W Magazine
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
  • CULTURE
  • SUBSCRIBE
W Magazine
W Magazine
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
  • CULTURE
  • SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
  • CULTURE
  • SUBSCRIBE
W Magazine
Culture

A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Favorite Twin Peaks Actors Now, 26 Years Later

Earlier this week, less than 24 hours after re-watching David Lynch’s ’90s TV series Twin Peaks in anticipation of its long-awaited reboot this Sunday on Showtime, it took me a full five minutes to realize that the man standing just a couple of feet away from me at the premiere of the indie film Paint It Black was Russ Tamblyn—aka Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, the show’s eccentrically-dressed psychiatrist. I suppose it would have been difficult to recognize Tamblyn without his red- and blue-lensed glasses, Hawaiian shirts, and bucket hats even in 1991, but still it has been more than a quarter-century since these actors first showed up in the town of Twin Peaks. Kyle MacLachlan, as Agent Cooper, and Sheryl Lee, as Laura Palmer, are of course both returning this time around, even if unfortunately the full cast won’t be there with them: Catherine E. Coulson, aka the Log Lady, has since passed away, and the actors who played Donna Hayward and Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Ontkean) have parted ways with the series. But with returning fan favorites like Audrey Horne, Bobby Briggs, and Lucy Moran to look forward, to, it’s important everyone is caught up on how to spot them, along with newcomers Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Michael Cera, and Sky Ferreira. Here’s the Twin Peaks cast, then and now.

by Stephanie Eckardt
May 17, 2017 6:26 pm
Kyle MacLachlan As Special Agent Cooper

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

1 / 16

Though Kyle MacLachlan has since starred in other cult series, even when he was Charlotte’s impotent husband on Sex and the City and a murderer on Desperate Housewives, he’ll always be known as Special Agent Dale Cooper, a man never too far away from a slice of cherry pie or cup of strong, black joe. (No word yet on whether Diane will be returning, too.)

SHERYL LEE

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

2 / 16

Death be damned, Laura Palmer is coming back with a bang by starring in all 18 episodes of the new series—that is, unless Sheryl Lee, whose first post-Peaks role was Salome opposite Al Pacino, and who has since showed up in Winter’s Bone and Woody Allen’s Café Society, is simply reprising her role as Laura’s suspiciously identical cousin, Maddy.

Scene From Pilot Episode Of Twin Peaks

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

3 / 16

Dana Ashbrook has kept up acting with a steady roster of smaller films, including 2012’s The Agression Scale with Ray Wise, aka Leland Palmer, and more than a few appearances on Dawson’s Creek, presumably making him more than up to the job in reprising his role as the annoying ultimate bad boy Bobby Briggs—even now that his hair’s gone gray.

SHERILYN FENN

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

4 / 16

Though she’s now a long way from a schoolgirl, the ever flirtatious Audrey Horne may have a chance at getting together with Coop after all, especially since actress Sherilyn Fenn has been keeping up her acting chops on shows like Gilmore Girls and Shameless (not to mention appearing on the cover of Playboy in the ’90s).

PEGGY LIPTON

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

5 / 16

At 70, Peggy Lipton scarcely seems to have aged since she last played Norma Jennings, the owner of the Double R Diner, though she has since raised another actress, her daughter Rashida Jones.

40th Anniversary Screening of "West Side Story"

Sylvain Gaboury/Getty Images

6 / 16

Richard Beymer‘s eyes seem only bluer than ever since the now 79-year-old actor last turned up as Benjamin Horne, Audrey’s father and the owner of the Great Northern Hotel (not to mention an appearance in West Side Story, which helped to earn him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year that he shared with Warren Beatty). Not that viewers have been able to appreciate them: Twin Peaks is only Beymer’s fourth on-screen appearance so far in the 2000s.

KIMMY ROBERTSON

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

7 / 16

From blue streaks to twin top knots, Kimmy Robertson seems to have as much appreciation for an out-there hairdo as Lucy Moran, her curly-haired secretary in the sheriff’s office. Robertson has since lent her high-pitched voice to shows like Batman and The Simpsons, plus appeared onscreen on an episode of Drake & Josh—all good practice for appearing on all 18 episodes this season.

RAY WISE

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

8 / 16

Like Leland Palmer, Laura’s potentially murderous father, actor Ray Wise has since gone gray, a new look he’s shown off in shows like Mad Men, Fresh Off the Boat, Gilmore Girls, 24, and How I Met Your Mother. That’s range.

Madchen Amick In 'Twin Peaks'

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

9 / 16

Another face who’ll be showing up in the full series, Mädchen Amick has lately turned up on Riverdale, plus a host of cult shows like Mad Men, Gossip Girl, ER, Gilmore Girls, and Dawson’s Creek. Fortunately for her character, the waitress Shelley Johnson, though, her abusive husband Leo won’t be back.

