David Lynch
Director·1946–2025·Missoula, Montana, USA
33 horror credits
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).
Director28 films
Waiting for Mr. Lynch
Director
Ant Head
Director
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Director
Fire (Pożar)
Director
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Director
Early Experiments
Director
More Things That Happened
Director
Inland Empire
Director
Bug Crawls
Director
Boat
Director
Rabbits
Director
The Pig Walks
Director
Darkened Room
Director
Coyote #1
Director
Mulholland Drive
Director
Lost Highway
Director
Premonitions Following an Evil Deed
Director
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Director
Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted
Director
Wild at Heart
Director
Twin Peaks
Director
Blue Velvet
Director
The Elephant Man
Director
Eraserhead
Director
The Grandmother
Director
The Alphabet
Director
Absurd Encounter with Fear
Director
Six Men Getting Sick
Director
Writer22 films
Waiting for Mr. Lynch
Writer
Ant Head
Writer
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Writer
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Writer
Early Experiments
Writer
More Things That Happened
Writer
Inland Empire
Writer
Boat
Writer
Rabbits
Screenplay
The Pig Walks
Writer
Darkened Room
Writer
Coyote #1
Writer
Mulholland Drive
Writer
Lost Highway
Writer
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Writer
Wild at Heart
Screenplay
Twin Peaks
Writer
Blue Velvet
Writer
The Elephant Man
Screenplay
Eraserhead
Screenplay
The Grandmother
Screenplay / Writer
The Alphabet
Writer
Producer16 films
Waiting for Mr. Lynch
Producer
Ant Head
Producer
Early Experiments
Producer
Surveillance
Executive Producer
Inland Empire
Producer
The Pig Walks
Producer
Darkened Room
Producer
Coyote #1
Producer
Nadja
Executive Producer
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Executive Producer
The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez
Executive Producer
Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted
Producer
Twin Peaks
Executive Producer
Eraserhead
Producer
The Grandmother
Producer
Six Men Getting Sick
Producer
Composer4 films
Ant Head
Music
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Music
Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted
Music
Eraserhead
Original Music Composer
Cinematographer9 films
Ant Head
Cinematography
Early Experiments
Director of Photography
More Things That Happened
Director of Photography
Inland Empire
Director of Photography
The Pig Walks
Cinematography
Darkened Room
Cinematography
Coyote #1
Cinematography
The Alphabet
Director of Photography
Six Men Getting Sick
Cinematography
Editor12 films
Ant Head
Editor
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Editor
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Editor
Early Experiments
Editor
More Things That Happened
Editor
Inland Empire
Editor
The Pig Walks
Editor
Darkened Room
Editor
Coyote #1
Editor
Eraserhead
Editor
The Alphabet
Editor
Six Men Getting Sick
Editor
Production Designer1 film
Eraserhead
Production Design / Art Direction
Makeup & FX1 film
Eraserhead
Special Effects
Actor10 films
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Detective
The Black Ghiandola
Man In Black
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Gordon Cole
Early Experiments
Inland Empire
Bucky J
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
Self
Boat
The Man
Nadja
Morgue Receptionist
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Gordon Cole
The Elephant Man
Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
Other Crew12 films
Ant Head
Sound
WHAT DID JACK DO?
Sound Designer / Set Designer / Set Decoration / Sound Mixer
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Characters / Sound Mixer
Inland Empire
Sound Designer / Sound Re-Recording Mixer / Camera Operator
Mulholland Drive
Sound Designer / Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Lost Highway
Sound Designer / Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Original Series Creator / Sound Designer / Sound Re-Recording Mixer / Characters
The Elephant Man
Sound Designer
Eraserhead
Sound Effects
The Grandmother
Animation / Script / Camera Operator
The Alphabet
Sound / Animation
Six Men Getting Sick
Animation