The best characters in David Lynch films

Time Out counts down the greatest characters in David Lynch films

A new BFI season starts this February celebrating the life and work of America’s most successfully idiosyncratic filmmaker, David Lynch. In a career spanning four decades, Lynch’s twisted and brilliant mind has spawned some of the most memorable, terrifying, lovable and head-spinningly strange characters ever to grace the cinema screen. Here are 50 of our favourites.

Obviously, we didn’t have room to fit in every one of Lynch’s great characters. So if you’ve got something to add (‘Where the hell was Shadout Mapes?’), please let us know in the comments box below.

By Tom Huddleston, David Jenkins and Ed Lawrenson.

Start the David Lynch character countdown

Find your favourite David Lynch character

David Lynch's films

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Comments

By Si - Feb 4 2012

Where Is the Baron??? Kenneth Macmillan must be honoured!

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By portarlington - Feb 4 2012

re: aditya - The Log Lady is there at No. 28

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By Dom - Feb 4 2012

Interesting list. The 'problem' with Lynch is that he creates so many great characters and 50 isn't a big enough list, so inevitably characters like Andy, Lucy, Maddy, Dick Tremayne and so on get missed. In fact you could easily populate the entire list above with the Twin Peaks cast!

One thing though. As I understand it, the Giant and the Old Man are certainly one and the same, but The Little Man From Another Place states in Fire Walk With Me that he is 'the arm' that was supposedly cut off by MIKE, the one-armed man, in the series. ;)