David Lynch
Known for Directing · 150 credits
- Born
- 1946-01-20
- Died
- 2025-01-16
- Place of birth
- Missoula, Montana, USA
- Also known as
- David Keith Lynch · DKL
Biography
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.
Known For
TV Shows (17)
Family Guy
1999
as Gus (voice) / David Lynch (voice)
Twin Peaks
1990
as Gordon Cole
Robot Chicken
2005
as Mad Scientist (voice)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
as Self
The Cleveland Show
2009
as Gus (voice)
Louie
2010
as Jack Dall
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Legends
2006
as Self
The Nineties
2017
as Self (archive footage)
This Is Pop
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Scene by Scene
1997
as Self
Leçon de Cinéma
2004
as Self
Un film et son époque
2003
as Self
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
2026
as Self - Filmmaker
DumbLand
2001
as Randy / Wife / Sparky (voice)
Independent Focus
1998
as Self
Cinéma, de notre temps
1989
as David Lynch
Movies (133)
Dune
1984
as Spice Miner (uncredited)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
1992
as Gordon Cole
The Fabelmans
2022
as John Ford
The Elephant Man
1980
as Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
Inland Empire
2006
as Bucky J, the gaffer (voice)
Lucky
2017
as Howard
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
2014
as Gordon Cole
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
as Self
Side by Side
2012
as Self
Plankton Salesmen
2017
as Self (archive footage)
Beatles '64
2024
as Self
Lumière & Company
1995
as Self
I Know Catherine, the Log Lady
2026
as Self
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
1988
as Self - Audience Member
Critic
2008
as Self (voice)
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
1996
as Self
Made in the USA
1993
as Self
Nadja
1995
as Morgue Receptionist
The Black Ghiandola
2017
as Man In Black
Destination Dune
1983
as Self
Lynch/Oz
2023
as Self (archival footage)
Why Are We Creative?
2018
as Self
WHAT DID JACK DO?
2017
as Detective
Morceaux de Cannes
2021
David Lynch: The Art Life
2017
as Self
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
2013
as Self
Mysteries of Love
2002
as Self (archive footage)
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch
1997
as Self
Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul
2001
as Self
Blue Velvet Revisited
2016
as Self
Heart of the Festival
2002
as Self (archive footage)
The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune
2021
as Self (voice) (archive footage)
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch
1990
as Self
Lynch (one)
2007
as Self
The Man with the Gray Elevated Hair
2017
as Self
2012: Time for Change
2010
as Self
Girlfriend's Day
2017
as Narrator (voice)
A Very Lovely Dream: One Week in Twin Peaks
2017
as Self
The Reality of Truth
2016
as Self
A Bloody Finger in Your Mouth
2017
as Self
Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart
2004
Twin Peaks: The Phenomenon
2017
as Self
La Traversée du désir
2009
as Self
The 8th Floor
2014
as Self
In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story
1999
as Self
Rammstein in Amerika
2015
as Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
2004
as Self
Great Directors
2009
as Self
Elvis | Viva Las Vegas
2008
as Self
Welcome Home: Mary Reber and the Twin Peaks Palmer House
2021
as Self
The Number of Completion
2017
as Self
Crazy About the Movies: Dennis Hopper
1991
as Self
Heart Beat
1980
as Painter (uncredited)
Zelly & Me
1988
as Willie
Hollywood Mavericks
1990
as Self
Along for the Ride
2016
as Self
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
2013
as Self
I Don't Know Jack
2002
as Self
Tell It Martin
2017
as Self
Brand: A Second Coming
2015
as Self
Lynch 2
2007
as Self
A Fall from Grace
as William Tabb
What Is Cinema?
2013
as Self
The Music of David Lynch
2016
as Self
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
2006
as Self
The Amputee
1974
as The Nurse
The Polish Accountant
2017
as Self
A Pot of Boiling Oil
2017
as Self
Brunes et Blondes
2010
as Self
No Frank in Lumberton
1988
as Self
Between Two Worlds
2014
as Self
Professor Goudet's Lessons
2013
as Self
The A-Z of Separating People from their Money
1998
as Self
Ringo Starr: A Lifetime of Peace and Love
2014
as Self
Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers
2017
as Self
Bad Binoculars
2017
as Self
My Beautiful Broken Brain
2014
as Self
David Wants to Fly
2010
as Self
The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld
2025
Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff
1994
as Himself
Shadows of Paradise
2016
The Making Of A Mockumentary
2025
as Himself (archive footage)
Night Flight: Born Again
2016
as Self
See You on the Other Side Dear Friend
2017
as Self
I Had Bad Milk in Dehradun
2017
as Self
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
2003
as Self
The Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’
2004
as Self
Out Yonder — Chicken
2007
Boat
2003
as The Man
Behind the Red Curtain
2017
as Self
Two Blue Balls
2017
as Self
Dynamic:01: The Best of DavidLynch.com
2007
as himself
Moby Doc
2021
as Self
Donovan: The Donovan Concert - Live in L.A.
2007
as Himself
David Lynch: Insight
2017
as Self
Meeting the Beatles in India
2020
as Self
This Is Sparklehorse
2022
as Self
Curtains Up
2018
David Lynch: The Idea Dictates Everything
2021
as David Lynch
The Original Image - David Lynch
2019
A Slice of Lynch
2007
as Self
David Lynch in Oslo
2010
as Self
Red Fish
2009
as O Sábio
The Short Films of David Lynch
2002
as Self
On Meditation
2016
as Self
It's a Beautiful World
2014
as Self
The Way of Samodelkin
2009
as Stranger in a dream
Meditation, Creativity, Peace
2012
as Self
Out Yonder — Teeth
2003
Sailing with Bushnell Keeler
1967
Memory Film
2012
Twin Peaks Festival Greeting 2008
2008
as Self
The Sound of Lynch
2007
Return to Mulholland Drive
2003
as Self
David Lynch: Don't Look at Me
1989
as Self
Rocksteppy
2017
as Himself
Does That Hurt You?
2003
as Self
Eraserhead Stories
2001
as Self
Early Experiments
2008
David Lynch: A Remembrance Both Wonderful and Strange
2025
as Self (archive footage)
About David Lynch
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 mo… With 150 credits spanning from 1953 to 2026, David Lynch has appeared in 133 films and 17 TV shows.
Fans searching for David Lynch movies, David Lynch filmography, or the latest projects starring David Lynch can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular David Lynch Movies
- Dune (1984) — as Spice Miner (uncredited)
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) — as Gordon Cole
- The Fabelmans (2022) — as John Ford
- The Elephant Man (1980) — as Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)
- Inland Empire (2006) — as Bucky J, the gaffer (voice)
Where to Watch David Lynch Films
Most David Lynch movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring David Lynch, check our movies catalogue and browse page.