10 Best Twin Peaks Characters, Ranked

Twin Peaks is populated with one of the most eccentric and engaging ensemble casts in TV history, with three phenomenal seasons and a prequel movie’s worth of character-building. From the moment Laura Palmer’s face is unveiled for the first time in the pilot, viewers are transported into another realm of black coffee and delicious cherry pie. The aspect of Twin Peaks that differentiates it from other crime series and makes it one of the best TV shows of all time is that it explores a world where life is fragile and meaningful, allowing each individual to stand out.

The world of Twin Peaks has so many iconic characters that narrowing them down is nearly impossible. The show wouldn’t be the same without the Log Lady, who epitomizes the lovable weirdness of the town, or Major Garland Briggs, who’s unrivaled in his wisdom and sentimentality. These supporting characters of the Twin Peaks cast are crucial for establishing the world and aesthetic of the show, but the best characters in the series standout for their narrative impact and complexity.

10 Ben Horne

Played By Richard Beymer

Twin Peaks needed plenty of red herrings, and none are more compelling and believable than Ben Horne, the local business magnate who cares for nothing more than industry. So much of the series is predicated on the natural beauty of the town that the mechanisms of big cities and the rest of the world haven’t reached. Ben Horne invites those plagues into the city through his business deals and his personal behavior.

Horne is an incredible antagonist, played expertly by Richard Beymer. He’s truly terrible in his behavior directed toward under-aged Laura Palmer, his neglectful relationships with his family, and more. Yet, in the show’s final season, he’s shown to be a sad, depressed man with deep regrets for how everything turned out. He’s not a character that seeks redemption like many television antagonists would; he just exists in contemplation of his own wrongdoings.

9 Donna Hayward

Played By Lara Flynn Boyle

Donna isn’t always the most enjoyable character, particularly when paired with James Hurley in their will-they-won’t-they relationship. However, it’s all part of the whole that makes Twin Peaks so unique. With the information from Fire Walk With Me in mind, it’s important to see Donna as an innocent person with the tragedy of Laura Palmer reflecting back on her.

Donna perfectly encapsulates the teen elements of the show. She’s reckless, lovestruck, and confused about her identity, traits that can lead her to occasionally be an annoyance. However, these traits make her among the most complicated and engaging characters on the show when reminded that she’s the best friend of a girl who was murdered. She saw enough of Laura’s private life to permanently change her perception of the world.

8 Sheriff Harry Truman

Played By Michael Ontkean

Sheriff Truman isn’t the most mysterious or complicated personality in Twin Peaks, but it doesn’t stop him from being one of the most likable in the ensemble. Almost immediately, Sheriff Truman and Special Agent Dale Cooper kick off a beautiful friendship, setting aside common, boring police television tropes fueled by rampant toxic masculinity. He’s just a good guy trying to do the right thing and is willing to accept his limitations and help where he can.

He’s rarely going to be the number one option when someone chooses a favorite, but both the town and TV series of Twin Peaks are in desperate need of him. He’s there every step of the way in the original series, doing right by the people of his town, while almost every other person in an authoritative position abuses their power.

7 Bobby Briggs

Played By Dana Ashbrook

Bobby is probably the most divisive character in Twin Peaks, and it makes sense why audiences would either love him or hate him. He’s not likable at all early on; he’s involved with drugs and crime and even kills someone. But it’s important to note that while he starts out as a pretty sorry teenager, there’s some goodness hidden beneath the rough, and Twin Peaks is at its best when that goodness is allowed to shine through.

Two of the show’s most emotional moments are the scene with Garland and Bobby in the diner, and Bobby seeing Laura’s photo on the desk in The Return. Bobby has been deeply affected by the events of the original TV series, righted his wrongs, and done his best to turn his life around in the absence of his father.

6 Bob

Played By Frank Silva

From Lost Highway to Mulholland Drive, David Lynch’s work has been known to have some pretty horrifying monsters. None is more terrible than Bob, with every scene of his being unforgettable nightmare fuel. The murder of Maddy Ferguson is one of the most terrifying acts in television history, and it only gets worse with the full scope of Laura Palmer’s murder in Fire Walk With Me.

An endlessly riveting aspect of Bob is that Frank Silva wasn’t an actor going into the project, so there’s a veil of mystery surrounding every aspect of the character. Silva had a genuinely unique screen presence, and the world of Twin Peaks would be a vastly different place without him.

5 Shelly Johnson

Played By Mädchen Amick

Shelly Johnson is never directly connected to any of the central narratives of Twin Peaks, and yet, the series wouldn’t be the same without her. Mädchen Amick’s charm and wit give Shelly a constant appeal that distinguishes her despite her disconnect from the murder mystery, and she never feels like a lull or distraction to watch. This is partly due to her outstanding chemistry with Ashbrook’s Bobby.

