David Lynch Says He’ll ‘Never Retire’ After Revealing Emphysema Diagnosis

David Lynch is getting candid about his health and career. The 78-year-old Mulholland Drive and Dune filmmaker has revealed that he is battling emphysema. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking,” he wrote in a Monday post on X (formerly Twitter). “I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco – the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them – but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is emphysema. I have now quit smoking for over two years. Recently I had many tests and the good news is that I am in excellent shape except for emphysema. I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire. I want you all to know that I really appreciate your concern. Love, David.”

The Twin Peaks creator’s comments come on the heels of a recent interview with Sight & Sound magazine, in which he addressed the difficulties he faces with leaving his home. 

“I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. It would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold,” he said, according to Deadline. Lynch also noted that he “can only walk a short distance before” he’s “out of oxygen.”

The four-time Oscar nominee said of any future directing projects, “I would do it remotely if it comes to it…I wouldn’t like that so much.”

According to the American Lung Association, emphysema is a lung disease that causes shortness of breath and prevents oxygen from easily moving through the blood stream. 

Lynch’s last film was 2006’s Inland Empire, starring Laura Dern and Justin Theroux. The film was honored with the Future Film Festival Digital Award at the Venice Film Festival and the honor of Best Experimental Film from the National Society of Film Critics.

In 2018, his revival of Twin Peaks earned four Primetime Emmy nominations. 

The following year, the Elephant Man director was awarded an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 11th Annual Governors Awards. 

In his interview with Sight & Sound, Lynch said that Netflix recently passed on Snootworld — his long-gestating animated project with The Nightmare Before Christmas‘ Caroline Thompson. 

“Old-fashioned fairy tales are considered groaners: apparently, people don’t want to see them. It’s a different world now, and it’s easier to say no than to say yes,” he told the mag.

Lynch noted that he remains “hopeful” about the future for his 2010 screenplay, Antelope Don’t Run No More.

“We don’t know what the future will bring,” he said. 

RELATED CONTENT: