In addition to being one our most daring and idiosyncratic auteurs, Lynch was also capable of being a hell of an actor, summoning halting arias of plainspoken wisdom or short-fused rage. Just go back and rewatch his brief-but-brilliant turn as John Ford in Steven Spielberg’s nostalgic roman-a-clef,

The late director’s unique vision and the love that his persona inspires make it easy to forget how winding his path to greatness was.