Fifth Annual Legacy Art Auction and Concert

Steve Snowden/Getty Images

10 / 16

Since playing Deputy Hawk, one of the most reasoned voices in the sheriff’s office, Michael Horse has gone on to not only appear in shows like Malcolm in the Middle, but pick up a full-on artistic career as a jeweler and painter.

MICHAEL ONTKEAN

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

11 / 16

Though Michael Ontkean has maintained his curly head of locks since starring as Sheriff Harry S. Truman, the actor, who last showed up in The Descendants in 2011, has decided to leave Coop hanging and won’t be returning to Twin Peaks.

Lara Flynn Boyle In 'Twin Peaks'

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

12 / 16

Lara Flynn Boyle won’t be returning to this season but she’ll always live on as Donna Hayward, Laura’s best friend of sorts who was never short on spectacular sweaters.

RUSS TAMBLYN

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

13 / 16

Russ Tamblyn‘s daughter Amber has since gone on to become an actor and even director herself, but Tamblyn has kept up an acting career of his own since playing the ever eccentrically-outfitted psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, recently picking up roles in films like Django Unchained.

JAMES MARSHALL

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

14 / 16

Like the actor who plays fellow bad boy Bobby Briggs, James Marshall, aka James Hurley, Big Ed’s nephew who can’t get enough of riding his bike, has also gone gray, but still showed up on-screen with a few films and an appearance on CSI.

"Twin Peaks - The Entire Mystery" Blu-Ray/DVD Release Party And Screening - Arrivals

Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

15 / 16

Like her on-screen daughter, Laura, the grief-stricken Sarah Palmer will be returning for all 18 episodes, although actor Grace Zabriskie has turned up in shows like Charmed and Big Love.

JOAN CHEN

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

16 / 16

Fittingly, like her beau Sheriff Harry S. Truman, sawmill owner Josie Packard won’t be returning to the series—like fellow mill worker Piper Laurie, aka Catherine Martell, David Lynch apparently never asked her back. But actor Joan Chen has been looking young as ever lately in shows like Netflix’s Marco Polo.

david lynch kyle maclachlan Twin Peaks
Kyle MacLachlan As Special Agent Cooper

Though Kyle MacLachlan has since starred in other cult series, even when he was Charlotte’s impotent husband on Sex and the City and a murderer on Desperate Housewives, he’ll always be known as Special Agent Dale Cooper, a man never too far away from a slice of cherry pie or cup of strong, black joe. (No word yet on whether Diane will be returning, too.)

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

SHERYL LEE

Death be damned, Laura Palmer is coming back with a bang by starring in all 18 episodes of the new series—that is, unless Sheryl Lee, whose first post-Peaks role was Salome opposite Al Pacino, and who has since showed up in Winter’s Bone and Woody Allen’s Café Society, is simply reprising her role as Laura’s suspiciously identical cousin, Maddy.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

Scene From Pilot Episode Of Twin Peaks

Dana Ashbrook has kept up acting with a steady roster of smaller films, including 2012’s The Agression Scale with Ray Wise, aka Leland Palmer, and more than a few appearances on Dawson’s Creek, presumably making him more than up to the job in reprising his role as the annoying ultimate bad boy Bobby Briggs—even now that his hair’s gone gray.

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

SHERILYN FENN

Though she’s now a long way from a schoolgirl, the ever flirtatious Audrey Horne may have a chance at getting together with Coop after all, especially since actress Sherilyn Fenn has been keeping up her acting chops on shows like Gilmore Girls and Shameless (not to mention appearing on the cover of Playboy in the ’90s).

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

PEGGY LIPTON

At 70, Peggy Lipton scarcely seems to have aged since she last played Norma Jennings, the owner of the Double R Diner, though she has since raised another actress, her daughter Rashida Jones.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

40th Anniversary Screening of "West Side Story"

Richard Beymer‘s eyes seem only bluer than ever since the now 79-year-old actor last turned up as Benjamin Horne, Audrey’s father and the owner of the Great Northern Hotel (not to mention an appearance in West Side Story, which helped to earn him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year that he shared with Warren Beatty). Not that viewers have been able to appreciate them: Twin Peaks is only Beymer’s fourth on-screen appearance so far in the 2000s.

