Why did David Lynch call Kyle MacLachlan Kale? Twin Peaks actor and more pay tribute to acclaimed director

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"Twin Peaks" Red Carpet Arrivals - The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival - Source: Getty
MacLachlan debuted with David Lynch's Dune in 1984 (Image via Matthias Nareyek/Getty Images)

Legendary filmmaker David Lynch had a special nickname for his frequent collaborator, Kyle MacLachlan. Lynch used to call Kyle "Kale" fondly, and there is an intriguing story behind the same.

MacLachlan and Lynch first collaborated on Dune, which was the former's debut film. When the actor first auditioned for the film, he met Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, who was serving as an executive producer. De Laurentiis' first language is Italian, and understandably, he pronounced MacLachlan's first name Kyle differently. De Laurentiis' pronunciation of Kyle was phonetically similar to "Kale," which David Lynch picked up.

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Ultimately, Lynch started addressing Kyle MacLachlan as "Kale," a nickname that stayed with the actor for more than four decades. MacLachlan has recounted the story on different occasions. The 65-year-old also revealed the story behind his "Kale" nickname on NBC's Today show during an appearance in January 2024, where he also spoke about his "Varnamatown" podcast. Here's what MacLachlan was quoted saying,

"Yeah, so way back in the Dune days, I auditioned, and I met Dino De Laurentiis. He was the executive producer of Dune. He couldn't pronounce my name. He called me Kale. And so, David Lynch really liked that idea. So, from then on, from 1983, he called me Kale."

Before Timothée Chalamet, MacLachlan was the first actor to portray Paul Atreides in live-action. Apart from starring in Lynch's Dune, Kyle MacLachlan also collaborated with the director for Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Twin Peaks (series). After the passing of celebrated director and producer, MacLachlan also penned an emotional Instagram post highlighting their special bond and friendship of more than 40 years.

Kyle MacLachlan and Steven Spielberg are among the personalities to give their tribute to David Lynch

According to TMZ, David Lynch passed away at his daughter's home on January 15, while the family announced the news publicly on the 16th.

Following the announcement, tributes poured out on social media, with well-known celebrities also sharing their final message for Lynch. Kyle MacLachlan, who has known Lynch since 1983, also penned a heartfelt note. In his tribute to the Twin Peaks director, Kyle MacLachlan thanked him for choosing him to star in Dune.

MacLachlan, who starred in Lynch's "first and last big budget movie," claimed that he owed his career and life to the filmmaker's vision. Describing David, Kyle MacLachlan wrote,

"What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to."

MacLachlan wrote how the director-actor duo became friends after their subsequent collaborations on Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. He also called Davide "the most authentically alive person" he had ever met. The Fallout actor further added,

"David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human. He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath. 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."

Kyle MacLachlan spoke at lengths on how he will miss his dear friend and concluded his farewell message,

"I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone. David, I remain forever changed and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything."

Award-winning director Steven Spielberg also paid tribute to David Lynch. Spielberg directed Lynch on The Fabelmans, in which the latter played a fictional version of filmmaker John Ford. In a statement given to Variety, Spielberg was quoted saying,

"I loved David’s films. ‘Blue Velvet,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’ and ‘Elephant Man' defined him as a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade."

It continues,

"I got to know David when he played John Ford in ‘The Fabelmans.’ Here was one of my heroes—David Lynch playing one of my heroes. It was surreal and seemed like a scene out of one of David’s own movies. The world is going to miss such an original and unique voice. His films have already stood the test of time, and they always will."
Caroline Polachek's tribute to David Lynch (Image via Instagram/@carolineplz)
Caroline Polachek's tribute to David Lynch (Image via Instagram/@carolineplz)

Kyle MacLachlan's co-star from Twin Peaks, Lara Flynn Boyle, declared David Lynch as "the true Willy Wonka of filmmaking" in her statement to Deadline. At the same time, singer Caroline Polachek posted an Instagram story calling Lynch "the greatest artist of our lifetime."

The likes of Ron Howard, Nicholas Cage, Judd Apatow, Russell Brand, Naomi Watts, and more were among others who spoke or wrote about Lynch after his passing.

For the uninitiated, David Lynch was reportedly homebound for months due to his health struggles with emphysema. In January 2025, the director had to evacuate his LA house due to the Southern California wildfires. Shortly after moving to his daughter's house, Lynch passed away.

Edited by Tanisha Aggarwal
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