‘Twin Peaks’ turns 35! See the cast of David Lynch’s groundbreaking cult series, then and now

Kyle MacLachlan (Special Agent Dale Cooper)

Kyle MacLachlan landed the role of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper on Twin Peaks after impressing co-creator David Lynch with his performances in Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986).

“It was new for its time,” MacLachlan told EW in 2017, regarding the now-cult series. “The characters did things that you didn’t expect them to do. But it was more than that: It was a world. You kind of immersed yourself in a different place. I think people forgot where they were when they watched the program. They just kind of fell into the world of Twin Peaks.”

Since the show’s end, MacLachlan has enjoyed a healthy film and TV career. Most notably, he’s had recurring roles on Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Portlandia, and Carol’s Second Act. In 2017, he came back for Twin Peaks: The Return as multiple characters. On the big screen, MacLachlan has appeared in films like Showgirls (1995), Hamlet (2000), The House With a Clock in Its Walls (2018), and Blink Twice (2024), in addition to lending his voice to the character of Riley’s dad in Pixar’s Inside Out (2015), its 2024 sequel, and the Disney+ spinoff series.

He has been married to Project Runway executive producer Desiree Gruber since 2002. Together, they share a son, Callum.

Michael Ontkean (Sheriff Harry S. Truman)

Michael Ontkean gained notoriety in the 1970s as Officer Willie Gillis on the ABC series The Rookies. Following a vast film career — including Slap Shot (1977) and Making Love (1982) — Ontkean joined Twin Peaks as Sheriff Harry S. Truman.

“A magical curtain surrounded the entire production,” Ontkean told The Guardian in January 2025. “The atmosphere was both mellow and buzzing with electricity. Mischief, mayhem, and mystery — all surrounded by (humor) and giant truckloads of good cheer. I loved every minute of preparing, rehearsing, shooting, and hanging out.”

After the show wrapped, he went on to do two other short-lived series, North Shore and Sophie. His final role was in the acclaimed drama The Descendants (2011) before he officially retired from acting. As such, he did not appear in the 2017 Twin Peaks revival.

Mädchen Amick (Shelly Johnson)

Before playing one of the show’s most popular characters, waitress Shelly Johnson, Mädchen Amick had only previously booked minor roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Baywatch.

“Twin Peaks came out, and I think it gave the audience what they were craving, which was intelligence and mystery and something different,” Amick told EW in 2017.

Since its end, Amick has gone on to appear on several other iconic series like Gilmore Girls, ER, Dawson’s Creek, Gossip Girl, and Damages. She also starred on the Lifetime supernatural series Witches of East End, which ended its run in 2014. In 2017, she returned for the Twin Peaks revival and started a long-lasting run as Alice Cooper (Betty’s mom) on Riverdale, which wrapped in 2023.

Since 1995, Amick has been married to songwriter David Alexis, with whom she shares son Sylvester and daughter Mina.

Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs)

Dana Ashbrook had guest spots on several classic 1980s series like Cagney & Lacey and 21 Jump Street before clinching the part of Bobby Briggs on Twin Peaks, the boyfriend of murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer.

“What attracted me to the role, honestly: This was the guy that was a lot cooler than I am or will ever be…. He got to do all these cool things that were written in the script, surfing on top of a car, all that stuff,” Ashbrook told EW in 2017. “I got lucky that I got to play such a cool kind of character.”

Since Peaks’ end, Ashbrook has enjoyed a steady stream of roles on various series, appearing on Dawson’s Creek, Deadwood, White Collar, and Blue Bloods. After returning for the 2017 Twin Peaks series, he made guest appearances on The Resident, Insatiable, and High Potential.

Ashbrook married actress Kate Rogal in 2015.

Richard Beymer (Benjamin Horne)

Twin Peaks fans may know him as cutthroat businessman Ben Horne, but Richard Beymer rose to prominence decades prior with two iconic roles: Peter in George Stevens’ adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and Tony in the original film version of West Side Story (1961), opposite Natalie Wood.

While maintaining a decades-long acting career, Beymer also tried his hand at filmmaking, directing smaller works such as A Regular Bouquet: Mississippi Summer (1964), The Innerview (1973), The Passing of a Saint (2010), and It’s a Beautiful World (2014). He returned for the Twin Peaks revival series after a 16-year break from acting on screen.

Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna Hayward)

Lara Flynn Boyle’s role as Donna Hayward, best friend to murder victim Laura Palmer, was her first big break. Before that, she only had small parts in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and Dead Poets Society (1989) — though her scenes didn’t make the final cuts of both films.

When Peaks came back for the one-off prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in 1992, Boyle chose not to return and was replaced by Moira Kelly. Donna (played by either actress) did not appear on the 2017 revival.

Beyond Peaks, Boyle went to star on David E. Kelley’s The Practice as Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble from 1997 to 2003, with additional TV credits for Las Vegas and Law & Order. On film, she appeared in Death in Texas (2020) and Mother, Couch (2023).

After dating Twin Peaks costar Kyle MacLachlan and The Shining‘s Jack Nicholson in the ’90s, Boyle married real estate investor Donald Ray Thomas in 2006.

Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne)

Before her Emmy-nominated work as rich teen Audrey Horne, Sherilyn Fenn starred in a series of B-movies throughout the 1980s — including gems like The Wild Life (1984), Thrashin’ (1986), and Zombie High (1987).

Twin Peaks rocketed Fenn to star status, landing her a big role in Gary Sinise’s Of Mice and Men (1992) and as movie icon Elizabeth Taylor in the 1995 NBC biopic Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story. Fenn has appeared in guest roles on a variety of shows: Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, Boston Public, Shameless, Goliath, S.W.A.T., and Shining Vale. She, too, returned for the 2017 Twin Peaks revival.

“We (got) to come back with a level of wisdom that we didn’t have,” she told EW in 2017 about the reboot. “For me, so much appreciation because just the idea to revisit it again as a grown-up woman, it’s kind of a dream come true.”

Fenn has two sons, Myles and Christian, from previous relationships.

Warren Frost (Dr. Will Hayward)

Warren Frost lived a rich life even before stepping into the shoes of Twin Peaks’ Dr. Will Hayward — or simply, “Doc.” A World War II vet, Frost spent most of his life teaching theater at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.

He played a minor but memorable part in the film adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) and found roles on famed shows like Matlock and Seinfeld. He was also the father of screenwriter/producer Mark Frost, actress Lindsay Frost (As the World Turns), and writer Scott Frost.

He died in February 2017 at the age of 91, but not before returning for one episode of the Twin Peaks revival.

Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings)

Peggy Lipton, who was diner owner Norma Jennings on Twin Peaks, rose to notoriety as flower child Julie Barnes on the late-’60s/early-’70s series The Mod Squad. The “It Girl” of the era, her performance on The Mod Squad earned her four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe. Nevertheless, the actress recognized that Twin Peaks was a far cry from the formulaic television of the past.

“It was subtlety all the way,” she told EW in 2017. “You had time to think about things and talk about things and contemplate it and get scared.”

Lipton’s later career included a couple of guest spots on Psych and House of Lies, on top of a return to Twin Peaks for the revival series.

From 1974 to 1990, she was married to the late media mogul Quincy Jones, with whom she shared two children, actress Rashida Jones and designer Kidada Jones. Lipton died at age 72 in May 2019.

James Marshall (James Hurley)

James Marshall got his start playing the motorcycle-riding James Hurley on Twin Peaks.

“David (Lynch) and Mark (Frost) back then were doing amalgamations of different icons within people on Twin Peaks,” he told Vulture in 2017. “My character was a James Dean mixed with a few other icons that David particularly liked. Very ’50s. In a nutshell, when David handles this show, my character gets handled much better.”

Shortly after the series, Marshall went on to play Private Louden Downey in A Few Good Men (1992) and Tommy Riley in Gladiator (1992). Since then, he’s appeared in minor roles in a variety of films, also voicing Kurt in the role-playing video game Unlimited Saga. After a run on the Twin Peaks revival, he starred in the Roku Channel series The Pact.

Marshall has been married to actress Renee Griffin since 1998.

Everett McGill (“Big” Ed Hurley)

In addition to playing “Big” Ed Hurley — who runs Twin Peaks’ gas station — Everett McGill has enjoyed a vast career. Before Peaks, he appeared in Dune (1984) and the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989).

