See John Malkovich Reimagine David Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’
John Malkovich lends his intense glare to David Lynch‘s Eraserhead protagonist Henry Spencer in the new video from the Playing Lynch series, which reimagines the iconic director’s weirdest characters through the Oscar-winning actor’s interpretations.
In the latest video, Malkovich uses the dialogue from the scene where Henry has dinner with his neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. X, and transforms it into a creepy, paranoid one-sided conversation.
“So, I just cut them up like regular chickens? Hello, I’m Henry. I’m a printer. I’m very pleased to meet you,” Malkovich says, replicating the character’s halting, anxious drawl. “I’m not sure you wanted me to come out or not. Where have you been? You never come around anymore. Oh, I don’t know much of anything. I’m too nervous. Why are you asking me this question. I don’t think it’s any of your business.”
Malkovich previously stepped into the roles of Twin Peaks‘ Agent Dale Cooper and the Log Lady, Blue Velvet‘s Frank Booth and Eraserhead‘s Lady in the Radiator for the fundraising project. Donations raise money for the filmmaker’s David Lynch Foundation, which aims to teach people who suffer trauma about transcendental meditation.
Those who donate money to Playing Lynch receive a download of The Music of David Lynch, featuring tracks from longtime composer Angelo Badalamenti, Lykke Li, Zola Jesus Sky Ferreira, the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd. Additional donation packages include a 20-minute film of all the vignettes and stills from the shoot.
Each time a donation goal is reached, another Malkovich portrayal is “unlocked.” Still to go: The actor in the role of Lost Highway‘s the Mystery Man and the titular character from The Elephant Man.