The Dreamer's Path: Twin Peaks and David Lynch the Actor

Much has been written about David Lynch and his films, but The Dreamer's Path approaches his canon from a distinctive angle, seeking to unpack and assay the sum of Lynch's work as an on-screen performer and, by extension, where and how this unique and heretofore unexplored part of his enormous creative output intersects with his broader embrace of "the art life."

For someone not generally thought of as an actor, Lynch managed to put his inimitable stamp on a memorable collection of characters who each, in their own way, fed his idiosyncratic off-screen persona--from 1988's Zelly and Me (recounted here in detail by Isabella Rossellini and writer-director Tina Rathborne) and television's Louie to the tenderhearted Lucky and The Fablemans.

All of these projects and more--including Lynch's renowned weather reports, plus curios like The Black Ghiandola--receive loving, detailed tribute, in addition to Lynch's voice work in animated efforts like The Cleveland Show and his own Dumbland.

Naturally, centerpiece examination is also afforded Lynch's portrayal of FBI Regional Bureau Chief (and later Deputy Director) Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks--both in the trailblazing run of the original series and its striking, equally complex 2017 return. In plumbing the central question "We are like the dreamer who dreams, and then lives inside the dream--but who is the dreamer?" this work explores the significance of Lynch stepping so deeply inside a world of his cocreation and what that says both about him and Twin Peaks as a whole.