Naomi Watts reveals she almost gave up acting career before meeting late David Lynch on 'Live With Kelly and Mark' (via Entertainment Weekly ) , David Lynch gave her the starring role in 2001's "Mulholland Drive." The film's critical acclaim and global success propelled Watts to stardom after "a decade" of "failed auditions." Lynch died on January 15 at the age of 78.

"If I hadn't met David Lynch, I wouldn't have stayed in Hollywood," Watts said. "It's been bad enough, it's been ten years since I failed the audition (and) nothing has happened...I've really alienated people. I've made them uncomfortable because I'm like, 'I need a job ! I need a job!"

Things got so bad for Watts "that my agent at the time said, 'You're so nervous. You're making people uncomfortable,'" the Oscar nominee recalled. "Yes, I need a job. I'm desperate and I need a job. I've made plans to go home multiple times."

"Long story short, David Lynch asked me to come on board and took a very different approach to casting," she continued. "He sat me down, looked me in the eye and asked me questions, and most of the time I was like, 'How can I stay out of your way? How can I speed it up? (Because) I was convinced I was wrong because I just There’s this programming: I’m not funny, I’m not sexy, I’m too old, I’m too this, I’m too that. He just sees me and is able to peel away the pretense.”

Watts and Lynch would later reunite in films such as Rabbids and Twin Peaks: The Return , which co-starred the director's other muses Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, among others. After news of Lynch's death broke online, Watts took to Instagram to express her deepest condolences, telling her fans that "the world won't be the same without him."

"His creative direction was truly powerful," Watts wrote. “I had been trying to break into this world for over a decade, but failed at many auditions. Finally, I sat in front of a curious man who smiled broadly and spoke words from another time that made me laugh. Laughing, feeling relaxed and happy. I hid so well that I couldn’t even see myself. How could he ‘see’ me?”

"Every moment together felt filled with a presence I'd rarely seen or known existed," Watts continued of their time together. "Probably because, yes, he seems to be living in a changed world and I feel very lucky to be a small part of it. David invites everyone to learn about that world through his beautiful storytelling, his story It has elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers around the world.”

Watts concluded: "I can't believe he's gone. I'm heartbroken but forever grateful for our friendship."

The actor is currently doing interviews with the media in support of her new book, I Dare Me. After Lynch cast Watts in "Mulholland Drive," Hollywood finally landed him major roles in films like "Lord of the Rings" and "21 Grams."