Lynch rose to fame in the late 1970s with his debut feature-length film Eraserhead, which introduced his unique, dreamlike style of filmmaking. Three years later, he earned his first-ever Oscar nomination for Best Director with 1980’s Elephant Man, starring John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft. And while he never took home the trophy in the category, he did earn nods for Best Director two more times, with 1986’s Blue Velvet and 2001’s Mulholland Drive. Nearly two decades later, the Oscars awarded him an Honorary Academy Award in celebration of his decades-long contribution to film.
And Lynch received several accolades for his work in television as well. In 1991, his show Twin Peaks—which he co-wrote and directed—scored him nominations for both writing and directing at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Additionally, his 2017 limited series revival of the mystery drama racked up nominations at the ceremony for Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Cinematography.
And though he will certainly be remembered as a master of his craft, Lynch previously shared that he had no intention of becoming a director.
