The face of this person is familiar to all fans of David Lynch. One of the worst villains scared the whole generation of the 1990s with his creepy laugh and crazy look. But it could happen that no one would ever see Frank Silva on the screen. How did he get this role, and why did it become the most significant in his life?
Who is Frank Silva
Fate gave this man a chance to forever remain in the memory of millions of people. He was born on October 31, 1949 in Sacramento, California. He graduated from the university with a degree in Lighting Design and started to work. It so happened that he was on the set of two films by David Lynch and acted as a prop and decorator. At that moment, it could not even occur to anyone that there was something frightening and chilling in his appearance. An ordinary worker, whom on the set most often no one notices. He successfully participated in the production of Dunes and Wild at Heart. Good work and diligence ensured him a place as a decorator in the next grandiose project of the director.
Twin Peaks
Initially, the series was planned to be shot only for display in the United States. It was believed that Europe was not yet ready for such extraordinary films and simply did not understand the director’s plan. The script was written and all roles are distributed. During the filming of the pilot series, the director himself was on the second floor of the Palmer mansion and watched the work of the film crew. At some point, Frank Silva attracted his attention, and Lynch asked the man if he had acted in films before. He replied that such an experience was, but the film did not gain much fame, and the role was episodic. This is the end of the dialogue.
After filming the first series, the director noticed one omission in the final scene. At the moment when Sarah wakes up after a nightmare and sits on the couch, Frank is reflected in the mirror behind her. The picture turned out so frightening and mystical that Lynch decided not to cut this moment, but to introduce Silva to the cast. In the second series, a new character appears in the performance of the decorator.
Bean
Since the script was written and approved, I had to come up with a storyline specifically for Frank Silva. "Twin Peaks" without the villain and the killer Bob is now hard to imagine, and it is not known whether he would have become such a cult series without this colorful character. It was his sudden appearance, twitching movements and terrible laughter that horrified the viewer. He was the evil himself, who instilled in the pious father of the family and made him commit terrible crimes. For several years, Leland Palmer, under the influence of Bob, raped his own daughter and committed several murders of young girls.
It is noteworthy that both the wife and daughter saw this particular character instead of the father and husband. Laura even drew it, which further confused the investigation when her diary was discovered. After the crime was solved and Leland died, Bob was forced to look for a new body. But for the time being, the audience was not shown to whom exactly this evil spirit could have moved. Only at the end of the second season the mystery was revealed - Agent Dale Cooper became the receptacle of this otherworldly entity.
Bob returned to his old occupation and in the continuation of the series, which was released only 25 years later, was told about all his atrocities. In the third season, there are shots with Frank Silva from the previous parts. The film “Fire, Come with Me”, which reveals the mysteries of the life of high school student Laura, contains many scenes with the participation of Bob. But in the third season, the audience did not see him. Although the full-length picture was coolly received by the audience, and it did not become as popular as the creators expected, Frank himself did not consider it a failure and was proud of his role. He liked being recognized as Bob.
The villain of all time
In 1995, a photo of Frank Silva appeared in print under the heading "Obituary". The man died at the age of 45 from AIDS complications. At that time, the syndrome was not well studied, and no one could save the actor. But his merits have not been forgotten to this day. In 2016, his name thundered again - the popular Rolling Stone magazine put his character Bob in the fifth place on the list of the greatest movie villains of all time. The death of Frank Silva did not erase him from the annals of cinematic history. A man who does not have any acting education still lives in the hearts and memories of millions of people!