Editing Blue Velvet (film) (section)

===Casting===
The cast of ''Blue Velvet'' included several then-relatively unknown actors.

Lynch met Isabella Rossellini at a restaurant, and offered her the role of Dorothy Vallens. [[Helen Mirren]] had been Lynch's first choice for the role.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Righetti |first=Jamie |date=May 24, 2018 |title='Blue Velvet' Remembered: Isabella Rossellini and Kyle MacLachlan Praise David Lynch's On-Set Environment |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/blue-velvet-remembered-isabella-rossellini-kyle-maclachlan-praise-david-lynch-on-set-environment-1201966761/ |access-date=June 17, 2023 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref> Rossellini had gained some exposure before the film for her [[Lancôme]] ads in the early 1980s and for being the daughter of actress [[Ingrid Bergman]] and director [[Roberto Rossellini]]. After completion of the film, during test screenings, [[ICM Partners]]—the agency representing Rossellini—immediately dropped her as a client. Furthermore, the nuns at the school in Rome that Rossellini attended in her youth called to say they were praying for her.<ref name="LookingBack">{{cite web|title=David Lynch should be shot": Looking back on the madness and chaos of "Blue Velvet" and Ronald Reagan's '80s|date=March 26, 2016|access-date=September 4, 2016|url=http://www.salon.com/2016/03/26/david_lynch_should_be_shot_looking_back_on_the_madness_and_chaos_of_blue_velvet_and_ronald_reagans_80s/|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]}}</ref>

Kyle MacLachlan had played the central role in Lynch's critical and commercial failure ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]'' (1984), a science fiction epic based on [[Dune (novel)|the novel of the same name]]. MacLachlan later became a recurring collaborator with Lynch, who remarked: "Kyle plays innocents who are interested in the mysteries of life. He's the person you trust enough to go into a strange world with."<ref>''GQ'', (for the modern man), Kyle MacLachlan, August 1992, Volume 62, Number 8, pp. 134–137, p. 197</ref> [[Val Kilmer]] was offered a role in the film, but he turned it down as felt it was too "graphic" for him, a decision he later regretted.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30228558.html | title=Kilmer's regret over early decisions | date=November 3, 2005 }}</ref> Dourif and Stockwell also rejoined Lynch from ''Dune''.

Dennis Hopper was the best-known actor in the film, having directed and starred in ''[[Easy Rider]]'' (1969). Hopper—said to be Lynch's third choice ([[Michael Ironside]] has stated that Frank was written with him in mind)<ref>{{cite web|url= https://horrornews.net/89714/interview-michael-ironside-extraterrestrial/|title= Interview: Michael Ironside (Extraterrestrial)|date= October 16, 2014}}</ref>—accepted the role, reportedly having exclaimed, "I've got to play Frank! I am Frank!"<ref name="Blue Velvet"/> [[Harry Dean Stanton]] and [[Steven Berkoff]] both turned down the role of Frank because of the violent content in the film.<ref>{{cite web|first=Will|last=Harris|title=Harry Dean Stanton on 60 years of acting and the scene that should have never been cut|url=https://www.avclub.com/harry-dean-stanton-on-nearly-60-years-of-acting-and-the-1798241429|publisher=AV/Film|date=October 3, 2013|access-date=September 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= A rant too far|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/a-rant-too-far-6304562.html|newspaper=London Evening Standard|date=June 14, 1998|access-date=September 14, 2018}}</ref>

Laura Dern, then 18 years old, was cast as Sandy after several already-successful actresses turned the role down, one among those being [[Molly Ringwald]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Edge of Your Seat: The 100 Greatest Movie Thrillers|first=Douglas|last=Brode|page=52|publisher=Citadel Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8065-2382-8}}</ref>