With the now-retired Michael Ontkean declining to reprise the role of Sheriff Harry Truman in David Lynch and Mark Frost”s forthcoming Twin Peaks revival, the door was left open for another actor to pin on the badge: Robert Forster, a.k.a the man who turned down the very same role 25 years ago due to a prior commitment. Now, in a new interview with Moviefone to promote his role in London Has Fallen, the Oscar nominee is speaking out about his involvement in the series for the first time:
“Well now, first of all, I am under compulsion to not speak about that role. I can now say they've announced the fact that I'm in the picture — and 216 other cast members. What a big cast! David Lynch, what a good guy he is. He wanted to hire me for the original, 25 years ago, for a part, and I was committed to another guy for a pilot that never went. So I didn't do the original “Twin Peaks,” which would have been a life-changer. It's a gigantic hit if you remember those years, a phenomenon. But I didn't do that.”
Forster goes on to note that he did ultimately end up working with Lynch on Mulholland Drive — in which he played the role of Detective Harry Knight — an experience that made him jump at the chance to reteam with the director on Twin Peaks Season 3:
“I got a call from my agents and they said, David Lynch is going to call you. When he called me five minutes later, he said, ‘I'd like you to come and work with me again.” And I said, ‘Whatever it is David, here I come!””
You can read the full interview here.
Twin Peaks is slated to premiere on Showtime in the second quarter of next year.