Laura Dern was forced to drop out of college to star in Blue Velvet

“If you make this choice, you will no longer be welcome at the University of California.”

There are bets in life that are risky, and yet worth taking. Some think twice about them, and others rush to fulfill their dream. This is especially the case for Laura Dern who, to play in Blue Velvet had to give up her studies for good. And in retrospect, she was right.

Guest in the podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Nameheld by actors Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson, the actress of Big Little Lies And Jurassic Park explained that at seventeen, she had just enrolled at UCLA (the University of California) with the aim of studying journalism and psychology, but that she was forced to abandon her studies if she wanted to continue in cinema. And in particular to join David Lynch to star in his next feature film:

“I had only been there for two days and had auditioned for Blue Velvet. I was finally offered the role.”

Excited by the opportunity, she hoped that she would be granted an absence. But that was not the case. So she decided to turn to the film department:

“I told them : 'I have this chance that presents itself.' And the head of the university's film department responded : 'All right, we'll take a look at the script if you'd like to send it to me, but you know, you're not going to be allowed a time off. That's not going to happen. This is not a medical emergency.'

A few days later, the teenager is called into the office and receives a response: “First, if you make this choice, you will no longer be welcome at UCLA. Second, after reading the script, I recommend that you do not drop out of school over this.”

Not listening to the advice of her teachers, Laura Dern had no choice but to abandon her studies to star in Blue Velvet, released in 1986. Nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe, the film tells the story of a young man, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) who finds himself embroiled in a sordid story and an investigation led around a mysterious woman, after the latter discovers a severed human ear.

This woman, Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) is a cabaret singer. Jeffrey spies on her and makes a strange discovery that involves a certain Frank Booth played by Dennis Hopper. Laura Dern plays Sandy Williams, the daughter of the police inspector, who ends up having a relationship with the main character.

Today Blue Velvet has become a cult classic—so cult that, as Laura Dern explained in this podcast, it's one of three films every UCLA film student must study. “This seriously sucks!” she exclaimed.

Which proves that fate can be tricky.

This film is not Laura Dern's first appearance on the big screen – which dates back to Alice is not here anymore by Martin Scorsese. But the role nevertheless allowed him to open the doors of Hollywood wide, and to find David Lynch a few years later in Sailor and Lula – Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, 1990.

Sailor and Lula: David Lynch's Bloody and Mysterious Fairy Tale