Kyle MacLachlan is now and forever FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper from David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks,” the immortal TV role that the actor has finally come to terms as "the first line in my obituary."
However, in his quirky and wonderfully self-effacing memoir, “Fictional Selves” (Crown, Sept. 29),
MacLachlan, 67, spends as much time on the high-profile, predominantly iconic movie roles that slipped away – and there are some biggies.These near-misses took on extra weight after young MacLachlan's would-be breakout in David Lynch’s 1984 “Dune” instead became a bruising box-office and critical disappointment. MacLachlan writes candidly about the opportunities that followed, and sometimes slipped through his fingers – including “Platoon,” “Top Gun”and
“Sex, Lies, and Videotape.”
Kyle MacLachlan read for Goose in 'Top Gun,' but couldn't handle the hot-shot bird
MacLachlan came tantalizingly close to joining another ’80s phenomenon, “Top Gun," speaking with director Tony Scott for the role of Maverick’s best friend and radar intercept officer,Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. MacLachlan, at 25, could tell immediately that he wasn’t right for the cocky part.
"He is looking for a certain kind of energy for the pilots in the film: that Budweiser, military-hotshot, swinging-d--- swagger. Unfortunately, this is not me – I can’t fake it – and we both know it," MacLachlan writes. "Cool fighter pilot is not in my repertoire. A few minutes in, Tony and I both know there’s no world where I could ever be a character called 'Goose.'"
The part ultimately went to Anthony Edwards, opposite Tom Cruise, in the 1986 blockbuster.
Kyle MacLachlan was 'perfect' for lead 'Platoon' role, but passed. It went to Charlie Sheen.
One of the bigger what-ifs was Oliver Stone’s “Platoon.” MacLachlan says Stone told him he was the top choice to play young soldier Chris Taylor, saying "you're perfect for it." But after the commercial failure of “Dune,” his agent urged him to pass.
"'Oliver is untested,' he says. There’s no way to guess how this will turn out," MacLachlan writes. "'And you really need a success after 'Dune,'' he keeps reiterating. “Let’s wait for the safer move.'"
The role went to Charlie Sheen, and “Platoon” became a massive hit and won four Oscars, including best picture.
Kyle MacLachlan read for Jim Morrison in 'Doors'. It went to Val Kilmer.
MacLachlan also took a swing at playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s “The Doors,” a role he later acknowledged probably wasn’t meant for him. “Every actor in town” thought he could play the rock icon, MacLachlan said, and he was no exception.
"Jason Patric was a finalist for Jim, as was INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, but no one was in serious contention with Oliver’s top pick, Val Kilmer," MacLachlan writes. "Once I see Val in costume, hear him talk and sing, I am mesmerized. It’s a total transformation. Just awe-inspiring."
MacLachlan still wound up in the 1991 film, only on the other side of the keyboard, playing Doors co-founder Ray Manzarek.
Kyle MacLachlan passed on 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' role that went to James Spader
After starring in David Lynch’s controversial, now-classic “Blue Velvet,” MacLachlan received an offer from an untested young director Steven Soderbergh to star in “Sex, Lies, and Videotape.” But MacLachlan, wary of returning so quickly to similarly provocative territory, passed on the lead role of sexually troubled drifter Graham Dalton. James Spader ultimately took the part in the movie that became one of the era's most defining indie films.
"I don’t know that 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' will be a gargantuan deal, win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, launch both Miramax and the Sundance Film Festival, and birth the independent film movement," MacLachlan writes. "I mean, Jesus, how can I? I just don’t want to be forever known as the degenerate sex guy. Live and learn, I guess."
Kyle MacLachlan wasn't McDreamy enough for 'Grey's Anatomy' lead that went to Patrick Dempsey
Proud Washington-state native MacLachlan also came close to landing McDreamy at fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. He was considered for the role of neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
"I sense they want something more for this guy – something dreamier. And that’s just never been in my comfort zone," MacLachlan writes. "The show, 'Grey’s Anatomy,' will still be on the air an astonishing twenty years later. Look, I tried. We can’t all be the dreamy type."
Kyle MacLachlan almost put the black suit on for Agent Smith in 'Matrix'
MacLachlan auditioned for one of the defining villains of modern sci-fi: Agent Smith in 1999’s “The Matrix.” He recalls meeting sibling filmmakers, the Wachowskis, and struggling to make sense of the ambitious, highly visual script. Already uneasy about Smith’s black suit, which reminded him of the buttoned-up Agent Cooper look he had tried to escape after “Twin Peaks,” MacLachlan says he arrived underprepared. “I fumble around in the room,” he writes, and the Wachowskis ultimately found “someone more suitable” – Hugo Weaving.
“I don’t follow what happens after that and I’m not really sure what comes of the movie," MacLachlan writes. "Obviously, I’m kidding."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Platoon', 'Top Gun' and McDreamy roles Kyle MacLachlan didn't land
