Naomi Watts revealed on “Live With Kelly and Mark” (via Entertainment Weekly) that she nearly quit acting before she met the late David Lynch, who cast her as the lead in 2001’s “Mulholland Drive.” The film’s critical acclaim and global success turned Watts into a star after “10 years” of “flunking auditions.

With the passing of beloved director David Lynch, many of the actors he worked with – along with countless staunch admirers – have shared emotional tributes and testaments to his legacy.

In a recent interview, Naomi Watts revealed how David Lynch saved her career after looking for work in Hollywood for a decade, in light of his death.

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.”

David Lynch revolutionized cinema — and now, Hollywood is paying tribute to the legendary auteur, who died Thursday at the age of 78.

Naomi Watts wouldn’t be a Hollywood star if it weren’t for David Lynch.Naomi Watts nearly left the acting world before a pivotal meeting with the late director changed her

The visionary filmmaker is remembered as a complete original and built up quite the list of collaborators since 1984's "Dune" The post David Lynch in Photos: Milestones With Laura Dern, Cannes With Naomi Watts,

Oscar-winning director and Happy Days star Ron Howard paid tribute to Lynch on social media, writing: “#RIPDavidLynch, a gracious man and fearless artist who followed his heart & soul and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema.”

Kyle MacLachlan, Naomi Watts, Isabella Rossellini and other collaborators of David Lynch mourned the filmmaker's death on social media.

After starting her career in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Watts scored her breakout role in Lynch’s 2001 mystery thriller Mulholland Drive. She portrayed lookalikes Betty Elms and Diane Selwyn, the former of which worked to help a woman with amnesia named Rita (played by Laura Harring) unravel the truth of her identity.

Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Harring, Questlove, and more shared tributes following the death of one of Hollywood’s most relentlessly experimental filmmakers