Originally appeared on E! Online
Naomi Watts credits the late David Lynch with saving her Hollywood career.
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The “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” star shared that the director — whose family announced his passing on Jan. 16 — rescued her stalled career by casting her in 2001’s Mulholland Drive.
“He was very instrumental to me even being in America,” the U.K. native said during her Jan. 21 appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark. “I wouldn’t have stayed had I not have met David Lynch.”
Noting that when she met the “Twin Peaks” writer and director she was “10 years into flunking auditions,” Watts added, “Nothing was happening. I was literally alienating people, making them uncomfortable, because I was so like, ‘I need a job, I need a job!’ In fact, so much so that my agent at the time said, ‘You’re too intense. You’re making people uncomfortable.’ I’m like, yeah, ‘I need a job. I need to work.’”
Watts — who has been nominated for two Oscars since starring in the pivotal film — also described Lynch as “a real mentor and friend,” saying he “really affected so many people.”
“Not just the people he worked with, but how he viewed life and what he gave,” she continued. “Such a big heart, so much purity.”
On the same day as the news of his passing, Watts paid tribute to Lynch — whose cause of death was not given, but who had revealed in September 2024 that he was battling emphysema as a result of smoking throughout his life — sharing that her “heart is broken.”
“The world will not be the same without him,” she captioned her Jan. 16 Instagram that included both pictures and a clip from throughout their friendship. “His creative mentorship was truly powerful. He put me on the map.”
She added, “It wasn’t just his art that impacted me–his wisdom, humor, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before.”
