David Lynch asked for a bag of Cheetos in exchange for his cameo in The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg famously told his life story with The Fabelmans. In that film, there was a scene where the budding young filmmaker got to meet the famous Hollywood director, John Ford. The scene featured Ford bestowing his knowledge onto the Spielberg avatar through his crotchety and quirky manner. It was a poignant way to punctuate the movie, and Spielberg had cast quirky, artistic filmmaker David Lynch in the role of Ford. The director is no stranger to appearing in front of the camera. Lynch would often appear in cameos in his own projects like The Elephant Man, Dune, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Lost Highway and Inland Empire.

According to Deadline, Lynch would tell Empire magazine that his cameo in Spielberg’s autobiography came about when he had his request for a bag of Cheetos fulfilled. Lynch explained, “Well, Cheetos, number one, I love them. And any chance I can, I get them. But I know that they’re not exactly health food. So when I do leave the house and I get a chance to… But I don’t get them that often, honestly.” Lynch continued, “If I do get them, I want a big bag. Because once you start… you need to have a lot before you could slow down and actually stop. Otherwise, with a small bag, then you’d be prowling for days to find more […] It’s incredible flavor.”

When Spielberg first asked Lynch to play Ford in that scene, Lynch would naturally experience unease with portraying such a legendary filmmaker. He stated, “At first I didn’t want to do it. And the reason is, when it comes to acting, I’ve purposely tried to stay away from it, giving the likes of Harrison Ford and George Clooney a chance at their careers.” He would eventually decide to take part in the role because he “really liked the scene.” Lynch spoke of Ford, “John Ford probably had a bunch of things he could call on to give a short education to that young lad. But he picked the horizon bit. But it’s true. A horizon in the middle is boring as shit.”