Actors and directors have been paying tribute to the director David Lynch, who died this week at the age of 78.
The death of Lynch, whose works include Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, was announced by his family on Facebook earlier on Thursday. “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” they wrote. “But, as he would say: ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’”
Steven Spielberg, who cast Lynch as John Ford in his semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans praised him as “a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade” in a statement.
“The world is going to miss such an original and unique voice,” he wrote. “His films have already stood the test of time and they always will.”
Nicolas Cage, who starred in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, told Deadline that he was “one of the greatest artists of this or any time”. He continued: “He was brave, brilliant, and a maverick with a joyful sense of humor. I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold.”
Kyle MacLachlan, who starred in Blue Velvet, Dune and Twin Peaks, wrote on Instagram that he owes “my entire career, and life really, to his vision”. He added: “While the world has lost a remarkable artist, I’ve lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own.”
Naomi Watts, who starred in Mulholland Drive and the Twin Peaks reboot, wrote of his impact on her career. “My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave… The world will not be the same without him. His creative mentorship was truly powerful. He put me on the map,” she wrote, adding: “It wasn’t just his art that impacted me – his wisdom, humor, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before.”
The Twin Peaks star Lara Flynn Boyle shared this statement with Deadline: “There goes the true Willy Wonka of film-making. I feel like I got the golden ticket getting a chance to work with him. He will be greatly missed.”
Laura Harring, who starred in Mulholland Drive, also paid tribute on Instagram. “All artists and humans who came across you, will mourn your passing on, but I know you are creating movies, writing, painting and meditating from up above,” she wrote.
Ron Howard called him “a gracious man and fearless artist who followed his heart & soul and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema”.
The Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn wrote that he “inspired so many of us” while Harmony Korine told Indiewire that he was “a once in a generation talent who absorbed the embers of America’s wildness”.
The film-maker Jane Schoenbrun, whose films I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair have been compared to those of Lynch, wrote: “He was the first to show me another world, a beautiful one of love and danger I sensed but had never seen outside sleep.”