Sylvain Gaboury/Getty Images

KIMMY ROBERTSON

From blue streaks to twin top knots, Kimmy Robertson seems to have as much appreciation for an out-there hairdo as Lucy Moran, her curly-haired secretary in the sheriff’s office. Robertson has since lent her high-pitched voice to shows like Batman and The Simpsons, plus appeared onscreen on an episode of Drake & Josh—all good practice for appearing on all 18 episodes this season.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

RAY WISE

Like Leland Palmer, Laura’s potentially murderous father, actor Ray Wise has since gone gray, a new look he’s shown off in shows like Mad Men, Fresh Off the Boat, Gilmore Girls, 24, and How I Met Your Mother. That’s range.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

Madchen Amick In 'Twin Peaks'

Another face who’ll be showing up in the full series, Mädchen Amick has lately turned up on Riverdale, plus a host of cult shows like Mad Men, Gossip Girl, ER, Gilmore Girls, and Dawson’s Creek. Fortunately for her character, the waitress Shelley Johnson, though, her abusive husband Leo won’t be back.

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Fifth Annual Legacy Art Auction and Concert

Since playing Deputy Hawk, one of the most reasoned voices in the sheriff’s office, Michael Horse has gone on to not only appear in shows like Malcolm in the Middle, but pick up a full-on artistic career as a jeweler and painter.

Steve Snowden/Getty Images

MICHAEL ONTKEAN

Though Michael Ontkean has maintained his curly head of locks since starring as Sheriff Harry S. Truman, the actor, who last showed up in The Descendants in 2011, has decided to leave Coop hanging and won’t be returning to Twin Peaks.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

Lara Flynn Boyle In 'Twin Peaks'

Lara Flynn Boyle won’t be returning to this season but she’ll always live on as Donna Hayward, Laura’s best friend of sorts who was never short on spectacular sweaters.

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

RUSS TAMBLYN

Russ Tamblyn‘s daughter Amber has since gone on to become an actor and even director herself, but Tamblyn has kept up an acting career of his own since playing the ever eccentrically-outfitted psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, recently picking up roles in films like Django Unchained.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

JAMES MARSHALL

Like the actor who plays fellow bad boy Bobby Briggs, James Marshall, aka James Hurley, Big Ed’s nephew who can’t get enough of riding his bike, has also gone gray, but still showed up on-screen with a few films and an appearance on CSI.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

"Twin Peaks - The Entire Mystery" Blu-Ray/DVD Release Party And Screening - Arrivals

Like her on-screen daughter, Laura, the grief-stricken Sarah Palmer will be returning for all 18 episodes, although actor Grace Zabriskie has turned up in shows like Charmed and Big Love.

Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

JOAN CHEN

Fittingly, like her beau Sheriff Harry S. Truman, sawmill owner Josie Packard won’t be returning to the series—like fellow mill worker Piper Laurie, aka Catherine Martell, David Lynch apparently never asked her back. But actor Joan Chen has been looking young as ever lately in shows like Netflix’s Marco Polo.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

Next up
A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Favorite Twin Peaks Actors Now, 26 Years Later
start slideshow
A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Favorite Twin Peaks Actors Now, 26 Years Later
Back to slideshow

A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Favorite Twin Peaks Actors Now, 26 Years Later

Earlier this week, less than 24 hours after re-watching David Lynch’s ’90s TV series Twin Peaks in anticipation of its long-awaited reboot this Sunday on Showtime, it took me a full five minutes to realize that the man standing just a couple of feet away from me at the premiere of the indie film Paint It Black was Russ Tamblyn—aka Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, the show’s eccentrically-dressed psychiatrist. I suppose it would have been difficult to recognize Tamblyn without his red- and blue-lensed glasses, Hawaiian shirts, and bucket hats even in 1991, but still it has been more than a quarter-century since these actors first showed up in the town of Twin Peaks. Kyle MacLachlan, as Agent Cooper, and Sheryl Lee, as Laura Palmer, are of course both returning this time around, even if unfortunately the full cast won’t be there with them: Catherine E. Coulson, aka the Log Lady, has since passed away, and the actors who played Donna Hayward and Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Ontkean) have parted ways with the series. But with returning fan favorites like Audrey Horne, Bobby Briggs, and Lucy Moran to look forward, to, it’s important everyone is caught up on how to spot them, along with newcomers Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Michael Cera, and Sky Ferreira. Here’s the Twin Peaks cast, then and now.

start slideshow
May 17, 2017 6:26 pm| by Stephanie Eckardt
view as a list
W Magazine
A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Favorite Twin Peaks Actors Now, 26 Years Later
by Stephanie Eckardt
Replay Slideshow
Follow Us

Stay connected.

  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Help
  • sitemap
  • Careers
  • Advertise with Us
W Magazine
2020 Bustle Digital Group. All rights reserved.

Our Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement has been revised as of November 25, 2020. This policy outlines how we use your information, and how we use cookies on our site to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. By using our site and/or our products after this date, you are agreeing to the policy.
ACCEPT

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Necessary Always Enabled