【Hollywood Archives】

From the way David Lynch treats his poor tortured and Hollywood Archiveshaunted characters onscreen, you would never guess how much real people love everything about being around him.

The love expressed Friday for the co-creator, director and star of Twin Peaksisn't just your garden variety Hollywood glad-handing from a Comic-Con panel. Everyone always says how much they love working with each other here.

But this is different. Actors reallyrevere David Lynch.

And of course Lynch is one of those directors who works with some of the same actors over decades -- entire careers even. That inspires some mighty warm waves of praise and damn fine loyalty

Lynch didn't attend the Twin Peakspanel at Comic-Con -- he put together a kooky short film instead -- but he loomed large, as nearly everyone onstage took a long moment to talk about the inviting, uniquely creative, and definitely strange process that is working with David Lynch.

Matthew Lillard, who had never worked with Lynch before Showtime's The Return, fielded the question first: "He has this incredible sense of joy about him," Lillard said, when asked what's supposedly so great about being on a Lynch set. "It's actually an easy answer because he has this peace about him that's unlike anything I've ever experienced. He's just a fantastic human being."

And even as topics went elsewhere throughout the panel, the cast (many of whom were longtime Lynch actors) kept drifting back to how much they just. Love. Their. Boss.

Kyle MacLachlan (Dale Cooper):

He is fantastic in his belief in his process and his vision and his point of view is so profound and focused and he inspires me that away. Because he follows this dream in his mind, and I find that inspirational in my life -- to go after the thing I believe in the strongest.

Don Murray: (Bushnell Mullins in The Return):

I think one of the most impressive things about David is he really shows great appreciation for other people's work. And that's something we like, to be appreciated. You go home from a day's work and you feel good about yourself and the world having had that experience.

MacLachlan:

He's also very accessible to all of us. And he's very open. And available. And then there's a point at which he tgoest oa place that's purely David ... he's an artist. And that's when i'm the biggest fan; it's place i don't think I can share wtih im. thee's a place where he goes where he's all by himself.

Naomi Watts (longtime collaborator, plays Janey-E Jones in The Return):

I still get a little star-struck around David because he's so unique. He's like another world you want to be a part of. You just want to please him in everything you do. That sounds weird. [laughs] On set. Truly, that's not a joke -- he creates such an incredibly imaginative world and it's so original and you just want to joint that world at whatever cost and ... you know it's gonna be good. Because all these ideas are just completely original ... and ... [laughing, realizing that she's been pouring it on] Thank you. Sorry.

James marshall (James Hurley):

Seeing everybody on the set ... seeing how warm and inviting David was ... it was great. I've never seen anbody who's as creative as David ... and everybody gets exactly the same respect.

MacLachlan:

I wouldn't have a career if it wasn't for Davd. It was all theater. He pretty much brought me up in the film world and spoiled me; we've all spoken about how the set is, he creates the environment and the joyfulness and the creativity. I've been spoiled forever working with David.

Everett McGill, who played Ed Hurley in the original series, said he hadn't acted in 20 years, a span he found intimidating to make a return from. But he couldn't pass up the chance to work with Lynch one more time.

It was McGill, however, who broke the streak of unbending love -- telling a Lynch story that's sooooo David Lynch it hurts:

"David has a sharp edge to him, too," McGill said. "There's this beautiful speech when I'm describing how Nadeen and I get together. And I said, 'David, do you think they're gonna sit still for this?' And he said 'Let me help you with that. I'm gonna run up and down the hallway and find someone to give that speech for you, and you can just stand behind him and nod your head."

Finally, then there was the time Jim Belushi was caught talking when he shouldn't have been, as recalled by Tim Roth in Lynch's monotone, slightly hard-of-hearing tone:

"Mister Belushi! Do I have to tell you to report to the principal's office?"