From the moment I first saw Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me in fall 1993, Walter Olkewicz, who played Jacques Renault and later Jean-Michel Renault in Season Three, left a lasting impression on me. I don’t know what it is about that “creepy Jacques,” but Walter played him exceptionally. With word of his passing on April 6, 2021, I’m wrote a Love Letter to Mr. Olkewicz for his great performances that were anything but blank as a fart.
WALTER OLKEWICZ
While eating a slice of pizza for dinner, I found a tweet from The Hollywood Reporter announcing Walter’s passing.
“Olkewicz died early Tuesday morning [April 6] at his Reseda home in Los Angeles, his son, screenwriter Zak Olkewicz, told The Hollywood Reporter. He had struggled with health issues during the past 20 years and had a series of knee surgeries that caused infections, led to him being bedridden and forced him to take a break from acting.”
Mr. Oklewicz was born on May 14, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, and attended Bayonne High School, St. Mary of the Plains College in Kansas and Colorado State University. Walter told Twin Peaks Archive in 2008 that he had been an actor since performing church plays in high school. He later joined an improv comedy group while at Colorado State.
His first onscreen appearance was as a Chief Technician in Futureworld (1976), the sequel to Westworld.
He would go on to star in several other film including Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979), where he was part of the tank brigade with Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi and John Candy, and Making the Grade (1984), playing the role of Coach Wordman.
It was his notable and frequent television appearance which were always a delight. His list of credits is extensive including guest spots on The Rockford Files, Taxi, Barney Miller, Cheers, Newhart, Falcon Crest, ER, Family Ties, Married … With Children, Moonlighting, L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, Dharma & Greg, and more.
CHRIS BURKE;DAVID MCFARLANE;WALTER OLKEWICZ
Walter attended the Twin Peaks Fan Festival in Snoqualmie Valley only a few times. Yet knee surgery in the early 2000s followed by continued infections kept him from acting for years. He launched an online funding campaigns via Indiegogo and GoFundMe.
In addition to his son Zack, survivors include his daughter-in-law, Katrina Rennells, an actress and screenwriter, and grandchildren Sadie and Declan Robert.
DAVID LYNCH TRIBUTE
During David Lynch’s daily weather report for April 8, 2021, he remembered Walter:
“I was very sad to hear about the passing of Walter Olkewicz also known as Jacques Renault and Jean-Michel Renault of Twin Peaks. Walter, you did great work, and Walter, you will be missed.”
JACQUES RENAULT IN TWIN PEAKS
For the role of Jacques, Walter received a call from his agents about the character and had an audition.
“I learned about the part, and they needed to see me right away, so I couldn’t spend a lot of time working on the Canadian accent. I went in, and I was pretty into the intensity of the scene; it’s so well written. They auditioned me for that scene with ‘Bite the bullet.’ I got it. I was very happy to learn they were hiring me. I called about three days before the first day I was supposed to work and I said, “Can I get with a dialect coach, because I really want to work on this Canadian accent.” They said, ‘Oh no, what you did in the audition was fine, just do that again.” I said, “Wait a minute, what I did in the audition was Pépé Le Pew! It was the only French accent I could think of going in there. That’s not Canadian at all! I got to get a coach!’ They sent a coach, and we worked for two days before I actually filmed.” (Wrapped in Plastic, No. 24)
Walter was unaware when he took the part of Jacques that his character would be killed at the end of Season One. David Lynch must have loved his performance, even though Walter never met him on set. During a wrap party, Walter explained when he met Lynch for the first time:
“And I met David at the wrap party for the first time. We were talking about the show and David was talking about having Jacques back. And I said, ‘Well, that’s gonna be difficult – he got killed at the end of the season.’ David said, ‘Bullshit! I can do whatever I want – we can have flashbacks, we can have dream sequences, I’ll find a way to bring Jacques back.’ And sure enough, he did when came to do Fire Walk With Me.” (Twin Peaks Archive)
Walter attended the Twin Peaks Fan Festival in Washington for the first time in 1998. During the dinner, he answered a few questions which was covered in Issue 37 of “Wrapped in Plastic.”
Question: “Do you remember filming any scenes that never actually made it into the final cut of any of the TV episodes?
