Patricia Arquette recently spoke about starring in the late David Lynch’s polarizing and surreal 1997 film, Lost Highwayas both Renee Madison and Alice Wakefield. In the interview with IndieWire, she reflected on the dual roles, filming with Lynch (who very recently passed away), and appearing nude.
“That was the hardest movie for me to ever make because I’ve always been very shy,” Arquette said. “Especially sexually. I think I probably had a lot of trauma. For many years, I would even take baths in the dark, alone with just a candle.”
In the past, she said filming the nude scenes were “terrifying,” especially as the crew said “crude” things. She continued:
“For me, making Lost Highway was one of the bravest things I could have done. I was so sick of carrying this burden of terror, this fear. That was a very powerful movie for me to make. I kind of met my own shadow.”
Arquette also said that Lynch didn’t give much information regarding the roles: “So I’d say, ‘David, am I playing two people? Is this one a ghost?’ And he’d say, ‘What do you think, Patrish?’ So, I had to make up my own logic.”
Despite a North American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (it debuted in France a week earlier), the film bombed upon its release in Feb. 1997earning a dismal $3.8 million worldwide, with just $110,000 internationally. It also divided critics at the time, with Roger Ebert giving it two out of four stars, writing that Lynch “knows how to put effective images on the screen, and how to use a soundtrack to create mood, but at the end of the film, our hand closes on empty air.”
However, Lost Highwayone of Lynch’s strangest films (and that’s saying a lot) has become something of a cult classic and has seen an increase in interest in recent years. On Rotten Tomatoes, it sits at 70% with critics and 87% with audiences, while it holds an average score of 7.6 / 10 on IMDb.
Patricia Arquette’s Acting Career, From ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 3’ to ‘Severance’
Arquette began her acting career as fan favorite Kristen Parker in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors – only to be replaced by Tuesday Night for Freddy’s fourth outing. She also appeared in movies helmed by a who’s who of directors, including The Indian Runner (Sean Penn), True Romance (Tony Scott, written by Quentin Tarantino), Ethan Frome (John Madden of Shakespeare in Love fame), Ed Wood (Tim Burton), Bringing Out the Dead (Martin Scorsese), Boyhood (Richard Linklater), and several others.
She starred as Allison Dubois on the successful show, Mediumwhich ran for a total of seven seasons, including jumping from NBC to CBS after five seasons. Her character has psychic abilities, allowing her to help solve crimes based on her visions. Arquette was nominated for several Emmys and Golden Globes for her role, but didn’t win until The Actwhich debuted in 2019.
Arquette joined star Adam Scott for the hit Apple TV+ show, Severancewhere she plays Harmony Cobel, the manager of the severed floor. She earned an Emmy nomination for her role. The second season is set to debut soon.
Severance season two premieres Jan. 17 on Apple TV+, while Lost Highway is available to rent across the major platforms.
