Wild Card with Rachel Martin - Kyle MacLachlan daydreams about the future

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

Kyle MacLachlan is known for his iconic roles in David Lynch classics like "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks," but he's reinvented himself again and again throughout the years. His recent work includes roles in the TV series "Fallout" and "Overcompensating." He's also cultivated a huge following on TikTok and Instagram where his harm is on full display for a new generation of fans. To listen sponsor-free and support the show, sign up for Wild Card+ at plus.npr.org/wildcard See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

How do you manage envy? How do you manage envy? Oh, this is a tough one for me. I'm rarely envious. Oh, I knew you were going to say that. There was just something about you, I could tell. But I remember I've been cast in Dune. It's a lead role in a huge movie, and I meet Sting.

I wanted that guy's life. I'm Rachel Martin, and this is Wild Card. The game where cards control the conversation. Each week, my guest answers questions about their life. Questions pulled from a deck of cards. They're allowed to skip one question and to flip one question back on me. My guest this week is Kyle McLaughlin. And I fortunately found something that I was good at, and that was being on stage.

There are some performers who transcend the cultural era that made them famous. It's like they exist out of time. Always able to find a toehold into the current zeitgeist. That is Kyle McLaughlin. His first big role came in 1984 in the original Dune film directed by David Lynch. Lynch then took Kyle under his wing

and cast him in the cult classic Blue Velvet. Eventually, he cast him as Agent Dale Cooper in the show Twin Peaks. That would have been a good run for any actor, but then Kyle did a complete 180 and became Trey McDougal in Sex and the City. And he kept reinventing himself, popping up in Portlandia and Fallout

and his most recent show overcompensating. Plus, he has a massive following on Instagram and TikTok. Kyle McLaughlin is everywhere. But I got to meet up with him in Seattle, Washington, for a live taping of our show put on by NPR member station, KUOW. Kyle is from Yakima, Washington. I went to college outside of Seattle,

so there was much to say and a good time was had by all. All right, here we go. First three cards. First three cards. Okay, so I pick a card. You pick one, two, or three. Oh, let's start with three. Skip.

No. I'm not worried. I'm not worried. I'm not worried. I'm not worried. Okay. I'm ready. I see you.

Okay, this is so easy. What activity gave you a sense of freedom as a child? Hmm. Well, yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, I had one of the coolest bikes when I was a little kid. Yeah. Tell me about it.

It was, um, It's here for bikes. It was a gold stingray with a banana seat. Yeah. And it was like, well, as a kid, that's your freedom right there. Yeah. And especially like when you were writing it kind of dusky night, something. Because it's beautiful in eastern Washington because that night it cools down.

But just writing in that air, you know, the sense. of a rain bird sprinkler at night. You know, it's just like, whoa, I'm right back there. And so that was to be my... That's a good one. A real sense of freedom. Yeah, that was good. There's not to be like back of my day, but yeah, not having a phone or a device.

Back in your day, you're like, how old are you? For God's sake. 51. Thank you. Okay. I still got you beat. Buy a lot. Okay.

I'm on a roll. Okay. Next three. Oh, next week cards. Okay. One, two or three. So these are not the original. These are three new parts.

Three new cards. Anything could happen. I don't know. It's going to get crazy. Okay. Two. Two. A little nervous.

What have you learned to appreciate about your hometown over time? Oh, my God. My hometown of Yakima. This gets to be your love letter to Yakima, Kyle. Oh, boy. Here we go. How much time do we have? I mean.

Okay. You know, it was a really a beautiful place to grow up, which of course you're not aware. of when you're growing up. But looking back, it was all those things people talk about. You know, it was safe. We would be out until nightfall. My dad would whistle from the front porch. He had a very distinct whistle, which is so annoying, but what we had to respond to. We'd come home. It was, you know, it was growing up in nature. Like, you could kind of drift out a little further than maybe you were supposed to, but you always knew you could come back home, you know. So there was a little bit of, it's not danger, but it was like kind of, like exploration. There were orchards there,

right? Yeah, our, where we lived was a orchard that they, they cut down the orchard, but, but they left a couple of trees, which were in our backyard. And my dad, you know, he was like, he's already hard to take care of these trees, and he planted more trees. He wanted more. So he was always, you know, he's gardening and growing. He really, really love, he loved taking care of things. Do you still go back there? I go... When's the last time you were back there?

I'll drive by, yeah. I'll drive past the old house. When you stop, I mean, I imagine you get like swarmed or whatever happens in Yakima? Probably not swarming. There's no bees. There's no bees in there. No, no, no, no. I just go, go through.

Nobody knows. Nobody knows. And it hasn't, you know, it's changed when I go back and I go through. It's changed. But I go back for the memories. You know what I mean? It's like I don't see the new stuff. I see the things that I remember.

I don't know. There's a strange, you know, a half a strange thing. As you get older, you know, you go back and you start revisiting and you realize your life has, you know, gone through and had crazy, amazing experiences and stuff. But you go, no, I'm still kind of that little kid that grew up in Yakima, having fun with my friends. Yeah. Okay, last one in this round. One, two, more three.

Okay, I'm going to go to number one. One. Okay. What period of your life do you often daydream about? You know, I don't really daydream of the old, I think of the new. Yeah, no, it doesn't have to be. Yeah, I think of the future. Yeah.

I daydream of the future. You daydream about the future? Yeah, yeah, what's coming, what I'm going to do next? What's going to happen? Is that what preoccupies you? Like when you're wandering, when you're letting your mind. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also I think because I have a son now, so part of that is also, so, yeah, I lie a little bit.

So I do go back because of watching him grow. And I'm remembering what it was like when I was at age and what we went through and what it's like for him now, what his experiences are, what he's learning. He's about to leave the mess. Yeah, he's a junior. and we have only one, and we're very blessed to have one. And he's a great kid. And he's on a journey. And I see him, I see the, I see the struggle,

and I see the kind of bravura, you know, of that. And at the same time, which kids do, you know, because they don't want the parents to really, like, know that they're actually, you know, help. So I know that. I'm like, okay, so we have, you know, our little conversations. he's so, so much further than I was at that age. Oh, God. What do you mean? Well, he's just more mature and, and he's, what he's going through and his, his awareness of the world is greater.

I was very, I came from a pretty sheltered environment, and which is fine. It was great. It was a nice way to grow up, but I see him, the awareness is there. And yet at the same time, you know, I see the, I see how he, you know, they need, you. to like turn the brain off sometimes and be kids again you know and i see him still drawn to some of the stuff that he loved when he was younger you know as a way to just it's a soothing you know in the midst of you know what's coming at him right now yeah but i'm gonna i'm gonna don't know where we got off on but anyway there we found herself down on the road you say you daydream about the future where does your mind land what does that mean i mean you know you think about things you want to do, really. Like, I'd like to live in Europe for a short period of time.

Oh, you're just planning. You're just a planner. Well, I'm just dreaming about what that might be like. Maybe I'm a planner. You might be right. Maybe I'm more of a planner. Yeah, yeah. But I still, I still think I can play volleyball. On the beach. I can't. Round two. Insights. Okay, I'll start from the other side now. I'm going to go to the other side. Now, I'm going to go to one. Okay, one. Right here. What do you find most difficult to model for the children in your life? Hmm. I think the idea that he's going to be okay, things are going to be fine. Right. Because as a parent, you become very anxious. You can become very anxious because you know what's coming.

And so you have to have patience. I'm pretty good with patience, but there's also a wisdom that I sometimes, I just, I don't, like my wife is really good at this. She can say something and kind of put it in perspective, and he gets it, and it's like, oh, okay, thank you. And I'm kind of like, yeah, what she said. Perfect.

So it's a little bit of that, which is good. because it's nice to have a partner in this because we obviously have different strengths. But I think what you said is really insightful because as parents, we do. We have the long view of the things that happen and the heartbreaks that happen. It's like we have to, we've got our like parenting wisdom, but you can't like throw it all in their face. Not all at once. It has to be like deployed as, as appropriate when they get to that certain mountain. Yeah. And I will, I have a hard time with that. I just want to, let me just tell you all the bad things that are going to happen.

