All Kyle MacLachlan fans know him as an iconic character – but the character can vary. To some, he is FBI agent Dale Cooper, from Twin Peaks. To others, he is Orson Hodge from Desperate house wives or Trey MacDougal from Sex and the City.
Younger fans may even know the 65-year-old actor as an actor who isn’t afraid to be a little silly on social media. He has over 500,000 followers on TikTokwhere he shared videos of himself dressed like a hot dog singing along with Chappell Roan or participating in absurd social media trends to promote your new projects. He knows he was considered a “little baby,” a term of endearment bestowed upon celebrities who inspire a protective instinct.
In addition to appearing in Fallout, Inside Out 2 and his own podcast in recent months, MacLachlan stars in a new advertising campaign for the return of a favorite Arby’s menu item: potato cakes. If there’s one thing he knows how to do, it’s give the fans what they want. He chatted with Yahoo Entertainment about his flamboyant social media presence, his illustrious acting career, and what songs and snacks he’s loving most this summer.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Your presence on social media is incredible. What made you decide to have some fun online?
The whole thing started when I was doing a podcast called City of Varnam. It’s such a crazy story that I thought, “Why don’t we try promoting this online and do some of the crazy things that actually existed in the community we visited?” We did some parodies and since then there was cocaine involved [in the story told in the podcast about a small Southern town that reportedly served as Pablo Escobar’s shipping port], there’s all sorts of weird and crazy behavior. This has launched my page into a kind of silly space where we’re having a lot of fun and people seem to be really responding to it. I work with some people who help me with my accounts and give me ideas, and together we create these things. We started doing some trends and I really liked the idea that this was meant to be fun and fun. The goal is to point to people who I think are really talented and who have embraced it. Lord embraced it. Charli XCX embraced it. Chappel Roan embraced it. Everyone thought it was fun.
I wanted to ask about your posts about them. Are you a fan of pop music?
I like music, and this is the newest thing I’ve been exposed to. I have a 15-year-old son who really likes music – he has great taste, both in current things and old things. He has been a huge influence on me. I listen to “Von Dutch” [by Charli XCX], and I’m like, “Oh my God!” It just grabs me. She has a great canon of songs. This one in particular, I think, “This makes me want to move, even at my age.” It was truly a pleasure to collaborate with them using their music. I think it’s incredibly fun and extravagant to put it out there and see what happens.
Do you know the concept of “the song of summer”? What is yours?
“Von Dutch” is very good. I don’t know why, it just grabs me. It’s something I can hear all the time.
You have this, and you have Arby’s potato cake, which is going to be mine something summer’s.
Summer snack?
Yeah. I’m excited about that too. Someone told me that one of the great ways to eat potato cake is – you know the beef and cheddar sandwich that Arby’s makes? – you put the potato cake on the sandwich to get meat, cheddar cheese, potato cake and some horse sauce. Let’s go! You can’t get better than this. Perfect.
Has there ever been a time when you were playing a new character or promoting a new project – be it a podcast or a potato cake – when you felt like the fact that you’ve played so many iconic roles gets in the way of people’s acceptance? Do you like something else?
No, never. These fans are so focused on the show – they love the show and use it to express their feelings in a way that means a lot to them. Fans are the reason Arby’s is also bringing back potato cakes. The fans have spoken.
Fans are, I think, in some cases, the reason why so many shows come back – like with Twin Peaks: The Return. The fans kept hammering and hammering and hammering until finally [co-creators] David Lynch and Mark Frost found a way to get back into the story. Fan power is very important.
I see a lot of people commenting on your posts and praising the bromance between you and David Lynch, so I want to ask a ridiculous question: do you think he would ever join TikTok?
Would David Lynch ever join TikTok? This is a good question. He posts a lot of videos. He has a YouTube channel where he posts most of his stuff. I wish he would join. It would be really fun to have him on TikTok.
I would be very curious to see what he would do with the medium, because he loves music and visually it is incredible. I would be curious to see him combine the two. It would definitely be memorable. He is my creative inspiration. He is doing something creative literally every day. It’s phenomenal. In addition to being a good friend, I admire him a lot. I’m a big fan of the campaign for David Lynch to be on TikTok.
On the subject of Lynch, I would never put two Dune films against each other since the 1984 one you starred in is so iconic – but have you seen the Dune bucket of popcorn from the recent movie?
Popcorn bucket? What does it look like?
It looks like a worm’s mouth.
Did you put your hand in the worm’s mouth? You have to be very brave. This is crazy. I predict they will become highly collectible.
I went to an exhibition Inside Out 2, and they gave it to me. [He holds up a plastic tray made to look like the console where the emotions work in the movie.] You can open it and put your drink and popcorn inside. I’m going to put this on eBay and make a million dollars someday.
Are you aware of all the thirst for your Inside Out 2 character?
He became… well, yes. I noticed an article that pointed out what was going on between my character and his wife character, played by Diane Lane. What It is happening between these two? Maybe Pixar should make one Inside out film from the parents’ perspective as they raise their son. My son is 15 years old and there is a lot going on inside my head. Reversing this would be interesting, but I’m sure Pixar has already thought of that. They are brilliant and have thought of everything.
If I only had 24 hours to check out one of your projects, I should watch it Twin Peaks or listen to your podcast?
Oh God, Twin Peaks It is very special. If you want a really crazy story about a small town in North Carolina that was a central drug shipping port for Pablo Escobar’s stuff from South America, then the podcast it would be a very good jam.
Sex and the City It’s having such a huge resurgence right now. I saw it in all the comments on your social media – people literally refer to you by your character’s name, Trey.
When I was working on the show, I mainly worked with Kristin Davis [who plays Charlotte York]. She was amazing – we had really good chemistry together. We had a comedic thing going on and I think we were believable as a couple dealing with a difficult subject. There was just an underlying sadness that made things a little more realistic. In fact, they really loved each other. It just wasn’t meant to be.
Is there a character you identify with, in the way people say “I’m a Carrie” or “I’m a Charlotte”?
I’m Trey.
That’s a Carrie thing to say.
I think that was the brilliance of the show – having different points of view represented by different women who could really come together and have a friendship. I think the biggest lesson was that we can disagree but still be friends.
Why did you want to work with Arby’s and be part of their campaign to bring back potato cakes?
It’s a very silly and ironic campaign. I can stretch some of my eccentric muscles. In the videos, I appear as the leader of the Order of Potato Cakes, and I take it very seriously. It’s the kind of humor I love and it’s making fans happy.
I have to say, I’m a hash brown aficionado and these are very similar to hash browns. Anything that takes a potato and makes it great – I’m in. They will be back for a limited time on July 1st.
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