Directing · Missoula, Montana, USA · Born January 20, 1946
David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 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.
MovieEyes Behind the Lens
2026
as Voice (Uncredited, Archive)
MovieI Know Catherine, the Log Lady
2026
as Self
TVMel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
2026
as Self - Filmmaker
MovieWhat Would David Lynch Do?
2026
as Self (Archived Footage)
MovieThe Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld
2025
MovieThe Making Of A Mockumentary
2025
as Himself (archive footage)
MovieDavid Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange
2025
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBeatles '64
2024
as Self
MovieLynch/Oz
2023
as Self (archival footage)
MovieThe Fabelmans
2022
as John Ford
MovieThis Is Sparklehorse
2022
as Self
MovieThe Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune
2021
as Self (voice) (archive footage)
MovieMorceaux de Cannes
2021
MovieMoby Doc
2021
as Self
MovieWelcome Home: Mary Reber and the Twin Peaks Palmer House
2021
as Self
TVThis Is Pop
2021
as Self (archive footage)
MovieDavid Lynch: The Idea Dictates Everything
2021
as David Lynch
MovieDavid Lynch: The Virtual Life
2020
as himself
MovieMeeting the Beatles in India
2020
as Self
MovieMaking Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
as Self
MovieThe Original Image - David Lynch
2019
MovieDavid Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film
2019
as Himself
MovieCurtains Up
2018
MovieWhy Are We Creative?
2018
as Self
MovieTwin Peaks: The Phenomenon
2017
as Self
MovieDo Not Pick Up Hitchhikers
2017
as Self
MovieTell It Martin
2017
as Self
MovieThe Polish Accountant
2017
as Self
MovieThe Number of Completion
2017
as Self
MovieSee You on the Other Side Dear Friend
2017
as Self
MovieBad Binoculars
2017
as Self
MovieTwo Blue Balls
2017
as Self
MovieI Had Bad Milk in Dehradun
2017
as Self
MovieBehind the Red Curtain
2017
as Self
MovieA Pot of Boiling Oil
2017
as Self
MovieA Bloody Finger in Your Mouth
2017
as Self
MovieThe Man with the Gray Elevated Hair
2017
as Self
MovieA Very Lovely Dream: One Week in Twin Peaks
2017
as Self
MovieWHAT DID JACK DO?
2017
as Detective
MoviePlankton Salesmen
2017
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLucky
2017
as Howard
TVThe Nineties
2017
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Black Ghiandola
2017
as Man In Black
MovieDavid Lynch: The Art Life
2017
as Self
David Lynch: Insight
2017
as Self
MovieGirlfriend's Day
2017
as Narrator (voice)
MovieRocksteppy
2017
as Himself
MovieAlong for the Ride
2016
as Self
MovieShadows of Paradise
2016
MovieBlue Velvet Revisited
2016
as Self
MovieOn Meditation
2016
as Self
MovieThe Reality of Truth
2016
as Self
MovieNight Flight: Born Again
2016
as Self
MovieThe Music of David Lynch
2016
as Self
MovieRammstein in Amerika
2015
as Self
MovieBrand: A Second Coming
2015
as Self
MovieMy Beautiful Broken Brain
2014
as Self
MovieBetween Two Worlds
2014
as Self
MovieTwin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
2014
as Gordon Cole
MovieThe 8th Floor
2014
as Self
It's a Beautiful World
2014
as Self
MovieRingo Starr: A Lifetime of Peace and Love
2014
as Self
MovieHarry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
2013
as Self
MovieWhat Is Cinema?
