Twin Peaks

Background:

“I've always considered myself a late bloomer. I never felt like I knew what I was doing in my twenties.” Kyle MacLachlan

Golden Globe winning actor Kyle MacLachlan gained initial attention in David Lynch’s films “Dune” (1984, starred as Paul Atreides) and “Blue Velvet” (1986, as Jeffrey Beaumont), before receiving praise for portraying the quirky special agent Dale Cooper in Lynch's cult TV series “Twin Peaks” (1990-1991), a role he later reprised in its film version “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (1992). Since then, he has been handed prominent roles like alien policeman Lloyd Gallagher in “The Hidden” (1987), real life keyboardist Ray Manzarek in “The Doors” (1991), junior bank manager Josef in “The Trial” (1993), director Zack Carey in “Showgirls” (1995), Hamlet's uncle Claudius in “Hamlet” (2000), Mr. Hope in “Northfork” (2003), the spirit of Cary Grant in “Touch of Pink” (2004) and Bill Kerr in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (2008). More recently, the winner of the 1992 Aftonbladet TV Prize (Sweden) for Best Foreign TV Personality - Male is known to TV audiences as Dr. Trey MacDougal in HBO's "Sex and the City" (2000-2002) and as the mysterious dentist Orson Hodge on ABC's “Desperate Housewives” (2006-2010). He also starred in several TV films, including “Against the Wall” (1994), “The Invisible Man” (1998), “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear” (2004) and “Mysterious Island” (2005).

The 6' 2" handsome actor, one of People Magazine's “Sexiest Men Alive” in 2006, has been married to Desiree Gruber since 2002. They have one young son together. MacLachlan was romantically involved with supermodel Linda Evangelista from 1992 to 1998. The couple became engaged in May 1996 before eventually splitting up in July 1998. He also once dated actress Lara Flynn Boyle (together from 1990 to 1992) and actress Laura Dern (together from 1985 to 1989).

Bach

Childhood and Family:

Born Kyle Merritt MacLachlan on February 22, 1959, in Yakima, Washington, to Kent and Katherine MacLachlan, Kyle has two brothers named Craig and Kent. MacLachlan, whose family name is from one of the oldest clans in Scotland, claims to be a direct descendant of German composer and organist Johann Sebastian Bach (on his mother's side).

MacLachlan graduated from Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Washington, in 1976. He furthered his studies at the University of Washington in Seattle and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1982.

In August 2001, MacLachlan became engaged to his girlfriend of two years, fashion publicist Desiree Gruber. They exchanged wedding vows on April 20, 2002, at Plymouth Congregational Church in Gruber's hometown of Miami, Florida. On July 25, 2008, MacLachlan and his wife had a son named Callum Lyon MacLachlan.

MacLachlan and his family currently live in Manhattan. He and his wife have two dogs, a Jack Russell terrier and a Yorkie/Chihuahua mix. They even created a website about their dogs. A coffee fan, MacLachlan has appeared in a number of commercials for the Japanese coffee brand Georgia Coffee, under the direction of his friend David Lynch. He is also a devoted wine lover and partnered with wine merchant Eric Dunham for a winery in Washington's Columbia Valley. His other interests include photography and golf. He showcased some of his pictures in the Qualia 2004 Exhibition and has played golf in the Dunhill Links championship.

Blue Velvet

Career:

Kyle MacLachlan performed in high school and college productions. He joined the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and played Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet.” He also performed at the Empty Space Theater in Seattle. After college, he headed to Hollywood to pursue his career.

In 1984, MacLachlan made his feature acting debut in David Lynch's science fiction feature “Dune,” his first of a string of collaborations with Lynch. In the movie, which was adapted from the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert, he starred as the young warrior messiah Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides I and Lady Jessica, (played by Jürgen Prochnow and Francesca Annis, respectively). The movie has since received a cult following. MacLachlan was reunited with director/writer David Lynch two years later in the highly praised mystery film “Blue Velvet” (1986), which also starred Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. He gained critical victory as Jeffrey Beaumont, a young man drawn into a sordid relationship with a demented man (played by Hopper) and his masochistic lover (played by Rossellini).

Following his success of “Blue Velvet,” MacLachlan starred as alien cop Lloyd Gallagher in the science fiction horror film “The Hidden” (1987, helmed by Jack Sholder) and performed on stage opposite then-girlfriend Laura Dern in the off-Broadway production of “The Palace of Amateurs” at the Minetta Lane Theater in 1988. He closed out the decade acting in “Dream Breakers” (CBS, 1989) opposite Robert Loggia and D.W. Moffett.

In the early 1990s, MacLachlan costarred with Shelley Long, Steve Guttenberg and Jami Gertz in the based on novel comedy “Don't Tell Her It's Me,” directed by Malcolm Mowbray and written by Sarah Bird, and had the famed supporting role of real life keyboardist Ray Manzarek in Oliver Stone's musical drama about the influential 1960's rock band fronted by Jim Morrison, “The Doors” (1991), which starred Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison. However, it was not until he teamed up again with David Lynch for the ABC cult TV series “Twin Peaks” (1990-1991), which was created by Lynch and Mark Frost, that MacLachlan enjoyed greater success. Starring as Dale Cooper, the actor picked up a 1991 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama and was nominated for two Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He also nabbed two Soap Opera Digest nominations for Outstanding Actor, Prime Time. After the show ended, MacLachlan reprised his role in the big screen version “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (1992). Directed by Lynch, the film met with negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. The same year, he also had a small role in Marc Rocco's drama “Where the Day Takes You” with his then-companion Lara Flynn Boyle. MacLachlan also narrated the audio book “Diane: The Twin Peaks Tapes Of Agent Cooper” (1990) and appeared in commercials for Ruffles and the Japanese brand Georgia Coffee (1991), which was directed by Lynch. In 1992, he did a print ad for the Donna Karen clothing with Linda Evangelista.

