Horror fans have become well acquainted with Bonnie Aarons in recent years thanks to her role as Valak the demonic nun in Conjuring Universe spinoffs The Nun and The Nun II, but what you might not realize is that Aarons was invading your nightmares long before that.
Remember the nightmarish “Bum” from David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive? Many consider the character’s brief jump-scare appearance to be one cinema’s most genuinely terrifying moments; back in 2015, Indiewire named the shocking appearance of the filthy vagrant one of the 40 Scariest Movie Moments of all Time, coming in at a respectable #10.
Yes, it was Bonnie Aarons who played the Bum before becoming the Nun!
Elsewhere in the film world, Aarons made her feature debut in 1994’s Exit to Eden as “The Prostitute,” subsequently appearing in films such as Dear God, Shallow Hal, Wristcutters: A Love Story, I Know Who Killed Me, Hell Ride, Dahmer vs. Gacy, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. Outside the horror genre, Aarons is most known for playing Baroness Joy von Troken in both The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Aarons has more recently starred in the horror films The Bell Keeper, Camp Pleasant Lake, and Little Bites.
We bring Bonnie Aarons up today because the actress just made a cameo appearance on the Netflix show “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney,” reprising her iconic role as the bum from David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive! The character made an appearance in the crowd as a gag, billed as “Dumpster Thing,” and it was indeed Bonnie Aarons back in the makeup and costume!
Watch the clip below and prepare for Lynchian nightmares all over again…
Sitting courtside tonight at #EverybodysLive: The thing that lives behind the dumpster in MULHOLLAND DRIVE. pic.twitter.com/rwlFG7OEAP
— Netflix (@netflix) April 17, 2025