Aside from simply being an immensely enjoyable character, Shelly carries her own thematic weight that makes her vital to what Twin Peaks is about. Similar to the Packard Sawmill plot in that it runs adjacent to the Laura Palmer mystery, Shelly and Leo’s home life serves as a crucial component of Twin Peaks that speaks to the struggles of women in abusive relationships. Her storyline with Amanda Seyfried’s Becky Burnett in The Return is brief but further enforces the importance of this narrative.

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4 Leland Palmer

Played By Ray Wise

The other side of the coin that made Bob so compelling was his human host, Leland Palmer. Ray Wise gives one of the most powerful performances in television history as both the grieving father and the terrifying abuser. The scene where he’s revealed to be Bob is one of the greatest plot twist moments on television, and it wouldn’t have worked if Wise hadn’t been capable of channeling an equally terrifying performance to match Frank Silva’s.

Aside from being the proponent of an iconic plot twist, Leland is individually riveting as a tragic figure in Twin Peaks. His character, in relation to Laura, offers a profound exploration into the horrors of humanity, among the most sophisticated that’s ever been conducted on television. Wise’s performance as Leland will survive the test of time among the most haunting and heartbreaking in the TV medium.

3 Audrey Horne

Played By Sherilyn Fenn

Much like Bobby Briggs, Audrey is a character who starts off with some rough edges but proves to have a heart of gold. She’s endlessly alluring with charm, wit, and a sense of coolness that no other character in the series can match, and it’s blended with elements of both warmth and tragedy underneath. There’s freedom and romanticism in Audrey Horne, demonstrated by her iconic dance and tune, but one who’s been raised by Ben Horne is never too far from devastation.

Twin Peaks season 2 leaves audiences with a massive cliffhanger regarding Audrey’s fate, and season 3 doesn’t give much of an update on that. But the beauty of Twin Peaks is in those inexplicable mysteries, and Audrey’s life remains a question mark. Everything after the bank explosion is left for interpretation, and it’s one of the most extraordinary storylines in all of The Return.

2 Dale Cooper

Played By Kyle MacLachlan

Dale Cooper is the perfect hero of Twin Peaks, played by the iconic Kyle MacLachlan. He’s a tremendous force for good, stopping at nothing to try and save the town. Complex antiheroes like Walter White and Tony Soprano are commonly considered among the best TV characters of all time, and that’s part of what makes Cooper’s consistent well-meaning and goodness so appealing in retrospect. He proves that great television can be made about a character who’s trying to do the right thing and that it can be incredibly fun.

With that perfection in mind, what makes Cooper endlessly interesting over time is what ends up happening to him. He’s outmatched by the Black Lodge in the season 2 finale, and the Dale Cooper audiences know and love isn’t seen again for decades. When The Return comes around, Cooper is dangled just out of reach until the last minute, instead offering the likes of Mr. C and Dougie Jones in his place. It’s torturous for audiences who just want more of the coffee-loving hero, but it serves as a testament to just how incredible and singular of a character he is.

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1 Laura Palmer

Played By Sheryl Lee

Laura Palmer is the core of Twin Peaks. She fulfills the archetypal need to be the show’s tragic victim while also providing a beautiful, individual personality that audiences can connect with. Her death fuels the series, but her life makes Twin Peaks a masterpiece, especially when all the pieces are accounted for. Sheryl Lee’s performance as Laura, particularly in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, is one of the most incredible that’s ever been put on film, and she closes out The Return with a haunting scream.

Three decades later, Laura Palmer still manages to seem ahead of the curve as a radical television character. She’s a resilient woman who proves to be caring and compassionate while also having moments of cruelty. She’s wonderfully hopeful and filled with love yet suffers in such a profoundly horrifying way. Laura is so three-dimensional and important she feels like more than just a Twin Peaks character, and she’ll remain in the hearts of fans forever.

Twin Peaks

5.0

Conceived by Mark Frost and David Lynch in 1990, Twin Peaks is a supernatural mystery-drama series that brings FBI Agent Dale Cooper to the quiet town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of a young woman named Laura Palmer. As Dale continues his investigation of her death, he learns that Laura’s life wasn’t as she advertised it, and the town itself is hiding far more secrets than they let on. The show received a revival for a third and final season two decades later to resolve the cliffhanger left at the end of the second season.

Cast

Russ Tamblyn , Sheryl Lee , Kimmy Robertson , Dana Ashbrook , Grace Zabriskie , Everett McGill , Ernie Hudson , Mädchen Amick , Ray Wise , Kyle MacLachlan

Release Date

May 23, 1990

Seasons

2