He subsequently portrayed Norman Page in the drama Peyton Place (1957), for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1990, he starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby in David Lynch's television drama Twin Peaks, reprising the role during its 2017 revival.

[11] Tamblyn says the director wanted to cast a Broadway dancer but MGM insisted the filmmakers use some contract talent, leading to him and Jeff Richards being used.

[8] Tamblyn was not a trained dancer and always considered himself an actor who danced rather than the other way around,[11] but the film was a big success and established him at MGM.

He played Eleanor Parker's brother in the Western Many Rivers to Cross (1955), and was one of several young MGM actors (others included Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds) in the musical Hit the Deck (1955).

[8] Tamblyn supported older actors in two Westerns: Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger in The Last Hunt (1956), a flop; and Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford in The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), a big hit, where he performed an extraordinary "shovel" dance at a hoe-down early in the film.

Back at MGM he supported Glenn Ford and Gia Scala in Don't Go Near the Water (1957), a comedy set among members of the U.S.

[3] 20th Century Fox borrowed Tamblyn to play Norman Page in Peyton Place (1957), opposite Lana Turner and Diane Varsi.

[3] Immediately after filming that, Tamblyn went to England to play the title role in the musical Tom Thumb (1958), made for George Pal.

Tamblyn's best-known musical role came as Riff, the leader of the Jets street gang in West Side Story (1961).

Tamblyn played Luke Sannerson in The Haunting for Robert Wise, who had made West Side Story.

Tamblyn said he originally turned down the role as he disliked the part but agreed to do it when MGM threatened to put him on suspension.

[citation needed] He appeared on TV in Cade's County ("Ragged Edge", 1972), Win, Place or Steal (1973), The World Through the Eyes of Children (1975), The Quest ("The Captive", 1976), The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams ("The Skyrider", 1978), and Nero Wolfe ("Before I Die", 1981).

[11] Tamblyn played the supporting role in Neil Young's 1982 Human Highway while also credited for screenplay and choreography.

[21] Tamblyn appeared in the TV series Fame, Commando Squad (1987) for Fred Olen Ray, The Phantom Empire (1988), Necromancer (1988), B.O.R.N.

In 1990–91, Tamblyn starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby on the David Lynch-created series Twin Peaks (alongside his West Side Story co-star Richard Beymer, who played Ben Horne);[22] his scenes in the 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me were cut.

[24] The two also worked together in the films Rebellious, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard, and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.

[29][30] In later years, Tamblyn discovered he had a daughter from a 1960s relationship with artist and spiritual practitioner Elizabeth Anne Vigil.