Olkewicz: “I believe a pig fetus was part of the story, wasn’t it?”
APPEARANCES IN TWIN PEAKS
Jacques only appears in a handful of episodes in Seasons 1 and briefly as a flashback in Season 2. Most of his screen time is found in Lynch’s 1992 masterpiece, Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me. He also returns, albeit as a different character, in Season 3.
SEASONS 1 AND 2
Our first look at Canadian National Jacques Renault is found in Episode 1003, shortly after his brother Bernard is being interrogated by Agent Cooper and the Bookhouse Boys.
Jacques sees the red flashing light on top of The Roadhouse indicating there is trouble.
The thing about Jacques’ character is that he has some of the best and most memorable dialogue in the series and motion picture. Like this shot when he nervously calls Leo Johnson after seeing the flashing red light. You can hear it, right? “BORDER RUN!”
We later meet Jacques as a Blackjack dealer in One Eyed Jacks during Episode 1006. But the scene is extremely brief, leaving us wanting more.
In the Season 1 finale, Jacques has lots of onscreen time with Special Agent Dale Cooper. Gosh I’d love to have that “Hello, my name is Jacques” costume prop which is probably long gone now.
In a scene shot in a private residence in Lake Mailbou Mountain Club, Cooper and Jacques share beverages and stories in front of an aquarium. Pay attention to Jacques’ beer.
Different reaction shots of Jacques as he listens to Cooper.
Cooper presses in about Laura Palmer and Leo Johnson. Notice the beer mugs are still full.
Jacques soon chugs one beer mug. We literally see him finish it, which I’m imagining Walter had to do multiple times.
More iconic dialogue uttered by Jacques … “Bite the bullet, baby. Bite the bullet.”
As Jacques prepares to leave, we see the beers are magically still full.
Lured to the Water Processing Plant on Black Lake (which is really the Burbank Water and Power facility), we see Jacques exit his 1982 Chevrolet El Camino.
I love this shot of Jacques trying to escape the trap.
Two more looks at flannel clad Jacques both when he is initially arrested and just after Deputy Andy Brennan shoots him in the shoulder.
Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman visit Jacques at Calhoun Memorial Hospital for more questioning. Walter explained in Wrapped in Plastic (No. 24) that Kyle MacLachlan was trying to make him laugh throughout this scene:
“Kyle MacLachlan had a practical joke going. He was trying to make me laugh the whole time. I was all tied up, I couldn’t really reach him. He was putting jelly beans in my mouth. He was saying, “You want this, don’t you? You want this.” I would tell him, “Cut it out, I’m trying to get in character here.” That’s almost my favorite scene I did in the show or the movie. There was a physical state there [that] I worked on for a really long time. Just the in-and-outness of both being drugged from painkillers for the bullet and the drugs. I like where it all went. There were a couple of times I just drifted off totally, and then I came back, and my eyes came back into focus. When I saw all of that put together, I was most pleased with it.”
Later on, we see Jacques resting just before he is visited by a “mystery man.”
Jacques’ killer smothers him with a pillow.
The pillow is pulled away from his face to reveal a dead Jacques Renault.
The nearly identical image is used, sans color, when Dr. Jacoby recalls hearing Jacques being killed in Episode 2003. This is the final time we will see Jacques in Season 2.
TWIN PEAKS – FIRE WALK WITH ME
The next time we see Jacques is when Bobby Briggs calls The Roadhouse “looking for Santa Claus.”
He makes arrangements with Bobby for “a big score” at midnight near the sounds of sawing wood.
This triptych of Jacques just after he hangs up the phone is fantastic. It may be one of my favorite sequences with him. There was such emotion conveyed with his eyes, the closeness of his entire face and hand filling the screen. I just love, love, love it.
But then we get to Partyland at the Power and The Glory. Walter steals the show in these scenes captured in The Pink Room.
His delivery of this nonsensical dialogue is perfect. Clearly Jacques has been partying in The Pink Room. In a 1996 interview with Wrapped in Plastic (No. 24), he heard the Pink Room scene would most likely be subtitled:
“We were told that was probably going to happen, but we didn’t know how. No I guess we weren’t He just said that we had to keep talking over the music, that it was going to be really loud. Not being able to hear it and all, isn’t it funny to do subtitles for English?”
