Kyle MacLachlan means something different to everyone who loves him. For Gen Xers who first encountered the actor via surrealist collabs with director David Lynch - Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks - he was the idiosyncratic, raven-haired dreamboat. "I'm 22, 23, and I get this weird message on my machine," MacLachlan exclusively shares in Us Weekly's latest cover story of nabbing his first big role in 1984's Dune. "Not a clue what I was doing, but loved the experience." Reuniting with Dune director Lynch catapulted MacLachlan to cult-noir status and introduced him to costar Laura Dern, whom he dated for four years after filming. Then, in 1989, Agent Dale Cooper redefined what it meant to be a heartthrob when he set out to find who killed Laura Palmer. "Such a wonderful character," he says. Fans who met him post-Y2K might more closely align MacLachlan with comedy, thanks to standout performances in shows like How I Met Your Mother and Portlandia. For others, he will always be Charlotte York's great-on-paper first husband, Trey MacDougal, in Sex and the City. "It was so groundbreaking at the time," he says of the sex-positive comedy that launched a thousand brunches. "Working with Kristin Davis was amazing." In more than 40 years as a working actor, MacLachlan, 66, has played two different characters on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, a sinister doctor in Zoë Kravitz's underrated masterpiece, Blink Twice, Overseer Hank on the postapocalyptic Prime Video hit Fallout (season 2 is out December 17), and too many other roles to fit in one story. But right here, right now - in the zeitgeist and our collective consciousness - he's playing his most memorable, beloved role so far: the Internet's dad. Over the past few years, the Washington native's earnest, lighthearted social content has drawn in a new generation of admirers. He has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, who tune in for viral choreo (sometimes with former costars, like his Sex and the City wife Kristin Davis), hear hot takes on wine (including his own, Pursued by Bear) and swoon over sweet photos of his wife of 23 years, Desiree Gruber. Even his spon-con is delightfully quirky. (Looking at you, Arby's potato cakes.) While other stars aging out of leading man material might be threatened by the youngsters, MacLachlan has embraced and connected with them. "It's so nice to hear that I'm a comforting figure," he shares. "My approach has always been joyful... to have fun on the internet; to be as understanding and nonjudgmental as possible." That comes naturally: "I've always been a silly person, even though, when I started, the things I was doing were more serious, I'm at heart, just a kid, really." That kinship with younger fans resulted in the September-launched podcast "What Are We Even Doing?", which features conversations with famous millennials and Gen Zers, including, so far, people like Kaia Gerber, Dylan O'Brien and Caleb Hearon. "We have to understand what's happening as opposed to disregarding. I want to embrace this partly because my son is 17," he says, but also because he wants to pay it forward: When MacLachlan was coming up, he looked to figures like James Dean and Marlon Brando. Now it's his turn to play mentor. "I said, 'What if I find some people that are doing things I find interesting, and we can talk about it?'" he tells Us about the pod. "I can bring my side of the perception, my experiences to the table, they bring theirs." One dream guest he has yet to nab? Charli XCX. "I'm hoping she'll come on the podcast," he says. "She's been on a journey for a while ... She has gone through it." When you're lucky enough to get one-on-one time with Big Daddy, you don't waste it, so we too asked MacLachlan for his tips to living a delightful, openhearted life. Shot exclusively for Us Weekly at Regent Santa Monica Beach resort in the Santa Monica Suite, here's what he told Us. PHOTOGRAPHED BY SAM MCGUIRE. SHOT EXCLUSIVELY FOR US WEEKLY AT REGENT SANTA MONICA BEACH RESORT Always Lead With Kindness "I try to put people at ease if they're feeling a little uncomfortable or nervous," MacLachlan says about meeting fans. "I say, 'I'm just a kid from Yakima, and this is what I do, and I really love it, and I'm so glad you love it too.' I try to make them feel as comfortable as possible, and that I'm genuinely glad to see them and happy to have a conversation with them. That's important to me." That sort of compassion goes for all his human interactions. "I try to connect as much as I can with a person and not to judge, because I don't know what their day was, what an hour was before, a day before, what they've grown up [with]. I don't know anything really about them, when I meet someone. So I come in and I say, I'm putting my best effort forward, and they're trying to do their best." Find Your People MacLachlan vibes best with others who share his playful spirit, like late longtime collaborator Lynch, who "had a sense of joy about him," and ex Dern, who "li