Naomi Watts said on Tuesday that she almost quit acting before David Lynch cast her in Mulholland Drive.

Watts said "the chips were down" and she was "desperate" for work after "10 years into flunking auditions" in Hollywood before Lynch agreed to work with her.

Naomi Watts, 56, is a British actress best known for her roles in the films “Mulholland Drive,” “21 Grams” and “Birdman” and TV’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.” She is the author of “Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause” (Crown).

Mulholland Drive star Watts said Lynch “put me on the map” with her 2001 break-out film about the dark side of Hollywood, which earned him the award for best director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival alongside an Oscar nod. “My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave… The world will not be the same without him,” Watts wrote on Instagram.

David Lynch, an influential director known for his unique and surrealistic films and TV shows including “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks,” has died. He was 78.

David Lynch has died at 78. The filmmaker was celebrated for his uniquely dark vision in such movies as “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive” and the TV series “Twin Peaks.”

Director-writer David Lynch, who radicalized American film with with a dark, surrealistic artistic vision in films like “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive” and network television with “Twin Peaks,” has died. He was 78. Lynch revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with emphysema after a lifetime of smoking, and would likely not be able …

Naomi Watts revealed on “Live With Kelly and Mark” (via Entertainment Weekly) that she nearly quit acting before she met the late David Lynch, who cast her as the lead in 2001’s “Mulholland Drive.” The film’s critical acclaim and global success turned Watts into a star after “10 years” of “flunking auditions.

Naomi Watts credits the late David Lynch with saving her Hollywood career. The "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" star shared that the director — whose family announced his passing on Jan. 16 — rescued her stalled career by casting her in 2001’s Mulholland Drive.