2013
as Self
MovieMel Brooks: Make a Noise
2013
as Self
MovieProfessor Goudet's Lessons
2013
as Self
MovieMemory Film
2012
MovieMeditation, Creativity, Peace
2012
as Self
MovieSide by Side
2012
as Self
MovieÅngesthunden och Malmö under vatten
2011
as Himself
David Lynch in Oslo
2010
as Self
Movie2012: Time for Change
2010
as Self
MovieBrunes et Blondes
2010
as Self
TVLouie
2010
as Jack Dall
MovieDavid Wants to Fly
2010
as Self
When Lynch Met Lucas
2010
TVThe Cleveland Show
2009
MovieRed Fish
2009
as O Sábio
MovieThe Way of Samodelkin
2009
as Stranger in a dream
MovieGreat Directors
2009
as Self
MovieLa Traversée du désir
2009
as Self
MovieThe Soul Detective
2009
as Himself
MovieEarly Experiments
2008
MovieHollyshorts Greeting
2008
as Himself
MovieTwin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008
2008
as Self
MovieElvis | Viva Las Vegas
2008
as Self
MovieCritic
2008
as Self (voice)
MovieThe Sound of Lynch
2007
MovieA Slice of Lynch
2007
as Self
MovieLynch (one)
2007
as Self
MovieOut Yonder — Chicken
2007
MovieLynch 2
2007
as Self
Donovan: The Donovan Concert - Live in L.A.
2007
as Himself
MovieDynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com
2007
as himself
MovieInland Empire
2006
as Bucky J, the gaffer (voice)
TVLegends
2006
as Self
MovieMidnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
2006
as Self
TVRobot Chicken
2005
as Mad Scientist (voice)
MovieDavid Lynch: 1985
2005
as Self
MovieLove, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart
2004
MovieDennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
2004
as Self
MovieThe Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’
2004
as Self
TVLeçon de Cinéma
2004
as Self
MovieBoat
2003
as The Man
MovieDoes That Hurt You?
2003
as Self
MovieLamp
2003
as Self
MovieReturn to Mulholland Drive
2003
as Self
TVUn film et son époque
2003
as Self
MovieOut Yonder — Teeth
2003
MovieDennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
2003
as Self
MovieThe Disc of Sorrow Is Installed
2002
MovieThe Short Films of David Lynch
2002
as Self
MovieHeart of the Festival
2002
as Self (archive footage)
MovieI Don't Know Jack
2002
as Self
MovieBlueBob Egg
2002
as Billy Groper
MovieMysteries of Love
2002
as Self (archive footage)
MovieOut Yonder — Neighbor Boy
2002
TVDumbLand
2001
as Randy / Wife / Sparky (voice)
MovieEraserhead Stories
2001
as Self
Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul
2001
as Self
MovieIn Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story
1999
as Self
TVFamily Guy
1999
as Gus (voice)
MovieThe A-Z of Separating People from their Money
1998
as Self
Independent Focus
1998
as Self
MoviePretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch
1997
as Self
TVScene by Scene
1997
as Self
MovieThe Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
1996
as Self
MovieLumière & Company
1995
as Self
MovieNadja
1995
as Morgue Receptionist
MovieDon Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff
1994
as Himself
MovieMade in the USA
1993
as Self
MovieTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
1992
as Gordon Cole
TVThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
as Self
Crazy About the Movies: Dennis Hopper
1991
as Self
MovieJonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch
1990
as Self
MovieHollywood Mavericks
1990
as Self
TVTwin Peaks
1990
as Gordon Cole
TVCinéma, de notre temps
1989
as David Lynch
MovieDavid Lynch: Don't Look at Me
1989
as Self
MovieZelly & Me
1988
as Willie
MovieNo Frank in Lumberton
1988
as Self
MovieRoy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
1988
as Self - Audience Member
MovieRuth, Roses, and Revolver
1987
as Himself
MovieDune
1984
as Spice Miner (uncredited)
MovieDestination Dune
1983
as Self
MovieThe Elephant Man
1980
as Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
MovieHeart Beat
1980
as Painter (uncredited)
MovieThe Amputee
1974
as The Nurse
Film '72
1971
as Self
MovieSailing with Bushnell Keeler
1967
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
