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Daily Inspiration Quote by Jack Nance

"And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy"

About this Quote

Against the backdrop of David Lynch's universe, "he's just a nice guy" lands like a plot twist. Jack Nance isn't merely describing Pete Martell; he's underlining how alien uncomplicated decency can feel inside Twin Peaks, a town where every smile seems to hide a secret and every domestic scene threatens to curdle into nightmare. The line reads as both relief and quiet disbelief, as if Nance himself is surprised the show is letting one character exist without a trapdoor.

Nance's intent is performative modesty with a wink: he plays Pete as plainspoken, working-class, and emotionally available, then lets the audience realize how radical that is in a story built on rot beneath varnish. Subtextually, "nice" becomes a kind of moral negative space. It doesn't mean naive or boring; it means unencrypted. In Twin Peaks, where everyone performs, Pete doesn't. That makes him trustworthy, but also vulnerable - an open door in a town that feeds on closed rooms.

Context matters: Nance was already a Lynch emblem, forever marked by the unnerving tenderness of Eraserhead. So when he notes that Pete is "just a nice guy", he's also resetting the contract with the viewer: yes, it's still Lynch, but the weirdness isn't only cruelty and dread. Sometimes it's the shock of sincerity. The humor is dry, almost throwaway, yet it highlights a core Twin Peaks move: using everyday warmth to make the surrounding darkness feel even more personal.

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TopicMovie
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APA Style (7th ed.)
Nance, Jack. (2026, January 16). And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-now-comes-pete-martell-in-twin-peaks-and-hes-126244/

Chicago Style
Nance, Jack. "And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-now-comes-pete-martell-in-twin-peaks-and-hes-126244/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-now-comes-pete-martell-in-twin-peaks-and-hes-126244/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

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Pete Martell quote from Twin Peaks by Jack Nance
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About the Author

Jack Nance

Jack Nance (December 21, 1943 - December 30, 1996) was a Actor from USA.

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