In 1993, MacLachlan stepped behind the camera to direct “As Ye Sow,” a sequel of the HBO series inspired by the comics of the 1950's “Tales from the Crypt.” Back in front of the camera, he played Billy McQueen in “Rich in Love,” based on the Josephine Humphrey 1987 novel of the same name. He then appeared as a junior bank manager in David Hugh Jones' film adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel “The Trial” (also 1993) and Cliff Vandercave, John Goodman's spiteful boss, in director Brian Levant's financially successful live action film “The Flintstones” (1994), based on the Hanna-Barbera animated TV series of the same name. He next starred in the HBO TV movie “Against the Wall” (1994), which was based on a true story, and was cast as Major Jesse Marcel in the Showtime movie “Roswell” (1994).

Next up for MacLachlan, he worked with Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon in the critically panned drama “Showgirls” (1995), directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. For his portrayal of Zack Carey, an ambitious entertainment director, he was nominated for a 1996 Razzie for Worst Actor.

The following year, MacLachlan starred as Sean Dillon in the Showtime film “Windsor Protocol,” which was adapted from a novel by Jack Higgins, costarred with Elisabeth Shue and Dermot Mulroney in David Koepp's thriller “The Trigger Effect,” based on the documentary TV series “Connections,” and supported Ellen Barkin and Gabriel Byrne in director/writer Larry Bishop's “Mad Dog Time.” He also played a 1950s Tennessee moonshiner named Jed Muldoon in Showtime's “Moonshine Highway.” The rest of the 1990s saw him in Mike Figgis' drama “One Night Stand” (1997), where he memorably played Vernon, the brother of a dying AIDS victim (played by Robert Downey Jr.), as well as in the TV films “The Invisible Man” (1998, as Jack Griffin), “Thunder Point” (1998, recreated his role of Sean Dillon) and “Route 9” (1998, with Peter Coyote).

From 2000 to 2002, MacLachlan portrayed the recurring role of Dr. Trey MacDougal, a Scottish American heart surgeon and the first husband of Kristin Davis' Charlotte, on the HBO popular sitcom “Sex and the City.” He was also cast as Claudius in writer/director Michael Almereyda's modern version of Shakespeare classic play “Hamlet” (2000), opposite Ethan Hawke as Hamlet, and had a small role in Mike Figgis' experimental drama “Timecode” (2000), his second collaboration with the British director and writer. He then appeared in the films “Xchange” (2000, helmed by Allan Moyle), “The Spring” (2000, TV), “Me Without You” (2001, directed by Sandra Goldbacher), “Perfume” (2001, co-directed by Michael Rymer and Hunter Carson) and “Miranda” (2002, starred Christina Ricci).

MacLachlan next played Mr. Hope in “Northfork” (2003), a film directed by Michael Polish and written by Michael and Mark Polish. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2003, and later earned a limited release in the U.S. later that year. He then portrayed the spirit of Cary Grant in writer/director Ian Iqbal Rashid's “Touch of Pink,” had the supporting role of Edward Wilde in the TNT adventure film “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear,” which starred Noah Wyle, and guest starred as Dr. Brett Morton in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (all 2004). He picked up a Genie nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and a Saturn nomination for Best Supporting Actor on Television for his work in “Touch of Pink” and “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear,” respectively. In 2005, he starred as Cyrus in Hallmark Channel's “Mysterious Island,” based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne.

MacLachlan returned to series TV as a regular when he costarred with Jason O'Mara, Marisol Nichols, Constance Zimmer and Daniel Cosgrove in ABC's drama “In Justice,” which ran from January 1 to March 31, 2006. After the cancellation of “In Justice,” he joined the cast of ABC's “Desperate Housewives” playing the mysterious dentist Orson Hodge. The role has brought him three Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2007, 2008 and 2009). Commenting about his character on the show, he said, “He has my sense of humor, which is a little on the dry side which works well in the world of 'Desperate Housewives.' He likes things tidy and I'm the same way too. He likes a clean glass and I'm down with that also.”

The accomplished performer also played the brother of Meret Oppenheim in “Stille” (2006), an award winning 26 minute length drama written and directed by Susan Schwarzwald, provided the voice of Clark Kent/Superman in “Justice League: The New Frontier” (2008), a direct to video animated film adapted from the award winning DC Comics miniseries by Darwyn Cooke, and had an unaccredited part in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (2008). 2009 found him rejoining the Polish Brothers for their comedy “Manure,” where he portrayed Jimmy St. James opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Téa Leoni, and in director Bruce Beresford's “Mao's Last Dancer,” a drama based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin.

“As an actor, you're always in situations that can be compromising but you can wipe away that gray area by making a choice.” Kyle MacLachlan

Awards:

• Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden: Best Foreign TV Personality - Male, 1992

• Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama, “Twin Peaks,” 1991