The entertainment world is mourning the loss of inventive and influential filmmaker David Lynch, who died Thursday, January 16, at age 78.
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Lynch broke uncharted ground with off-the-wall movies like Eraserhead and Blue Velvet and the TV series Twin Peaks. He also had a passion for music, and played a major role in creating and/or curating the soundtracks of his movies. David also released several solo albums, and directed music videos for various artists.
[RELATED: 4 Non-Film Songs David Lynch Wrote for His Solo Albums]
In addition, Lynch sometimes cast noteworthy music artists in his movies. Here’s a look at four music stars that appeared in David’s films.
Sting – Dune (1984)
Lynch directed and wrote the screenplay for the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 sci-fi novel Dune. Although the film was critically panned and a box office flop, it did offer imaginative depictions of Dune’s futuristic worlds and bizarre characters.
Sting was featured in a key role in the movie as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the cunning and cruel nephew of planetary governor Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The Police frontman’s over-the-top performance included a scene where he appeared wearing just a wing-shaped leather codpiece.
In another scene, Sting is the midst of a knife fight with the film’s star, Kyle McLachlan as the heroic Paul Atreides, and he bombastically yells, “I will kill him!”
David Bowie – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me was a 1992 cinematic prequel to the TV series Twin Peaks, which ran for two seasons in 1990 and 1991. The movie, which was equally bizarre and convoluted as the TV show, focused on the events that led to the murder of Laura Palmer.
In the film, David Bowie has a cameo as Special Agent Phillip Jeffries. Bowie’s character mysteriously appears at an FBI office two years after he disappeared at a hotel in Argentina while on an assignment.
Speaking in an exaggerated Southern drawl, Bowie as Jeffries rants enigmatically to his colleagues (played by Lynch, McLachlan and Miguel Ferrer) about where he’s been for the last two years. As the lights strangely flicker in the office, and Bowie’s character suddenly disappears again. Jeffries then briefly materializes at the same hotel in Argentina before vanishing once again.
Henry Rollins – Lost Highway (1997)
Lynch’s 1997 film Lost Highway is a surreal noir thriller about musician named Fred Madison (played by Bill Pullman) who is convicted for murdering his wife. While Madison is in prison, he inexplicably disappears and, in his place, a young mechanic named Pete Dayton (portrayed by Balthazar Getty) is found in his cell.
Former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins appeared in a small role as a prison guard named Henry, who looks after Madison.
Billy Ray Cyrus – Mulholland Drive (2001)
Lynch’s 2001 movie Mulholland Drive is a surreal neo-noir mystery that alternately presents a rags-to-riches story about a naive actress hoping to become a movie star and a look at the dark side of the Hollywood dream.
One storyline in the film involves a movie director named Adam Kesher (played by Justin Theroux) who’s being pressured by the mob to hire a specific actress for a role in a movie he’s making. In addition, Kesher’s wife (who’s played by Lori Heuring) is having an affair with a character portrayed by Mr. “Achy Breaky Heart” himself, Billy Ray Cyrus.
Cyrus appears in two scenes in the film. In the first, Kesher catches his wife in bed with her lover, and then takes her jewelry and begins to cover it in pink paint. Cyrus’ character then proceeds to throttle the director and kick him out of his own house. Later, a large mobster comes looking for Kesher at his house and walks in uninvited. He’s confronted by the director’s wife and her boyfriend, and then gives a beatdown to the couple.
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