Prolific director David Lynch has been outspoken about how decades of smoking led to a emphysema diagnosis. Lynch rose to fame for directing critically acclaimed movies such as Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive. He built an even bigger ...

I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head,” David Lynch said.

Filmmaker David Lynch has spoken out living with late-stage emphysema, explaining he now needs oxygen just to go for a walk. The man behind Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2020 after smoking from the age of eight.

"I saw the writing on the wall, and it said, 'You're going to die in a week if you don't stop,'" says the director, who was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020.

It complicates his directing job, but Lynch doesn’t plan to stop working. He stated on X in August that he’d “never retire,” amidst reports that his condition meant he wouldn’t be directing any more. However, Lynch told the People he’d consider directing remotely, as his disease makes him more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.

Acclaimed director David Lynch started smoking at age 8 and now relies on supplemental oxygen for anything more strenuous than a walk across a room, he said in an interview to People, warning people of the dangers of smoking.