A Cup of Coffee with Actor Kyle MacLachlan (‘Twin Peaks’)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture, Film Interviews, Tv & Film

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2024

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In celebration of Dune’s 40th anniversary, we have a damn fine cup of coffee with actor (and now podcaster) Kyle MacLachlan.

We discuss his new true crime podcast Varnamtown (7:08), MacLachlan’s small-town upbringing (15:36), and what inspired him to pursue acting after college (18:15) before landing his debut role in Dune (21:16). Then, he describes the film’s momentous premiere (27:42), his second collaboration with David Lynch in Blue Velvet (32:40) and the personal challenges he faced while making the film (34:08).

On the back-half, we talk through Twin Peaks (41:25), Showgirls (46:57), how he taps into raw emotion as an actor (50:22), his recent foray into social media (58:25), and to close, a poignant George Price cartoon (1:01:00).

For questions, comments, or to join our mailing list, reach me at [email protected]. This conversation was recorded at Spotify Studios in Los Angeles.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	What do you poll dancing AI chatbots and diet culture all have in common?
0:04.0	These subjects have a home on Embodied the award-winning podcast I host from
0:08.0	North Carolina Public Radio W-U-N-C. My name is Anita Rao and you can consider me your personal guide to taking on the taboo.
0:16.0	Join me to explore important questions about our bodies and our society, where nothing is off limits.
0:21.9	So go ahead, listen to Embodied every Friday wherever you get your podcasts.
0:27.0	Pushkin. This is talk easy. I'm San Francisco, Kyle McLaughlin. 40 years ago this week, McLaughlin made his on-screen debut in Dune.
1:18.0	It was an adaptation of the beloved 1965 sci-fi novel written by Frank Herbert and brought to the screen by director David Lynch.
1:27.3	The film was a box-office bomb but has since become something of a cult classic.
1:32.8	It also, more importantly,
1:34.4	marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration
1:37.1	between Lynch and McLaughlin,
1:39.0	including Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks,
1:41.9	both of which we discuss at length in this episode.
1:45.0	In recent years, McLaughlin has continued to make inspired and surprising choices,
1:51.0	leaning into comedy in shows like Sex and the City and
1:54.4	Portlandia, or criminally underseen films like Stephen Zoderberg's
1:58.9	High Flying Bird and Greg Matola's confess Fletch.
2:03.2	His willingness to experiment and to remain curious is one of his great gifts, I think.
2:09.5	It's a gift that's also on full display in his latest project, Varnam Town.
2:14.0	It's not a film, although it probably will be one day,
2:17.0	but instead a podcast, hosted by McLaughlin and journalist Joshua Davis. I could explain the show but why
2:24.7	let them take it over for a second. Here's a little bit from the trailer of the
	...

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