Let's just prepare now. It's like hiding the medicine and some sugars. Like, you're going to, you're going to go over. This is good. But at the same time, you're like, no, no, no. They have to, they have to figure it out. That's where I'm better than my wife is. She's like, take that right away.

I'll take that pain. I'm like, no, no, no, no, you got to let them, they've got to go through stuff. Yeah. You know. And then what you can, then you just sort of say, here, let me just give you like a little, signpost. Yeah, a signpost.

And just say, okay. You know, give them like, whoop. You know, just like, get, get, that we're here. Your watch, did they adjust? Okay, yeah, okay. Yeah. It's so funny.

I'd listen to your parenting podcast. I'm thinking of doing a podcast, you know. I think you'd be great. I think we'd have fun. You would have fun. We'd have treats. Treats? Sure.

Got to have treats. Black coffee? Like coffee? Absolutely. Three new carts. Okay. One, two, or three. I don't even know what number I'm at.

Let's go two again. How do you manage envy? How do you manage envy? Oh, this is a tough one for me. I'm rarely envious. Oh, I knew you were going to say that. There was something about you. I could tell.

Really? But, yes. I just... try to be a good person. I try to be generous. I am, that's what I do. I just say, you know, I said, good for you. It's sort of a gratitude sort of thing.

I mean, God, are you that perfect? No, no, no, no, no. I don't say it succeeds. But that's where I try to come from, you know. Yeah. I remember I've been cast in Dune, right? I'm working out in Mexico City. it's a lead role in a huge movie out of school.

And I'm like, and I meet Sting. He was also in the movie. I wanted that guy's life. And I had a pretty darn good life going. And I was like, damn, he's going on tour. He was going on the synchronicity tour. You got to travel the world in a band and like play music and just be cool. You're envious of Sting.

Yeah. Yeah. Then my wife told me she went to see the movie, not because of me, because of Sting. I mean, yeah. I still tease her to this day. She had no idea who I was with Sting. I mean, I mean, it was Sting.

I'll never be as cool, Sting. Out of the goodness of your heart, you were pleased for Sting and his many successes. I was sort of pleased for Sting. Yeah. No, he's a great guy. We had fun together. Yeah, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's,

Good person. Good person. I mean, he did do this one album. It was kind of like on a mandolin. I don't think it was that good. Oh, okay. That makes me feel a lot better. He's not perfect. I think that stink.

Okay. That's my admittance. One, deep dark secret. Three. Okay, three. How big of a role does fear have in your life? Oh, it's pretty big. Is it?

Yeah. Are you being serious? Yeah. Oh, my God. I totally thought you're going to be like, I'm not afraid of anything. I'm afraid. Fear is the mind killer. What?

I had to. She made me. You can't set me up like that and not, no. I'm going to spike it every time. That's from Dune. I know. Okay, okay.

Sorry, unless Sting said it, I don't know. I don't know. I hate you. I hate you. But now I'm... Oh, my. I'm plumbing deeper into your food. But really?

No, I was a fearful kid. Were you? Of what? Yeah, you know, just kind of everything, honestly. Yeah, I was very shy as a kid. And I was very, I felt very vulnerable. And there were kids in my neighborhood and kids of school, kind of bully kids. And I was like, I was really scared.

And I was just, I mean. Did anything actually happen? No, no, I mean, I mean, no, just inside. The potential. Yeah. Like in high school, you sort of transitioned through things. You do things to counter the things that you're like that you don't like. So that said, okay, and you're now going to be the comedian and try to make people laugh.

And you're going to, and I fortunately found something that I was good at. And that was being on stage. But it allowed me to have something that gave me a little more confidence, a little more courage. What are you fearful about now? Oh, death. It's all this night. Not really. See, that's me trying to be funny.

That's the next round. No, it is. That's the lightning round. You know, I think it's harm coming. to people that I care about. That's something that I worry about. We're fearful about. Beliefs.

Beliefs. Last round. Beliefs. Everyone's stopping. Okay. Okay. Cards are red. Okay.

It's a warm red. I think it's inviting. It is. It's kind of an orangey red, actually. One, two, or three. We're going to go in the middle. We're going to go two. I'm going to go two.

Does the idea of an infinite universe excite or scare you? Oh, I love it. You love it so much. I do. I do. Because it's just not, there's no way to comprehend it. There's no way to, it's just going. Yeah.

It's very unsettling for some people. Yeah. Yeah, I like it. You like it. I like it. I saw, what did I see recently, a picture? from Mars and it was a picture of the night sky

and it was unbelievable like there are more stars than there were darkness of night and you realize whoa whoa whoa is the big place I love it yeah it's cool

I like it too makes me happy it's like the thing that puts all the other stuff into perspective yeah yeah and at the same time it really makes you go we better keep it together because we are one little teeny tiny piece of that. We really are in this together. I mean, that's the thing.

You know, there has to be a coming together of some kind. So I'm hopeful for that. Three more. One, two, three. Three. Three? Yep. This is just the Mammajamba.

How often do you think about death? I told you, I am a good time at parties. Not that often, but when I do, it can be kind of crushing. Because I don't really know what to make of it. I know it stops. Well, but I'm sort of hopeful that it sort of, there's other things that continue on. And then I'm like, well, we'll never know. We don't know.

I don't know. Yeah. And some people talk about, which I'm trying to sort of absorb the idea that I'm about to embark on another journey. and I'm actually looking forward to what that experience is going to be because I've never had that experience, you know, so I'm going to try to embrace that. I don't know if I'll get there with that idea, but... I know.

But I sort of like the idea of the idea, you know what I mean? I know. So how have you, from a parenting point of view, but does your kid, did you remember him asking you about what happens when you die? No, Callum is... you know, and we're pretty honest, we would say we just, you know, we don't know. Right, I know. And, uh, for me, no, no, there's no sugar coating or anything.

She's like, this is what it is. We don't know, but we're, you know, we're going to find out and, uh, and I'll tell you, you know, that's the hell. I'm going to come back and haunt you, is what I'm going to do. Think about that. Do you have a ghost stories or anything like that? Do you have a relationship? Do you have a relationship? Do you any kind of that?

God, are you kidding me? I'm so into ghosts. Interesting. I mean, I'm just, I want them to be here. I just like, I'm into the idea of them. Yeah. But I think right after a person dies, I actually feel them around.

I don't know if this has happened to any of you, but there's a period of time where it feels really like they're really around. Yeah. And you get these little signs and they can be dismissed as coincidences, synchronicities. Sure. or they're like around. I think so.

And so my, this is a weird thing. So my mom passed on January 11th and 86. And it's like, okay, okay. And not too long ago, I, once in a while I would see the numbers one,

one and one. They would come up, you know, like on a clock or somewhere. And I was like, Oh, and it just occurred to me. And then, like, in the past couple years, it's like almost daily. It's so weird.

And so I go, hey, mom. It's like this weird thing where I'm like, and I don't think it means like something imminent or anything like that. I'm just saying, oh, no, I just, I'm remembering her. And this is reminding me. And I don't know if there's any kind of a connection or whatever, but I just...

It's nice to decide that there is. And I get to think of her. I'm like, oh, I just... Mom, why that's a nice? You know what I mean? It's a nice thing. It's not a scary thing. My mom is really into seagulls, which is weird.

It's a weird bird to be into. It's a weird bird. Yeah, it's a weird bird. They're kind of annoying. Garbage-eating birds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Eagles, Osprey. There were so many other birds she could have chosen.

But the seagull, it's because she was from Idaho, and she was landlocked, and every time she went to the ocean, she just thought that they were, like, so magical to her, you know? Yes. But so now, yeah, when I see a seagull, especially a random seagull, like a city seagull, you're like, what are you even doing here, city seagull? It's rare. But I'm just like, hi, Mom. That's nice. That's nice.

Yeah. Yeah. I agree. It's a nice thing. It's a nice thing. Yeah. Okay. That's good. Last one. Oh, crazy. One.

It's the lonies. I'm not just kidding. We haven't even talked about your singing. No. going to talk about my seat. Okay. Answered this a bunch of times. Have you been shuffling the cards and they're coming up again? Okay.

I'm just staying true. Staying true. Okay. When do you think about your smallness in the universe? Right now. I actually think that is the best answer. Because I think it's a lovely default setting, actually. Yeah.

I... Is there something... sort of think... It's so funny, because what I... You know, I work in front of a camera. You know, now, for the most part. Sometimes on stage. Rarely on stage, but in front of a camera.

And in front of a camera, I think the strength is in the smallest details. And I had an amazing lesson in the Twin Peaks return when I played the character of Dougie, which is a wonderful, crazy... But I bring him up because it was really just an exercise in the courage of being present and small. And it was really hard because you want to do stuff. Yeah. And I just said, nope, you're not doing anything. And there's something about that smallness, that quietness that is almost like a meditation, I guess.

It just sort of puts you in a place and you can, okay, I'm back to center. Yeah, it centers you, I think. Yeah. Anyone who's listened to the show knows that we end it the same way every time with cake and coffee. No. Not with cake and coffee. Not cake and coffee. With a trip in our memory time machine.

Oh, my God. Okay. Which is just me going like this. I like it. Do do do dole do. But it is kind of cool. Okay. So here's the memory time machine.

Okay. You choose one moment from your past. From my past. It is not a moment you would change anything about. It is just a moment you would like to linger in a little longer. Which moment do you choose? Well, if I go way back, there's a few that are popping up, like little mushrooms.

It's not, I mean, it's when his Callum was born, right? So he's a little kid. He's a baby. And when he would wake up in the morning, because we had one of those little baby monitors, he would say, when the light was up, daytime. He would do a little sing-song thing, daytime, day-time, day-time.

And there was no urgency to it, just like, but I knew he was awake. So I would get out of bed, and I'm a super light sleeper, and I would walk up to his room, a few steps. in the door. He'd be in his crib standing there. And I would pull him out of his crib.

And we would walk over to the door. He had a door in his little room that was a Dutch door, right? Open the top. So I'd open the top. And we would sit, kind of, I'd sort of hold him like this, and we kind of look out the door. And it looked out onto this, a little bit of a not a very big, but a little hill full of, there would always flowers and stuff. And we would just sit there. And we'd just like, you see,

the red wugnabilia, and he'd be looking at this, and then it'd be like a bird would go by, or we hear a car or something, and we just would sit there, not long, you know, maybe five minutes, six minutes, and he was just this new little thing, right? And I look at it, he's six four now. I mean, it's like, and I love the idea. I mean, you remember those things, as parents, you know, and he's like, whatever, dad, he doesn't, you know, I doesn't care. But I'm like, that, that was a really, if I could sit with him like that. I'd be very nice. If you want more from Kyle McLaughlin,

keep an eye on your feed this weekend. We'll have a bonus episode where you'll hear Kyle reflect on his friendship with his longtime collaborator, David Lynch, who died earlier this year. Next week on Wildcard, a big one. We talked with former First Lady Michelle Obama, who tells me she finally feels like she is allowed

to just be herself. I don't know if my ambition has ever fully been able to actualize itself because of the nature of what me and my husband have done. I mean, it was the team ambition, and I went along, arguably kicking and screaming, right? This episode was produced by Rommel Wood with help from Lee Hale. It was edited by Dave Blanchard and mastered by Patrick Murray and Quasi Lee. The audio engineer was Hans Twight. Wildcard's executive producer is Yolanda Sangweni, and our theme music is by Ramtin Aroblewe. Special thanks to Charlotte Duren and everyone at

K-U-O-W. You can reach out to us at Wildcard at npr.org, and we're going to shuffle the deck and be back with more next week. Talk to you then.