Melanie Lynskey

Melanie was born in New Plymouth on 16 May 1977, the eldest of five children, to Kay and Tim Lynskey. She first appeared on film screens at the age of 16 in Peter Jackson’s psychological drama Heavenly Creatures (1994) as Pauline Parker, a girl who murdered her mother who was threatening to separate her from her best friend. Her on-screen partner-in-crime was a young Kate Winslet, and she was coached for her audition by Miranda Harcourt. It was her “quiet intensity” that won her the role, according to co-writer Fran Walsh. It was Melanie’s first acting role.

The film was a landmark for New Zealand cinema, being nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 67th Academy Awards. Melanie was named Best Actress at the 1995 New Zealand Film Awards.

Instead of capitalising on her success by travelling to Hollywood, Melanie finished high school and studied a Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University of Wellington, Te Herenga Waka. In 1997, she gained a leading role in Foreign Correspondents (1999), which was filmed in Los Angeles and was one of the first films to use crowdfunding to pay its way. She also featured in Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) as Drew Barrymore’s sister.

1999 was a busy year. Melanie filmed four features: Detroit Rock City (1999), period drama The Cherry Orchard and gangster drama Shooters, and the cult LGBTQI film But I’m A Cheerleader (1999). The following year, she starred as Gloria, the best friend of Violet, played by Piper Perabo, in Coyote Ugly (2000). She flew back to New Zealand to star in Snakeskin (2001), which later screened at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2002, she starred as Reece Witherspoon’s childhood friend in Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Amy Brand in Shattered Glass (2002). She also played Pauline in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated Flags of our Fathers (2006).

Melanie’s career continued to switch between large studio and smaller independent movies, and she also featured in television roles. It was her guest appearance in 2003, in the pilot of Two and a Half Men, as Charlie Sheen’s stalker neighbour, Rose, that thrust her into primetime television – a role she only took to “try out television”. She appeared for the first two seasons as a regular cast member, and then became a recurring guest star in 2005 to focus on film work.

“Honestly, doing three or four episodes a year enabled me to pay my mortgage and do independent films,” she says. “I had this double life: I had this whole indie side of my career, and people in that world didn’t know I was on this huge sitcom. Then, people would recognise me from Two and a Half Men and think that I never had another job. But I couldn’t have done one without the other.”

Since then, she has co-starred with Matt Damon in The Informant! (2009), alongside Amy Poehler in the comedy They Came Together (2013), and voice acted the role of Beatrice in Over the Garden Wall, for the Cartoon Network. She played the lead role of Michelle in Togetherness on HBO for two seasons, earning a nomination for the 2015 Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Melanie describes herself as a character actor and looks for roles that offer more for her to do than just play the wife or girlfriend.

“I find it almost impossible with those type of roles. If they’re not very fleshed out, if there’s not something extra to do with the character, I find it very difficult to perform… I think I’ve always gravitated towards people who have something to do.”

Throughout her career, critics have praised her performances, from Roger Ebert talking about her first role in Heavenly Creatures:

“There is a way Lynskey has of looking up from beneath glowering eyebrows that lets you know her insides are churning,”

To the Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck, reviewing her in Sadie (2018), who said:

“It’s no surprise that Lynskey, who has quietly [been] establishing herself as one of indie cinema’s finest actors, is once again superb in her emotionally complex turn.”

Miranda Harcourt says the secret to her technique as an actor is that it doesn’t look like technique.  

“She’s very emotionally courageous, and that’s something I really admire about her. She has no problem being grumpy, pissed-off, or downright angry and rude in her roles. She has got complete unselfconsciousness. There are many facets to this diamond, but a diamond she is.”

Her performance as Shauna in the streaming series Yellowjackets, alongside Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, and Tawny Cypress, saw her nominated for an Emmy award in 2022. She had already won a Critic’s Choice Award for the role. The show incorporates aspects of horror, comedy, and drama, which appeals to Melanie.

“I felt very fortunate to be a working actor and to have been able to make my living, and do work that I feel really proud of,” she says. “To have this level of recognition is very, very new for me. It feels very nice.”

Melanie married actor Jason Ritter in 2020, and they have a daughter.