Laura Palmer and Jacques share a deep passionate kiss until more memorable dialogue appears on screen. He described this scene during the 1998 Fan Fest stating Sheryl Lee was great [to work with]: “She was delightful. It’s just a job though; it’s nothing personal.” (“Wrapped in Plastic” No. 37)
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Walter said he asked David about his dialogue, particularly “I am the Great Went.” David’s reply, “It means whatever you want it to mean.”
Thanks to The Missing Pieces, we now have a slightly better understanding about Laura’s “muffin” line. Of course, Jacques’ response is dripping with sexual innuendo.
And then there is the quintessential Jacques Renault line – “I’m as blank as a fart.” You can hear David Lynch’s explanation echoing with this one … it means whatever you want it to mean.
Walter said that they improvised dialogue in rehearsal, and if David liked it he kept it.
At the 1998 Fan Fest, he told a slightly different version of this story:
“You know, I asked, ‘I’m as blank as a fart! What does that mean?” He said, “I don’t know Walter. I don’t know what that means. I think it will mean different things to different people.’ So I said, “Well, what does it mean to me? I have to say it.” And he said, “I don’t know.” (Wrapped in Plastic, No. 37)
Despite the incredibly troublesome and disturbing nature of this scene, Walter plays the “creepy Jacques” part so well. He’s incredibly convincing.
In The Missing Pieces, we see Jacques get a phone call from Teresa Banks. The shot is similar to Bobby’s phone call but it’s captured from a different angle.
Walter’s final appearance in Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With takes place on Laura’s fateful night at his cabin.
Olkewicz shared some details about this particular scene with Twin Peaks Archive:
“I remember being in the cabin rehearsing… Well, we actually weren’t rehearsing – David was talking to us about cars to get us relaxed and get the atmosphere. I remember him taking great care to get the atmosphere – it was powerful. In that scene he smeared the lipstick to give the impression we’d been kissing for a long time.”
Another story about this scene was shared in Wrapped in Plastic, No. 37:
“I liked [David Lynch] because he was so playful. We were rehearsing the scene in the cabin. The assistant director would come up and say, ‘David, we’re all ready to go. The cameras are ready to do the take.’ And he’d say, “We’re rehearsing.” It went on another twenty minutes, half an hour. Well, he was telling us how they were building all these tunnels in his house. Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. was building this thing in his house. And then later on, he said, “I was getting you ready for the scene.” That’s what he would do. He was just playing with us. He was getting us to laugh and play. It wasn’t necessarily rehearsing the scene, but I loved it.”
He continued, “What I remember most is how much David took care of the actors. There’s one scene where I’m outside the cabin, Ray Wise has just hit me with a bottle and I’m lying there covered in blood. For hours, I’m just the guy lying outside in the mud, but every scene David yelled ‘Cut! Someone take care of Walter, make sure Walter’s ok’. After every take, he’s got the whole thing to think about and he wanted to make sure I wasn’t freezing in those temperatures.”
SEASON 3
What a delightful surprise to spot Walter behind the bar at the end of Part 2 in Season 3.
Granted, I wasn’t exactly sure how it could be Jacques Renault, since he’s dead.
Yet this ending to the episode, with the Chromatics’ “Shadow” playing at The Roadhouse, is the best from Season 3.
We learn in Part 7 that it’s not Jacques but Jean-Michel, Jacques’ relative, who was behind the bar.
Walter’s son Zack told Hollywood Reported that this was his father’s first role (and final credit) in 15 years:
“It was his first role in almost 15 years, and he did it all from behind a bar to cover the fact that he couldn’t stand.”
Interestingly, we never see the angle show of Jean-Michel as seen in this publicity shot.
Another behind-the-scenes shot shows Walter being filmed during Part 7.
His final scene in the seres was a flashback from Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me in part 17. There is a close up shot of Walter, which doesn’t appear in the theatrical release of the film.
Thank you Walter for providing some of the most memorable characters and dialogue from David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks. We will miss you.
There goes another “Peaks” of the puzzle. What a wonderful character actor he was.
We’ve lost so many great character actors from Twin Peaks these past few years.
I was especially sad to hear about Walter.