Kyle MacLachlan means something different to everyone who loves him. For Gen Xers who first encountered the actor via surrealist collabs with director David Lynch — Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks — he was the idiosyncratic, raven-haired dreamboat.

“I’m 22, 23, and I get this weird message on my machine,” MacLachlan exclusively shares in Us Weekly’s latest cover story of nabbing his first big role in 1984’s Dune. “Not a clue what I was doing, but loved the experience.”

Reuniting with Dune director Lynch catapulted MacLachlan to cult-noir status and introduced him to costar Laura Dern, whom he dated for four years after filming. Then, in 1989, Agent Dale Cooper redefined what it meant to be a heartthrob when he set out to find who killed Laura Palmer. “Such a wonderful character,” he says.

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