For the Love of Cheese: David Lynch Had One Condition for Appearing in Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ – and It Wasn’t Money
David Lynch was hesitant to play director John Ford in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 coming-of-age epic The Fabelmans, but agreed with one stipulation: Lynch asked for a big bag of – not money – but Cheetos.
Yes, that’s right – Lynch (who almost certainly received non-snack based remuneration for his appearance in the acclaimed film) told Empire magazine that he required a bag of the crunchy, cheesy snacks in his dressing room. But not just any bag – his had to be a big one.
“Well, Cheetos, number one, I love them,” Lynch said. “And any chance I can, I get them. But I know that they’re not exactly health food. So when I do leave the house and I get a chance to… But I don’t get them that often, honestly. If I do get them, I want a big bag. Because once you start… you need to have a lot before you could slow down and actually stop. Otherwise, with a small bag, then you’d be prowling for days to find more […] It’s incredible flavor.”
Lynch, of course, is an acclaimed director, known for directing movies with a surrealist bent, like Blue Velvet, Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, along with the television series Twin Peaks, which had three seasons spanning 30-odd years and a companion movie called Fire Walk with Me. But even though Lynch is known for showing up in cameos in his films, a la Alfred Hitchcock, he isn’t often in front of the camera.
Lynch said he hesitated to take the part at first, telling Empire “the reason is, when it comes to acting, I’ve purposely tried to stay away from it, giving the likes of Harrison Ford and George Clooney a chance at their careers.” Ultimately though, he agreed since he “really liked the scene” where he gives the young character about filmmaking by going on about the importance of where the horizon goes in a picture frame.
“John Ford probably had a bunch of things he could call on to give a short education to that young lad. But he picked the horizon bit,” Lynch said. “But it’s true. A horizon in the middle is boring as shit.”
This isn’t Lynch’s first public declaration of his love of junk food. Back in May, an Instagram post showed Lynch in the back of a limo with Bob Roth, CEO of the Lynch Foundation, both wearing leis and noshing on snacks. Lynch tells whoever is holding the camera “I just had two cookies and a coke. It’s phenomenal.”
Going even further back to 1990, the main character in Twin Peaks, Special Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, had a thing for one of the local restaurant’s coffee and “damn fine cherry pie.” That can’t be a coincidence.