David Lynch, 78, Is 'Homebound' After Emphysema Diagnosis, Says He Would Have to Direct Films 'Remotely'

The 'Twin Peaks' creator said he has emphysema "from smoking for so long" and that he doesn't go out for fear of getting sick

David Lynch — the visionary director behind films such as Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, and the TV show Twin Peaks — has said he has emphysema, and that he is now “homebound” due to the lung disease.

“I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. It would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold,” Lynch, 78, told Sight & Sound magazine, according to The Independent.

Lynch — who revived his iconic show in 2017 with the limited series, Twin Peaks: The Return — shared that the disease means he’s unlikely to return to directing. He told the outlet he cannot "go out" for fear of his health.

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“I would do it remotely if it comes to it,” he told the outlet or returning to directorial work. “I wouldn’t like that so much.”

He shared that he avoids going out due to fears of getting COVID, adding that the lung disorder is so severe, he says, that he “can only walk a short distance before” he’s “out of oxygen.”

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As the Mayo Clinic explains, emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — and “the main cause of emphysema is long-term exposure to airborne irritants” like tobacco smoke, which damages the air sacs in the lungs.

For those with COPD, getting COVID can “raise the risk of needing care in the hospital … the risk of needing intensive care and the risk of death from COVID-19 also may go up,” the Mayo Clinic says.

Related: David Lynch Admits He Is Proud of 'Everything' He's Directed 'Except Dune'

“Most people with emphysema also have chronic bronchitis,” the Mayo Clinic adds, explaining that it can cause a “persistent cough.”

Lynch, whose last feature film was 2006’s Inland Empire, told Sight & Sound that he is “hopeful” that his 2010 screenplay Antelope Don’t Run No More will eventually go into production.

But as he told the outlet, “We don’t know what the future will bring,”

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