people - Laura Dern: I'm advised against a David Lynch film
Oscar-winning actress Laura Dern ("Marriage Story") was reportedly expelled from the university once due to a film shoot. "I was 17 and so excited to come to UCLA," the 57-year-old recalled in the podcast "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." After only two days at the University of California in Los Angeles - short for UCLA - she was offered a role in David Lynch's psychological thriller "Blue Velvet." "I was thrilled," Dern described.
However, several contacts at the university denied her request for a leave of absence for the film shoot, Dern recounted. She even gave the head of film studies the script for the thriller. The next day, he told her that she would no longer be welcome at UCLA if she decided to do the shoot. The professor then added, "After reading the script, it's crazy that you'd give up your college education for this," Dern recounted.
"Blue Velvet" brought Dern greater recognition and has since achieved cult status. As the actress casually mentioned, the film is also taught today at her former university.
- Despite the opposition from some university contacts, David Lynch, renowned for his psychothriller "Blue Velvet," was the director who offered Laura Dern a role in his film during her time at UCLA.
- Born and raised in the USA, Laura Dern was initially eager to attend the University of California in Los Angeles, known as UCLA, before her college education was disrupted by the opportunity to star in "Blue Velvet."
- Initially expelled from UCLA due to her involvement in the film shoot for "Blue Velvet," Laura Dern's role in the psychothriller gained her greater recognition and ultimately led to her receiving an Oscar.
- Today, her work in the influential psychological thriller "Blue Velvet" is still celebrated and taught as part of the film courses offered at UCLA.
- Besides being an Oscar-winning actress, Laura Dern shares her experiences and insights in podcasts, like "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," discussing her early days in LA and the turning point in her career with David Lynch's film "Blue Velvet."
