Watch the full interview below!
Kyle MacLachlan discusses the evolution of his character Donald in season 2 of the FX series The Lowdown, the creative freedom of working with Sterlin Harjo, and how his approach to acting has changed throughout his career.
For Kyle MacLachlan, one of the most rewarding aspects of returning to The Lowdown is the opportunity to explore new dimensions of a character who has spent much of his life keeping his emotions carefully concealed. As Donald continues to evolve, the actor is discovering a man whose outward composure often masks a far more complicated internal experience. He found the foundation he had built previously in revealing Donald’s vulnerabilities in season one to be something which set the stage for his character in reconnecting with him onscreen.
After the events of the first season, which saw Donald grappling with the loss of his brother and the consequences of his own actions, MacLachlan welcomed the opportunity to explore a more sensitive side of the character.
"I love about working on the show is that the characters continue to evolve, continue to surprise you," he explained, noting that the process is as rewarding for the actors as it is for the audience.
For MacLachlan, Donald's emotional development is particularly compelling because it doesn't fundamentally change who he is. Instead, it reveals qualities that have always existed beneath the surface.
"I would love to spend more time with Donald because he continues to expand and grow in these different areas and yet I think remains true to who he really is."
Although Donald has experienced profound grief, his instinct is to maintain control rather than openly acknowledge his vulnerability. MacLachlan sees this contradiction as central to understanding the character.
"He wants to appear like he's got everything under control and, you know, in reality he's just barely hanging on."
That tension between public presentation and private turmoil creates opportunities for increasingly nuanced performances. Even a passing reference to Donald's brother can expose the grief he is attempting to suppress.
"I think part of that is that he has an innate sensitivity inside that he just doesn't want to spend much time with 'cause it makes him uncomfortable," MacLachlan said. "He doesn't want to appear and be that vulnerable."
The actor credits Harjo with recognizing these contradictions and continuing to place Donald in situations that challenge his carefully constructed identity. One of the show's most entertaining relationships comes from the contrasting personalities of Donald and Lee, played by Ethan Hawke. Where Donald prefers restraint, order, and predictability, Lee operates with a seemingly boundless curiosity that frequently disrupts the people around him. Their opposing energies create both comedic friction and moments of unexpected emotional insight.
MacLachlan explained that Donald's sense of propriety frequently prevents him from expressing what he actually feels.
"He's stuck with Lee, but he's sort of too polite, you know, to like try to get out of it."
Despite his frustration, Donald remains bound by expectations about how he should behave, something MacLachlan connects to the character's upbringing and relationship with his parents. Yet the two men have more in common than their contrasting personalities might suggest.
"I think both men are similar in that they intuitively know people, but I think Donald chooses to look away," MacLachlan observed.
Donald would rather preserve his carefully maintained equilibrium, while Lee continually pushes situations into uncomfortable territory.
"Lee is the one that's always sort of opening the can of worms," he explained.
The result is a relationship MacLachlan describes as "powerful and interesting and funny and, you know, poignant at times."
Their creative compatibility also extends beyond the characters themselves. MacLachlan praised Hawke's willingness to experiment, respond instinctively, and follow unexpected directions within a scene.
"He's a great writer anyway, as well as being a great actor," MacLachlan said, adding that Hawke's contributions are consistently "rich and full and interesting."
Rather than becoming unsettled when a scene moves away from its anticipated rhythm, both actors embrace the opportunity to discover something new.
Having worked extensively with David Lynch, MacLachlan recognizes a similar creative sensibility in Harjo as a showrunner, particularly in the way both filmmakers embrace unpredictability. One defining element of The Lowdown is its willingness to allow dialogue to overlap, with characters interrupting and talking over one another rather than waiting for carefully delineated exchanges. For an actor who began his career in theater, where dialogue and timing are traditionally more precisely structured, this approach offers a different kind of freedom.
"I think in some ways that's kind of the beauty of the show. It's a bit messy."
However, he emphasized that the apparent spontaneity requires considerable discipline. Interruptions cannot simply happen for the sake of creating naturalistic dialogue; they must emerge from a genuine emotional response.
"It's not about losing control. It's about like even being more specific about why and when you're interrupting."
That demands close attention to the other actor, an understanding of the character's motivations, and a willingness to respond authentically in the moment.
"So it demands tremendous focus, talking and listening back and forth," he said. "Really being present, super present."
MacLachlan also sees parallels between Lynch and Harjo in their ability to introduce unexpected tonal shifts without undermining the emotional integrity of a scene.
"The unexpected happens in his scenes, in his movies, in his TV shows, that you don't see coming and it makes the audience lean in," MacLachlan said of Lynch.
He believes Harjo possesses a similar instinct for blending comedy, tragedy, and surprising character behavior, creating moments that feel both unpredictable and emotionally grounded.
Although MacLachlan's early training emphasized fidelity to the written script, his approach has evolved considerably over the years. He recalled that his work on Desperate Housewives began opening him up to greater flexibility, but it was his experience on the improvisation-driven comedy Portlandia that fundamentally expanded his understanding of what was possible.
"Really with Portlandia, which was all improv based, I really got this sense of freedom."
That freedom, however, comes with a responsibility to understand the character thoroughly enough to distinguish between spontaneous discoveries that enhance a scene and choices that take it outside the established world.
"You have to really, really know what the character is doing and what he's about, and then you have to be open to whatever sort of things bubble up in the moment."
This balance has become an important part of his work on The Lowdown, where Harjo encourages actors to develop behavior that feels truthful to their characters. MacLachlan described maintaining an internal awareness of the scene's boundaries even while experimenting.
"It's like you have an editor in your head all the time," he said.
That instinct allows him to remain flexible without losing sight of the character's intentions, something he particularly enjoys when working opposite Hawke.
Despite his enthusiasm for improvisation, MacLachlan remains committed to extensive preparation. He discussed his ongoing work with a script consultant who helps him examine scenes in detail, exploring the possible motivations, dynamics, and emotional undercurrents that might otherwise be overlooked during the fast pace of television production.
"The script is there at the basis of everything," he explained.
By thoroughly examining the material beforehand, he builds a collection of possibilities that can inform his performance without dictating precisely how each scene must unfold. He compared the process to having different choices available on a shelf, ready to be drawn upon when a particular moment calls for them.
"It's more preparation than anything," he said. "The idea is that you deepen it. You have more options."
For MacLachlan, this work is particularly valuable because television schedules don't always allow actors the luxury of exploring every potential layer during filming.
"I hate missing stuff," he admitted.
Ultimately, that combination of preparation and spontaneity is what makes his collaboration with Harjo and Hawke so satisfying. The more thoroughly he understands Donald, the more freely he can explore the character's contradictions, frustrations, and unexpected moments of vulnerability.
He views his opportunity to work on the series and to return to his character as a real gift as a performer. As he put it, he simply wants to spend more time with a character who continues to surprise him.
