre temps
David Lynch · (1 episode)
1989
David Lynch: Don't Look at Me
Self
1989
Zelly & Me
Willie
1988
No Frank in Lumberton
Self
1988
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
Self - Audience Member
1988
Ruth, Roses, and Revolver
Himself
1987
Dune
Spice Miner (uncredited)
1984
Destination Dune
Self
1983
The Elephant Man
Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
1980
Heart Beat
Painter
1980
The Amputee
Nurse
1974
The Soul Detective
Himself
Sailing with Bushnell Keeler
1967
The Oscars
Self · (1 episode)
1953