Harry Dean Stanton was the master of devastating, wordless performance Of all the memorable, extraordinary scenes from Twin Peaks’ long-awaited return, the most emotionally resonant belonged to the late, great […]

Of all the memorable, extraordinary scenes from Twin Peaks’ long-awaited return, the most emotionally resonant belonged to the late, great Harry Dean Stanton.

Stanton – who passed away aged 91 on Friday – may have been recognisable to some screen fans for his more verbose, larger than life characters in The Godfather: Part II and Escape From New York.

But many of his finest moments in TV and film derived from powerful, wordless reactions where his expressions did the talking.

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None more so than in this year’s Twin Peaks comeback.

A quiet, melancholy observer

Episode six of The Return featured one of the most moving – and shocking – sequences that David Lynch has ever created.

On a quiet, sunny day in Twin Peaks, Stanton’s elderly trailer park owner Carl is sitting serenely on a park bench, enjoying the tranquillity.

A mother and her young son pass by, and Carl shares a smile with the pair as they play a simple game together.

Then, moments later, the boy heads out into the road – only to be struck and instantly killed by the truck of detestable local thug Richard Horne, who promptly flees the scene.

The mother’s shrieks are haunting. But the power of the scene lies with Stanton’s Carl; the one person who steps forward from the crowd of onlookers to comfort her.

As Stanton silently locks sorrowful eyes with the grieving woman, it’s arguably the most powerful moment of human connection we’ve seen in the entire series. And it’s all conveyed without words.

Carl’s entire role in the new Twin Peaks has largely been as a quiet, melancholy observer. A witness to terrible events.

His very last scene in the season saw Stanton’s sad, world-weary eyes dwell on the boarded up windows of Steven and Becky’s trailer. Hinting at horrors inside.

Paris, Texas – and an iconic horror scene

Lynch was not the first director to harness the actor’s exceptional, silent expressiveness.

In Wim Wenders’ beloved cult classic Paris, Texas (1984), a rare lead role for the star, Stanton begins the film literally mute; his face, and haunted stare into the camera, bearing all the hallmarks of a painful life as he trudges through the desert.

Even the iconic scene in 1979’s Alien, where the actor’s space-trucker is the first to encounter the titular creature, draws more on his flair for dialogue-free emoting than you might think.

As Brett turns around to behold the towering monstrosity above him, Stanton’s genius was to show us something other than fear.

The character is confused. Uncomprehending. His stunned, perplexed expression showing both awe and unease – perfectly capturing the uncanny sense of a literally ‘alien’ creature that Ridley Scott was so hell-bent on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuHDS5281uw

‘Beyond great’

David Lynch, who would also cast Stanton in Wild At Heart, had a particular appreciation for the performer in this regard.

In 1999’s The Straight Story, a heartwarming road movie from the director, Stanton has just a handful of lines at the very end of the film.

But what really matters is the look he gives into the camera at a certain key point.

His character, who is terminally ill, has just received an unexpected visit from his estranged brother. Then he sees that his sibling has made the entire, epic journey on nothing more than a ride-on lawnmower.

That chin quiver. That stunned intake of breath. The tears in those eyes.

Stanton’s reaction validates and is the perfect emotional climax to everything that has come before.

Lynch paid tribute to Stanton upon news of his death.

“The great Harry Dean Stanton has left us. There went a great one. There’s nobody like Harry Dean. Everyone loved him. And with good reason. He was a great actor (actually beyond great) – and a great human being – so great to be around him. You are really going to be missed Harry Dean.”

He most certainly will.