- published: 15 Nov 2012
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Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (born February 22, 1959) is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors. His television series roles include Orson Hodge on ABC's Desperate Housewives from 2006 to 2012, Trey MacDougal on HBO's Sex and the City, and Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks.
MacLachlan was born in Yakima, Washington. His mother was a public relations director and his father was a stockbroker and lawyer. He is of Scottish, Cornish and German descent. He has two younger brothers named Craig and Kent, both of whom live in the Pacific Northwest. MacLachlan graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1977. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1982 and, shortly afterward, moved to Hollywood, California to pursue his career.
MacLachlan has worked extensively with David Lynch. He first appeared as Paul Atreides in the film Dune (1984), Lynch's adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel, and as Jeffrey Beaumont in Blue Velvet (1986). Later he played Special Agent Dale Cooper in Lynch's ABC television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), reprising that role for Lynch's 1992 prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Lynch commented on those roles in a GQ story about MacLachlan: "Kyle plays innocents who are interested in the mysteries of life. He's the person you trust enough to go into a strange world with."
Michael Leonard Ontkean (born 24 January 1946) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot (1977), and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks (1990–1991).
Ontkean was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Muriel (née Cooper), an actress, and Leonard Ontkean, a boxer and actor. He was a child actor in Vancouver and he appeared on the Canadian television series Hudson's Bay (1959).
Ontkean also grew up playing hockey and he earned a hockey scholarship to the University of New Hampshire, a Division I program playing in the ECAC. A very capable player, in his three years on the varsity program, Ontkean scored 63 goals and 111 points in 85 games. He led the team in goal scoring his junior year with 30 goals, and was second behind fellow Canadian Louis Frigon his senior year.
He began in Hollywood by guest starring in "The Partridge Family" in 1971, and soon enough, he was a television guest player on such shows as Ironside and Longstreet, but his break and best-known TV role was in the ABC series The Rookies (1972–1976), in which he played Officer Willie Gillis for the first two seasons.
Mädchen Amick ( /ˈmeɪdʃən ˈeɪmɪk/, MAYD-shən AYM-ik; born December 12, 1970) is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
Amick was born in Sparks, Nevada, a few miles east of Reno, Nevada, the daughter of Judy, a medical office manager, and Bill Amick, a musician. Amick's parents are German; the name Mädchen (pronounced [ˈmɛːtçən] ( listen)), which means "girl" or "maiden" in German, was chosen by her parents because they wanted an unusual name. As a young girl, Amick was encouraged by her parents to follow her creative instincts. She learned to play the piano, bass, violin and guitar and took lessons in tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance. In 1987, at the age of 16, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.
After moving to L.A., Amick appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as in The Borrower (1991). Amick got her first break when director David Lynch chose her to play waitress Shelly Johnson on the TV series Twin Peaks. Amick's character endured terrible abuse at the hands of her husband, Leo, and was one of the most popular characters, ensuring her return in the feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. In 1992, Amick appeared in the Stephen King horror movie Sleepwalkers. She has also appeared in TV movies such as Love, Cheat and Steal (1993). A highlight of Amick's film career is the 1994 feature film Dream Lover, a thriller in which she co-starred with James Spader. Amick also appeared in the romantic comedy French Exit (1995) and the science fiction thriller Bombshell (1996).