Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (/məˈɡlɑːklən/; born February 22, 1959 in Yakima, Washington) is an American actor of Scottish descent.
A distinctive and charismatic character actor, he's skated the outskirts of stardom with critically acclaimed roles in cult films. He was a frequent collaborator with David Lynch prior to the latter's death in 2025, having starred in several works of the the weirdo visionary director including Dune, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. Less impressively, he was in Showgirls, a film that was disastrous for everyone involved and which became kind of an Old Shame for him.
He's become prominent on television since the Twin Peaks days. His roles there have varied from suburban husband with a Dark and Troubled Past Orson Hodge in Desperate Housewives to crazed superhuman Cal Zabo on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and eccentric millionaire George "The Captain" Van Smoot on How I Met Your Mother.
Film Roles
- 1984 Dune as Paul Atreides
- 1986 Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont
- 1987 The Hidden as Lloyd Gallagher
- 1991 The Doors as Ray Manzarek
- 1992 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as Special Agent Dale Cooper
- 1994 The Flintstones as Clifford Vandercave
- 1994 Against the Wall as Michael Smith
- 1995 Showgirls as Zack Carey
- 1997 One Night Stand as Vernon
- 2000 Hamlet as Claudius
- 2001 Me Without You as Daniel
- 2002 Miranda 2002 as Nailor
- 2004 The Librarian: Quest for the Spear as Edward Wilde
- 2008 Justice League: The New Frontier as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman
- 2015 Inside Out as Riley's Dad, Bill Anderson.
- 2018 The House With a Clock in Its Walls as Isaac Izzard.
- 2020 Capone as Karlock
- 2022 Confess, Fletch as Ronald
- 2023 Miranda's Victim as Chief Justice Earl Warren
- 2024 Inside Out 2 as Bill Anderson
Television Roles
- 1990-1991, 2017 Twin Peaks as Dale Cooper
- 2000-2002 Sex and the City as Trey MacDougal
- 2006 In Justice as David Swain
- 2006-2012 Desperate Housewives as Orson Hodge
- 2010-2014 How I Met Your Mother as The Captain/George Van Smoot
- 2011-2018 Portlandia as Mayor
- 2012 Made in Jersey as Donovan Stark
- 2013-2014 The Good Wife as Josh Perotti
- 2014 Believe as Roman Skouras
- 2014–2015 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Calvin Zabo/The Doctor
- 2016 Gravity Falls as Bus Driver
- 2022 Joe vs. Carole as Howard Baskin
- 2023-present Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures as Draiven Bosh
- 2023-2024 Futurama as Dung Beetle Majordomo/Himself
- 2024 Fallout as Henry "Hank" MacLean
- 2025 Primos as Bill
- 2025 The Lowdown as Donald Washberg
- 2025 American Dad! as Verizon Salesman, "Paranoid Frandroid"
Video Game Roles
- 2001 Grand Theft Auto III as Donald Love