Paris Match. When did you first meet David Lynch?
Marine Delterme. I met him for the first time in Paris at the end of the 80s, in a restaurant. We hit it off and he invited me to come see him in Los Angeles when he was filming the series “Twin Peaks”. I spent two days on set, it was an incredible experience. The sets were fantastic.
What man was he?
Always very friendly. I remember that in Paris, in a restaurant, there was an extra actor who had filmed with him on “Dune”. He got up spontaneously to go see him and greet him. It is also very elegant. On the set, I was warned that David Lynch could throw tantrums. He had a hat with sort of ears. It was winter in Los Angeles. I was told: if the ears tremble, it’s because it’s going to come out (laughs). I witnessed a tantrum, it was over in two seconds but it was very funny. He was quite an extraordinary being. When I had dinner with him there, it had snowed. Snow is very rare in Los Angeles. He was absolutely dazzled. He was fascinated by beauty: the beauty of beings, objects, colors. David Lynch was an incredible creator with an extraordinary aesthetic. He is above all a painter.
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On Instagram, you say you visited his cellar. Can you tell us about this memory?
-Yes, it was on this trip. One evening, he invited us with his script. We had been at his house and he wanted to make us pasta. He opened all the cupboards in his kitchen, but there were only cinema reels (laughs).. So, we didn’t eat anything but he showed me the cellar, the workshop where he made incredible furniture, with strange shapes that are quite incredible. I know this house well since we moved in almost next door (with her Oscar-winning husband, Florian Zeller Editor’s note). It’s like a sort of bunker, it’s where the beginning of “Lost Highway” was filmed.
“He ultimately died far from home”
Were the fires the cause of his death, particularly due to the smoke released?
It’s difficult to say. I learned from mutual friends that he had been evacuated four days before his death, at the height of the fires. It’s strange to think that he spent his life in this bunker which was, in my opinion, his fortress. Because of his illness (pulmonary emphysema, editor’s note), he no longer came out. He finally died far from home, it’s sad.
How do you explain the fascination he exerted?
I came across “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” by chance on Friday evening. It’s powerful when he talks about mental illness… When I met him, at the age of 18 and I wanted to be an actress, I had a lot of nightmares. He told me that for such a young girl it was surprising (laughs). He was a wonderful man, very different from his films, very accessible. He has always filmed strong women, not conventional, with a real look that takes care of all beings, whether feminine or masculine. And above all he had this sense of beauty which makes women fascinating.
