Kyle MacLachlan has enjoyed an impressive career, with memorable roles in Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Desperate Housewives, and Fallout, among others. However, the actor’s career could have taken a very different direction if he had landed some of the iconic movie roles he was considered for during the 1980s. In his new memoir, Fictional Selves, MacLachlan reveals that he came close to starring in several major films of the decade, including Oliver Stone’s Platoon, Tony Scott’s Top Gun, and Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies and Videotape. He also missed out on a role in Some Kind of Wonderful, despite initially being cast in the film.
Looking back on those missed opportunities, MacLachlan acknowledges that some of the decisions still sting, particularly when the movies went on to become major critical or commercial successes. However, the actor has also learned to accept those disappointments as an important part of his journey.
“Wisdom comes from understanding that just like my successes, my failures have made me who I am,” MacLachlan wrote.
Kyle MacLachlan Turned Down the Lead in Platoon
One of the biggest roles MacLachlan missed out on was the lead in Platoon, Oliver Stone’s 1986 Vietnam War drama. According to the actor’s memoir, Stone told him he was the top choice to play the film’s central character, Chris Taylor, a young soldier whose experiences in Vietnam fundamentally change his perspective on war and humanity.
MacLachlan’s agent was concerned about the actor’s career prospects following the disappointing commercial performance of David Lynch’s Dune (1984), which had been MacLachlan’s feature film debut. His agent advised him that he “really needs a success after Dune,” but MacLachlan also had reservations about the ending of Platoon. Ultimately, he decided to turn down the role, which went to Charlie Sheen. Platoon became a major success, winning four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Stone.
“I kick myself, having missed a chance to be in something so zeitgeist-defining,” MacLachlan wrote. “But I can’t dwell on what could’ve been. It would simply take too much out of me,” he added.
Kyle MacLachlan Auditioned to Play Goose in Top Gun
MacLachlan also had an opportunity to appear in Top Gun, Tony Scott’s 1986 blockbuster starring Tom Cruise as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a talented but rebellious Navy fighter pilot. The actor met with Scott and read for the role of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Maverick’s fun-loving radar intercept officer and best friend, who was ultimately played by Anthony Edwards.
MacLachlan quickly realized that he wasn’t the right fit for the character. “A few minutes in, Tony [Scott] and I both know there’s no world where I could ever be a character called ‘Goose…’ Unfortunately that is not me, and I can’t fake it—and we both know it,” he recalled.
“Unlike Hardy Jenns, whom I can pretend to be, cool fighter pilot is not in my repertoire,” he said, referring to the character he had originally been cast to play in the 1987 romantic drama Some Kind of Wonderful, a role that eventually went to Craig Sheffer. “Ultimately, Goose is wonderfully played by Anthony Edwards, and once again, I miss a shot at immortality.”
Top Gun went on to become one of the biggest movies of the 1980s, turning Cruise into an even bigger Hollywood star and cementing its place in pop culture. Although MacLachlan recognized that he wasn’t suited to play Goose, it’s another high profile opportunity that could have dramatically altered his filmography.
Kyle MacLachlan Also Turned Down Sex, Lies and Videotape
Another significant missed opportunity came when MacLachlan was approached to play the lead in Sex, Lies and Videotape, the 1989 independent drama written and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The role eventually went to James Spader, whose performance as Graham Dalton helped make the movie a major critical success. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and became a milestone in the American independent film movement.
MacLachlan was reluctant to take on another dark and challenging role so soon after appearing in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986). “I’ve [just] done a movie that was considered very dark, sexually challenging,” he said of Blue Velvet. “This is another movie that is dark, disturbing and the character [eventually played by James Spader] has issues.”
MacLachlan passed on the opportunity, later reflecting on the decision with a simple “Live and learn.”
Kyle MacLachlan’s Career Could Have Looked Very Different
Although the David Lynch films Dune and Blue Velvet helped introduce MacLachlan to audiences in the 1980s, he found himself struggling to land the leading roles he had hoped for as the decade progressed. As the ’80s came to a close, MacLachlan recalled feeling “like I’ve lost my new-guy sheen” and entering a slump because he wasn’t landing the leading man roles that other actors were getting.
Fortunately, his career would find a new direction when Lynch cast him as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks. The groundbreaking television series premiered in 1990 and became one of the most influential shows of its era, giving MacLachlan the signature role that would follow him throughout his career. He would go on to appear in popular television series like Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, Portlandia, How I Met Your Mother, The Good Wife, and Fallout.
Looking back on the roles he missed, MacLachlan has come to recognize that professional disappointments are just as important as successes in shaping a career. “I’ve learned over the years to own my own failures — not that I have much of a choice. But as I age, I’ve found it’s healthier to accept them as part of life. Wisdom comes from understanding that just like my successes, my failures have made me who I am.”
Would you have liked to see Kyle MacLachlan land major roles Platoon, Top Gun, and/or Sex, Lies and Videotape? Share your thoughts on his career near-misses by leaving a comment below.
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