Editing Kyle MacLachlan (section)

===1980s===
The first film MacLachlan worked on was ''[[The Changeling (film)|The Changeling]]'' (1980), part of which was shot on the University of Washington campus. He was paid $10 as an [[Extra (acting)|extra]].<ref name="uw-Alumni" />

In the summer of 1981, after his sophomore year at college, he played the lead in three roles at the Old Lyric Repertory Theatre in [[Logan, Utah]], and the following summer with the [[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] in [[Ashland, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Funk |first1=Marrianne |title=KYLE MCLACHLAN: BEFORE 'TWIN PEAKS,' HE WAS A STAR IN CACHE VALLEY PLAYS |url=https://www.deseret.com/1990/9/30/18883781/kyle-mclachlan-before-twin-peaks-he-was-a-star-in-cache-valley-plays |access-date=October 29, 2020 |work=Deseret News |date=September 30, 1990}}</ref>

MacLachlan made his film debut in ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]'' (1984) in the starring role of [[Paul Atreides]].<ref name="time-Daddario">{{cite magazine |last=D'Addario |first=David |title=The New Twin Peaks Needs Kyle MacLachlan |url=https://time.com/3475248/kyle-maclachlan-twin-peaks-showtime-david-lynch/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=October 6, 2014}}</ref> MacLachlan was performing in [[Molière]]'s ''[[Tartuffe]]'' at a Seattle-area theater when a [[Casting (performing arts)|casting agent]] for ''Dune'' producer [[Dino De Laurentiis]] began searching for a young lead and received multiple recommendations for him. After several screen tests, he hit it off with director [[David Lynch]], aided by their common [[Pacific Northwest]] backgrounds, and succeeded in winning the part.<ref name="lat-DeVries" /> This marked the beginning of [[List of frequent David Lynch collaborators|a creative partnership between MacLachlan and Lynch]], who would go on to collaborate on four more projects before Lynch's death in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=People search results for "kyle-maclachlan-" |url=https://www.allmovie.com/search/people/kyle-maclachlan- |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=AllMovie |language=en}}</ref>

After ''Dune'' flopped and met with poor reviews from critics, MacLachlan found it difficult to find work. He moved to [[Los Angeles]] in 1985,<ref name="lat-DeVries" /><ref name="atlantic-Snyder">{{cite web |last=Snyder |first=Daniel D. |title=The Messy, Misunderstood Glory of David Lynch's Dune |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-messy-misunderstood-glory-of-david-lynchs-em-dune-em/284316/ |website=[[The Atlantic]] |date=March 14, 2014}}</ref> and auditioned for several films, including ''[[Top Gun]]'', but failed to win any roles, eventually dropping his agent.<ref name="lat-DeVries" />

Lynch cast MacLachlan in the starring role of Jeffrey Beaumont in ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]'' (1986), which was received more positively.<ref name="lat-DeVries" /> Reflecting on his enduring relationship with Lynch in a 2012 interview, MacLachlan remarked: "David Lynch plucked me from obscurity. He cast me as the lead in ''Dune'' and ''Blue Velvet'', and people have seen me as this boy-next-door-cooking-up-something-weird-in-the-basement ever since."<ref>{{cite news |last=Mulkerrins |first=Jane |date=June 24, 2012 |title=This much I know: Kyle MacLachlan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/24/kyle-maclachlan-this-much-know |work=[[The Observer]] |access-date=September 22, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407145748/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/24/kyle-maclachlan-this-much-know |archive-date=April 7, 2015}}</ref> Lynch biographer Chris Rodley described MacLachlan as an on-screen incarnation of Lynch's own persona.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rodley |first1=Chris |last2=Lynch |first2=David |author-link2=David Lynch |date=2005 |title=Lynch on Lynch |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]] |pages=140–141 |isbn=0-571-22018-5}}</ref>

He starred in the 1987 science fiction action film ''[[The Hidden (1987 film)|The Hidden]]'' as FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Levy |editor-first1=Michael M. |editor-last2=Mendlesohn |editor-first2=Farah |date=2019 |title=Aliens in Popular Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lvaKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149 |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |page=149 |isbn=978-1-4408-3832-3}}</ref>