Laura Dern has revealed she was forced to drop out of college after landing the role of Sandy Williams in David Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet.
Appearing on a recent episode of Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, Dern remembered being told she would no longer be welcome at UCLA film school if she took the part.
“I was 17, so excited to get into UCLA,” Dern said. “I was there for two days, and I had auditioned and got offered the role in Blue Velvet.”
Dean said she was “ecstatic” about landing the role as she “worshiped” Lynch, who had already won an Oscar for directing 1980’s The Elephant Man. However, when she went to ask to head of her college department about getting a leave of absence, she was told “absolutely not”.
“I said, ‘I have this opportunity and he said, ‘Well, I’ll look at the script if you want to give me the script, but, you know, you’re not going to get a leave of absence. It’s not going to happen. It’s not a medical emergency,’” Dern said about her conversation with the head of UCLA’s film department at the time.
After the head of the department read the Blue Velvet script, Dern remembered being called into his office and being told: “First of all, if you make this choice, you are no longer welcome at UCLA. You’ll be out. But secondly, having read this script, that you would give up your college education for this is insane.”
“Obviously, it was an incredibly shocking script,” Dern admitted before revealing: “I will just end by saying after my two days, today, if you want to get a masters in film at that school, when you write a thesis there are three movies you are required to study. And you know what one of them is?”
“Pisses me off,” Dern added.
Although she had already appeared in the 1985 film Mask, Blue Velvet proved to be a breakthrough moment in Dern’s career.
The neo-noir mystery stars Kyle MacLachlan as a college student who, after returning to his seemingly-idyllic suburban town, discovers a severed ear in a yard. He launches his own investigation and crosses paths with a seductive singer (Isabella Rossellini) and a psychopathic gangster (Dennis Hopper). Dern stars as the local police chief’s daughter who has an eye for MacLachlan’s character. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Director.
Elsewhere, back in April, Dern described Taylor Swift as a “real deal” filmmaker after starring in the music video for ‘Bejewelled’, which was directed by the singer.
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