Damn it, Paul Giamatti was supposed to be in Twin Peaks: The Return
If not for scheduling conflicts, the Twin Peaks revival almost had another awesome cast addition
It’s always nice when Paul Giamatti pops up in something, whether it’s an instantly iconic little cameo like when he played The Rhino in Amazing Spider-Man 2 (remember that?) or a big starring role in something like The Holdovers, and nothing stings quite like the realization that you could’ve seen Paul Giamatti pop up in something had fate not intervened to inexplicably prevent it. So, it is with a heavy heart that we must report that Paul Giamatti was supposed to appear in Twin Peaks: The Return but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts.
Twin Peaks: The Return was, of course, co-creator David Lynch’s big legacy sequel to his cult classic TV series, and it was a series that tended to veer wildly between off-putting nonsense and some of the most transcendentally masterful television ever broadcast on the small-screen. In order words, it would’ve been a lot of fun to see Paul Giamatti there, doing his Paul Giamatti thing.
This reveal comes from The Wrap, with Giamatti telling the outlet that Lynch is one filmmaker that he has always wanted to work with, but he couldn’t work out his schedule to make room for The Return and had to drop out—a decision he calls “heartbreaking.” Luckily, while Giamatti says he couldn’t bear to watch the show because he was so bummed out, he knows exactly who he would’ve played: One of the Mitchum brothers, a pair of mobsters who befriend “Dougie Jones” (actually FBI Agent Dale Cooper with his mind all frazzled, though it would be impossible for us to explain any more of it beyond that).
The Mitchum brothers were ultimately played by Jim Belushi and Robert Knepper, who were great, and they offered a fun dynamic in The Return that involved them going from intimidating antagonists to lovable comic relief characters over the course of just a couple of episodes. Also, while Giamatti may be disappointed, there’s always a chance that gum you like will come back into style again and Lynch will decide to make a third Twin Peaks thing that introduces a third Mitchum brother and features more characters who have been transformed into tea kettle things in the years since.