Ron Perlman Denies He Was Going to Play Tom Waits in David Lynch Movie

David Lynch, one of the greatest directors of all time, tragically passed away on January 16. Best known for his strange, surrealist style, he altered the course of American cinema with classic films like Mulholland Drive and the groundbreaking mystery series Twin Peaks. One of the more bizarre rumors floating around the Internet for more than a decade now stated Lynch was going to make a Tom Waits biopic, with Ron Perlman attached to star—but that was a total falsification, written by a parody news site.

Perlman mourned Lynch and addressed the rumor on a recent episode of Jon Lovett’s podcast Lovett or Leave It. He confirmed the news was “made up.”

“Can we talk about David Lynch for a second?” Perlman says. “I had dinner with David Lynch one night. Beautiful, beautiful man. But the thing I liked about him the most is that when we finished eating, he needed to go outside and have a smoke… there’s something about the non-preciousness of playing Russian roulette with your life that makes me trust you.”

Perlman is best known for his work with director Guillermo del Toro, having starred in six of his movies, including the titular role in both Hellboy movies. He was also one of the main characters of FX’s acclaimed drama Sons of Anarchy for six of its seven seasons. Lynch and Perlman never worked together, but according to one Instagram user, Perlman was with him at the premiere of Mulholland Drive at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

The originator of the fake rumor acknowledged late last year that he made it up for a satirical news site called Studio Exec. Perlman even jokingly shared the news on his Twitter account back in 2013. When Lovett brought up the rumor, Perlman said he “wished” it was true.

“But no, somebody made that s— up,” Perlman said. “I was gonna play Tom Waits for David Lynch? Wow… Wouldn’t that be cool.”

Fans all over the world were devastated at the news of Lynch’s passing from emphysema. Kyle MacLachlan, one of his closest collaborators, wrote a heartfelt tribute on his Instagram: “I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone. David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.”