“I worked with (David Lynch) on a film called Dune, and he gave me the nickname ‘Big E,'” he told EW in 2017. “Sometime after that, he approached me (and) he said, ‘If I do something, and you get to be cool and country at the same time, would you do it?’ And that sold me.”

When Peaks went off the air, McGill semi-retired from acting, only appearing in a few ’90s movies and an episode of JAG. He returned for two episodes of the Twin Peaks revival series.

Jack Nance (Pete Martell)

Jack Nance’s portrayal of the chess-playing lumberjack, Pete Martell, on Twin Peaks was just one of his many collaborations with co-creator David Lynch. Nance was cast in nearly all of Lynch’s projects, including Eraserhead (1977), Dune (1984), Blue Velvet (1986), and Lost Highway (1997).

Nance died in December 1996 after suffering a brain injury. Lynch later produced a documentary in Nance’s honor, titled I Don’t Know Jack (2002).

Joan Chen (Jocelyn Packard)

Joan Chen appeared in the Oscar-winning epic The Last Emperor (1987) before taking the role of Josie Packard on Twin Peaks. (Both were her first big roles in the U.S., having previously found success in China.)

“We would get a script, and every time, I’m surprised,” she told EW in 2024. “Every time, there is some new revelation.”

After the series ended, Chen tried her hand at directing with the acclaimed Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998) and Autumn in New York (2000), starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder.

Busy playing a Mongolian empress on Netflix’s Marco Polo, Chen did not return for the 2017 revival series — though she did express interest, per The Hollywood Reporter. She’s since appeared on TV shows like The Heart and A Murder at the End of the World, in addition to films such as Tigertail (2020), Ava (2020), and Didi (2024).

Chen shares two daughters with her ex-husband, cardiologist Peter Hui.

Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Moran)

Kimmy Robertson played the innocent Lucy Moran, the sheriff’s department receptionist.

Known for her high-pitched voice, Robertson went on to do voice-acting roles in Beauty and the Beast (1991) and on Batman: The Animated Series, The Simpsons, and the short-lived Little Mermaid TV series. She’s also lent her voice talents to the long-running Christian radio series Adventures in Odyssey and the TV show Ollies & Scoops, on top of returning for 2017’s Twin Peaks.

Michael Horse (Deputy Tommy “Hawk” Hill)

Michael Horse’s Tommy “Hawk” Hill won the hearts of Peaks fans with his portrayal of the loyal deputy under Sheriff Harry S. Truman.

“I don’t know about anybody else, but I was basically having a ball. I was notorious for stealing stuff off sets back then,” Horse said to The Guardian in January 2025. “If I’d known Twin Peaks was going to be what it was, man, I would have taken more stuff.”

Before putting on his police badge, Horse played the iconic role of Tonto in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), the first big-screen adaptation of the TV classic. Horse has gone on to appear on a number of TV series, including the Twin Peaks revival, The X-Files, Hell on Wheels, Claws, and Motherland: Fort Salem.

He is married to Indigenous activist Pennie Opal Plant.

Piper Laurie (Catherine Martell)

With Emmy and Golden Globe wins under her belt — along with three Oscar nominations for her roles in The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986) — Piper Laurie was a highlight in Peaks’ acting troupe. On the series, she played the devious and calculating Catherine Martell, which earned her a Golden Globe.

Since the show wrapped, she’s made guest appearances on ER (playing George Clooney’s character’s mother), Frasier, Will & Grace, Law & Order: SVU, and MacGyver. Laurie did not appear in the 2017 revival series, even though she had expressed interest in returning.

“I made it very clear to David (Lynch) and the team that I would be delighted to come back,” Laurie told EW in 2016. “I had a fantastic time on the original and won lots of awards. I’m surprised, and I have no idea why I haven’t been called back.”

In October 2023, Laurie died at age 91. She’s survived by her daughter, Anne Grace Morgenstern.

Harry Goaz (Deputy Andy Brennan)

Sheriff Truman’s other deputy came in the form of the endearingly dimwitted Deputy Andy Brennan, played by Harry Goaz.

Brennan was Goaz’s first acting role, and, since the show ended, he’s taken few other parts. Shortly after Peaks finished its run, Goaz appeared on the short-lived paranormal series Eerie, Indiana. Prior to returning for the Twin Peaks revival, his latest credit was a minor role in the sci-fi film Earthling (2010).

Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer and Maddy Ferguson)

Sheryl Lee originally played the town darling Laura Palmer, whose murder set Twin Peaks into motion. Impressed with her acting abilities, co-creator David Lynch also gave Lee the role of Maddy Ferguson, Laura’s cousin, later on the series.

“I had never done television or film before, and I was only originally hired for about four days as a corpse just with a few flashbacks,” she said to EW in 2017. “I was just thrilled to be able to try something in television but mostly to work with David, and then the role sort of kept going from there. I’m very grateful.”

Since the show ended, Lee has maintained a steady career on the big and small screen, starring in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. She has appeared in such films as Backbeat (1994), Winter’s Bone (2010), and Café Society (2016) and had minor parts on shows like One Tree Hill, House, Lie to Me, and Rosewood. She returned for the Twin Peaks revival, where she, poetically, featured prominently in the final scene.

She shares a child, Elijah, with ex-husband Jesse Diamond (son of Neil Diamond).

Ray Wise (Leland Palmer)

Ray Wise played the unstable Leland Palmer, who unravels after his daughter Laura is brutally murdered.

Wise is something of a TV legend, appearing on more shows than the majority of other living actors: Star Trek: The Next Generation, The West Wing, Law & Order: SVU, 24, Mad Men, Chuck, and The Young and the Restless — among dozens of others. He played Marvin for six years on ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat and returned for two episodes of 2017’s Twin Peaks.

Wise has been married to film producer Kass McClaskey since 1978. Together, they have two children: son Gannon and daughter Kyna.

Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer)

The New Orleans-born actress made her debut in Norma Rae (1979), starring Sally Field in the Oscar-winning titular role. After a number of minor film and TV appearances, including David Lynch’s own Wild at Heart (1990), Grace Zabriskie played Sarah Palmer, mother of the murdered Laura Palmer, on Twin Peaks.

After her harrowing turn as a grieving parent, Zabriskie made guest appearances on Seinfeld, The King of Queens, Big Love, Ray Donovan, and The Alienist. She reunited with Lynch for his film Inland Empire (2006) and the Twin Peaks revival, in addition to lending her voice to the 2021 animated film Cryptozoo.

Zabriskie was married to John MacEachron from 1963 until he died in 2011. The couple had two daughters, Helen (who died in 1993) and Marion (who died in 2019).

Catherine Coulson (The Log Lady)

After working with David Lynch on Eraserhead, Catherine Coulson teamed up with the director more than a decade later to play the enigmatic and mysterious Margaret Lanterman, a.k.a. the Log Lady, on Twin Peaks.

Mainly a stage actor, she based herself in Ashland, Ore., frequently working with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Though Coulson died in September 2015, she was still included in the immense cast list of the 2017 Twin Peaks revival, filming a handful of scenes before her death.

Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Lawrence Jacoby)

Russ Tamblyn was another Hollywood legend among the cast of Twin Peaks, playing psychiatrist Lawrence Jacoby.

Early in his career, he was Jets gangster Riff in West Side Story with fellow Peaks cast member Richard Beymer. Tamblyn appeared in a number of other famous films, such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Peyton Place (1957) — for which he scored an Oscar nomination — and The Haunting (1963).

Later in his career, he had small roles in Drive (2011) and Django Unchained (2012), in which he appeared alongside his daughter, actress Amber Tamblyn. He returned to Twin Peaks in 2017 and went on to have a guest role in The Haunting of Hill House.

Tamblyn has been married to musician Bonnie Murray since 1981.

Miguel Ferrer (FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield)

After playing the arrogant forensics expert Albert Rosenfield on Twin Peaks, Miguel Ferrer continued to light up the screen, big and small. Known for his villainous roles — such as Bob Morton in RoboCop (1987), also starring Peaks’ Ray Wise — Ferrer went on to have major parts on shows like Crossing Jordan, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Adventure Time, as well as in Iron Man 3 (2013).

He reprised his role as Albert in the Twin Peaks revival shortly before his death in January 2017 at the age of 61. His father was Oscar-winning actor José Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac, 1950), his mother was actress-singer Rosemary Clooney (White Christmas, 1954), and his cousin was George Clooney.