David Lynch’s 22 Strangest ‘Otherworld’ Characters
17. The Man In The Planet: Eraserhead
An early example of Lynchs otherworld characters seemingly controlling events from beyond the realms of the story itself comes in his debut feature film Eraserhead. The Man In The Planet (Jack Fisk), who never speaks but appears in several sequences, is literally at the controls of the story he is shown constantly working levers and making things move at key points in the narrative. He seems to be responsible for the conception of Henrys (Jack Nance) baby, as it is his movement of the levers that results in the introduction of an amphibious, sperm-like creature. While The Man In The Planet is typically mysterious, he seems to be a prototype for the controlling roles that many otherworld characters will later maintain throughout Lynchs output. Is he the director himself, moving the levers of the story in whichever direction he chooses? Or, as suggested by his inability to keep the levers in check in later scenes, is his narrative control far weaker than that?
