Since making his film debut as Paul Atreides in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Dune, Kyle MacLachlan has remained a force on the big screen as well as in television, classing up practically every project he chooses. Such is true of his work in writer/director Michael Almereyda’s Tesla, where he plays Thomas Edison opposite Ethan Hawke’s titular alternating current champion, and injects a welcome personality into each of his scenes.

Likely to keep that streak alive as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the upcoming limited series Atlantic Crossing, MacLachlan spoke with Asheville Movies about becoming a famous inventor, the similarities between his famous directorial collaborators, and his history with Buncombe and Henderson counties.

Kyle MacLachlan: How are you?

Edwin Arnaudin: Doing well! It’s a nice day in Western North Carolina — got some tennis to play later and I get to talk to you, so doing pretty well. How about yourself?

KM: Yeah, you can’t complain — that’s good. We’re in New York City now and flying to get back to Los Angeles tomorrow and kind of hunker down there for awhile, I guess, and see how long this goes. But, man! I love Asheville. I don’t know if you know of my connection there.

EA: No, I don’t!

KM: I was an apprentice at the Flat Rock Playhouse.

EA: Oh yeah! That’s a favorite.

KM: We actually had a reading of…because we did Look Homeward, Angel out there. That was kind of their big thing, and this was — oh man, ’78? ’79? A thousand years ago. Anyway, so I remember doing a reading of the play on the porch of the Thomas Wolfe house there. So that’s a pretty cool connection. And then I also did a pilot out there with Andie MacDowell, a long time ago, with Mike Newell directing. We never got picked up, but it was fun to be back and hang out there. [Editor’s note: The show was Jo, a one-hour show starring MacDowell the titular veterinarian who comes home after her mother suffers a stroke. MacLachlan plays an old flame.] I stayed at the…what’s the inn? The big…

EA: The Grove Park?

KM: Yeah! The Grove Park Inn. It has kind of an old arts and crafts kind of style.

EA: It’s a great spot. Yeah! Flat Rock — that’s kind of our preeminent place still, and it’s been really hard not to be able to go there every couple of weeks and see a new production this summer. They were going to do West Side Story and some other really cool things. I’ve been in touch with Scott Treadway out there and just kind of getting updates, and I really hope they can turn things around. But it sounds like the Vagabonds are really chipping in and keeping them going, so I’m optimistic about it.

KM: That’s good to hear. It was quite an experience. Everybody set me on the road to acting, to be honest. It was my first professional stage experience. As an apprentice, I didn’t know what I was doing, but it was very good company and the play, they do it every year. I don’t know if they still do it or not. Back then, they did it every year, and they held it over an extra week by popular demand, and blah blah blah. [Laughs] So, anyway, it was fun.

EA: Well, I wanted to plug another Asheville connection with you that I don’t know is on your radar. I imagine you’re probably inundated with Twin Peaks fan stuff, but there’s a local brewery called Eurisko — which is named after actually an X-Files thing — and they have an annual Twin Peaks Day where they print out T-shirts and they have beers with names like “Freshly Squeezed” and “Goodnight, Margaret,” and they have mostly coffee-infused beers. That’s been a real popular thing the last two years.

KM: That’s perfect! That sounds like it’s perfect for Asheville. I always think of Asheville as kind of similar to Portland and kind of similar to Austin — these great towns with a lot of artistic components. That sounds like fun!

EA: Well, I’m glad we could connect and talk about Tesla for a little bit. I know that you and Ethan Hawke and Michael Almereyda all worked together on Hamlet, and I was curious if you’ve crossed paths much over the past 20 years since completing that film.

KM: Not a lot, which I don’t think is that unusual given we’re all kind of in the business and you never know where you’re going to find yourself. And Ethan is primarily based in Brooklyn now. Michael’s in New York and I’m out in LA, although I was in New York. We’re just busy people, you know? But I had such fond memories of that time and of that experience, and it was actually a big reason why I decided to return, I guess. Or when Michael asked me to accept, because of the experience I had on Hamlet, and I had so enjoyed working with Ethan and Michael and the creativity that was coming out of them, I thought, “I would love to throw in on this.” Plus the fact that it was the opportunity to play Thomas Edison, which doesn’t come along every day.

EA: And did you know much about Edison and Tesla prior to getting Michael’s script?

KM: Not really. I guess probably what the average person would know. I falsely believed [Edison] invented the light bulb, but in fact [Laughs] he didn’t invent the light bulb, but he did make it commercially viable. Then he set up a distribution agency, Edison Electric, so that he could actually get power to the home where his lightbulbs could be used — so, quite the businessman.

And as I researched him, I discovered not only all the things that he had his fingers in and some of the things that he did invent, but also some of the more unusual parts of his personality. He kept a diary that I read, from the summer of 1885 where he is very…oh, kind of flowery and eloquent and fanciful, and not scientific at all. He had terrific powers of observation of the environment around him and the people that he was spending time with — enjoying a conversation and wordplay. And you realize the guy, he had skills on a number of levels.

EA: I was curious what other research you did. Is that something where you independently search out, or do you have some research assistants that help you comb the world of Edison writings and whatnot?

KM: Michael, our director, was really my main source because he had been thinking about doing this for over 20 years. So, he had researched it. [Laughs] I think he read every book possible. And he would lead me with suggestions, and the diary actually came from one of those suggestions. It’s not that well known. It was an interesting thing to read, in a way, to include it in the ingredients of what makes up Thomas Edison. But I read through most of what he sent to me.

There was also some film on him. I think it was him conducting a tour of his factory and moving through space and talking. So I was able to observe his mannerisms and how he cupped his ear, because he was very, very hard of hearing. And just the way he looked at people, and posture — these kind of things all factor in to the creation of this character.

Most of what’s written is, of course, about him as a businessman and as an inventor and what he did here and what he did there and where he went — that kind of thing. And some of the writer’s interpretation, but that didn’t really affect me. Most of what I tried to do, I guess, was read between the lines. And the actual footage was really helpful, and also the recordings — listening to his voice. My voice isn’t really quite as gruff as his, and I didn’t make a big effort to try and capture that. But I did…just the way he looks as people and hears people, it was helpful for that.

EA: Yeah, I think every time you’re onscreen as Edison, it’s a very strong presence. You just sort of…I don’t know if “bristle” is the right word, but you’re just kind of like, “Oh, here he comes again!”

KM: [Laughs]

EA: And he’s going to sort of knock everybody over on his way.

KM: [Laughs]

EA: So it was definitely a treat to see the personality that you brought to the screen with this role. [Laughs]

KM: Thank you! That’s nice to hear. I felt like those were elements of who he was. I don’t think “mean,” necessarily.

EA: No.

KM: He had high, forward movement, you know? An “If you’re not going to help, get out of the way” type of person, you know? [Laughs] He’s also very good at assembling a crew of people — really smart people. Like-minded people. And directing them and getting them focused and getting them to work on something. I think part of that is just he welcomed these people in and he was obviously very brilliant. He had created the environment — the factories for them to work in. And he was also a bit of a showman, you now? And an entertainer, kind of, and he kept everyone interested and moving forward and excited about what they were creating. It’s a skill.

EA: I was reminded of…I don’t know if you’ve seen the Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance that just came out.

KM: I’ve been meaning to see it, but I can imagine that Michael certainly possesses some of those qualities.

EA: Right! All of the things you just said about expecting the best out of people and assembling a team and pushing them. You kind of come across as, you know, a little challenging to certain people, but if you want to be great, you kind of have to go that extra mile.

KM: Yeah. I agree.

EA: Now that you’ve worked with Michael twice — and I do feel like he has a very distinct style, and using rear projection and miniatures and sets. It’s pretty neat to follow — in terms of his on-set directorial style, how does that compare with some other filmmakers with whom you’ve worked recently? I’m thinking specifically David Lynch and Steven Soderbergh.

KM: You know, there are great similarities between the three. Michael is very quiet, thoughtful, and curious for input as he’s moving forward. He and his director of photography [Sean Price Williams] work together very closely. If there’s something he’s not quite seeing clearly, he’s not afraid to ask for a thought from someone. He’s definitely more of a team player, I think — collaborator, I guess, but really clear about what he’s trying to capture in the scene. And he’s able to convey that — at least he was able to convey that to me.

And Steven Soderbergh is also very quiet, and very specific…evenly-paced…doesn’t linger. And brilliant, of course. I always feel like the movie is already done in his head — a little bit like Hitchcock that way. I think everything is already in there and he knows exactly how he wants it to look.

And that’s sort of similar to David — he has a very, very clear vision on what he’s going for. And also creates an atmosphere and an environment on the set that is really pleasant to work in — very creative, quiet, forward-moving, thoughtful. These guys are not screamers and they’re not yellers and they don’t create agitation, which is something I really appreciate.

EA: That’s great! That’s really nice to hear from my side — just from people that I admire, their work, that they’re also solid people as well.

KM: Yes, they all three are.

EA: For my last question, I did want to say that I am a fan of David Lynch’s Dune and I enjoy watching that and supporting it. But I’m still curious to see how Denis Villeneuve will interpret that material, especially with two parts. What are your feelings on Hollywood giving Dune another go?

KM: I’m glad. I love the book, and I think it’s so rich in material and storytelling. I think there are a number of ways to go about it. I think that, if you compare it to ours, the effects have improved so dramatically, they’ll be able to accomplish a lot more than ours. Mostly ours were mechanical, just because they didn’t have the sophistication yet to do what really needed to be done. So, I think that side of things will be really interesting.

Dune has always, for me, been about the relationships — father/son, mother/son, and Stilgar, the mentor for Paul, and his growth. The growth of this young man, surrounded by these very smart people and the tragedies that he comes through. And I think that…I hope [Laughs] that that’s gonna be part of the story. I’m sure it will be. It can’t not be, really. And I think the cast that they’ve assembled is terrific. Timothée [Chalamet] will be great, I think, as Paul.

EA: I think so.

KM: So, yeah, I’m looking forward to it, too. It’s a great epic. And I think splitting it in two movies…I’ve been doing interviews [Laughs] and I actually read one saying, “Kyle thinks that Dune should be a TV show!” [Laughs] And I was hypothesizing that one way to do it would be to do a 10-part series where you really can spend a lot of time developing each character and the stories. And even then, I don’t even know if 10 hours would be sufficient to capture all the nuance. But I’m looking forward to it.

EA: Me too — whenever we get it. I don’t know that I’m confident for 2020.

KM: I know….It’s one of those where you really have to see it on a big screen. I don’t know what’s going to happen there, but fingers crossed that we can figure it out.

(Photos: IFC Films)