With the passing of beloved director David Lynch, many of the actors he worked with – along with countless staunch admirers – have shared emotional tributes and testaments to his legacy.

Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie. He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision.

When a director and an actor develop an ongoing creative partnership, a certain kind of magic happens, and this was certainly the case with actors Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern and director David Lynch.