Giant

The Giant
Behind the scenes
Actor	Carel Struycken

The "Giant" was a spirit who frequently appeared to FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper in visions. He provided Cooper with clues that directly led him to solve the murder of Laura Palmer. The Giant's appearances to Cooper were usually preceded by those of a kindly old waiter who worked at the Great Northern Hotel.

Biography

Apocryphal stories of giants abounded in Native American lore. Chief Twisted Hair of the Nez Perce described to Meriwether Lewis a tribe of very tall white men who lived above White Tail Falls in a sacred grove, who had given his people at least three sacred artifacts. One of these was a gold and green ring.

In March 1989, a Giant, resembling a nearly ten-foot-tall man, appeared at the Great Northern Hotel in FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper's room to tell him three things that he said would come true: "there's a man in a smiling bag," "the owls are not what they seem," and "without chemicals, he points." He then took Cooper's ring and said he would give it back when these things came true. He also said "Leo locked inside hungry horse" and that there was a clue at Leo's home. After telling the special agent he would require medical attention for his gunshot wound, he disappeared.

The next night, he appeared to Cooper again to tell him that he forgot to tell him something. Cooper mentioned the smiling bag to be true. The Giant then said that one person had seen the "third man" and that three people had seen him, but not his body. He then told Cooper he forgot something and disappeared.

As Maddy Ferguson was being murdered, he appeared to Cooper onstage at the Roadhouse, and said "It is happening again, it is happening again."

When Cooper remembered that, in his dream, Laura told him her father killed her, the Giant appeared to him and returned his ring.

The Giant appeared to Cooper onstage at the Roadhouse as he danced with Annie Blackburn, and was discussing having her join the Miss Twin Peaks competition. The Giant waved his arms back and forth and saying, "No," as if warning him.

He appeared to Cooper once again in the Red Room, taking place of the elderly waiter. He sat next to The Man from Another Place and said "one and the same," before he disappeared.

Behind the scenes

The Giant was played by Dutch actor Carel Struycken, who later played The Fireman in the 2017 series. While they are never identified on-screen as the same character, in an interview with Rue Morgue, Struycken interpreted The Giant and The Fireman to be one and the same:

RM: How did you feel about the new name The Fireman? I mean, was it a bit jarring considering you were seen as The Giant for over twenty-five years?
CS: Well, I didn’t see it as a change. Remember, The Giant never called himself that, nor did anyone else. In this case, I do identify myself as The Fireman. So I see The Fireman as his true identity. That sounds about right, doesn’t it? (Laughs)

In addition, Showtime's official Tumblr site for the 2017 series has a character web page for The Fireman, which includes fan art and quotes of Struycken as both The Giant and The Fireman on the same page, which corroborates Struycken's statement. The page's web address (URL) also refers to the "Giant," indicating the web page's title had been renamed from "The Giant" to "The Fireman" at some point during the air run of the 2017 series.

In popular culture

• In The Simpsons episode, "Lisa's Sax," Homer watches a scene from Twin Peaks depicting the Giant dancing with a white horse. Homer comments, "Brilliant, heheh!...I have absolutely no idea what's going on."
• The Finnish doom metal band Swallow the Sun's song "The Giant" refers to this character.
• The track "Transmission 3" by DJ Shadow samples the voice of the Giant from "Episode 14."
• The Giant's clues for Cooper in "Episode 8" are sampled on the classic ambient album Substrata by Biosphere. The lines "Sorry to wake you... I forgot to tell you something... The things I tell you will not be wrong..." appear in the song "The Things I Tell You."

Appearances

• Twin Peaks Collectible CardArt
• "Diane..." - The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper (Mentioned only)
• Twin Peaks – season 2
  • "Episode 8"
  • "Episode 10" (Mentioned only)
  • "Episode 12" (Mentioned only)
  • "Episode 14"
  • "Episode 15" (Mentioned only)
  • "Episode 16"
  • "Episode 27"
  • "Episode 29"