New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey made her professional debut in 1994 when she played real-life teenage murderess Pauline Parker in Heavenly Creatures, a crime drama directed by Peter Jackson. Following a three-year hiatus, she resumed her career with a supporting role in the big-budget romance Ever After (1998), and spent the next few years appearing in various international productions, such as Detroit Rock City, But I'm a Cheerleader, The Cherry Orchard (all 1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), Snakeskin (2001), Shooters, Abandon, and Sweet Home Alabama (all 2002).
Lynskey appeared as Rose, the conniving love interest of Charlie Harper, on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men from 2003 to 2015. During this time she had supporting parts in films such as Billy Ray's Shattered Glass (2003), Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Sam Mendes's Away We Go, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!, Tim Blake Nelson's Leaves of Grass (all 2009), Tom McCarthy's Win Win (2011), and Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), where she played the abusive Aunt Helen.
Lynskey's portrayal of depressed divorcee Amy Minsky in the 2012 comedy-drama Hello I Must Be Going proved to be a turning point in her career.[1] Headline parts in The Big Ask (2013), Happy Christmas, Goodbye to All That, We'll Never Have Paris (all 2014), The Intervention, Little Boxes (both 2016), And Then I Go (2017), Macon Blair's I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)—for which she received a Gotham Award nomination for her portrayal of Ruth, a disgruntled vigilante—and Sadie (2018) followed, establishing her as a key figure on the American independent film scene.[2]
Lynskey was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for her portrayal of housewife Michelle Pierson on HBO's Togetherness (2015–2016). She starred in the Australian drama series Sunshine (2017) and as Molly Strand on the first season of Hulu's Castle Rock (2018), had major roles in the miniseries' Mrs. America (2020) and Candy (2022), and co-starred as a put-upon wife in Adam McKay's 2021 political satire Don't Look Up. Lynskey's transition to mainstream success was solidified by her starring role as Shauna, a plane crash survivor, on the Showtime mystery-thriller series Yellowjackets (2021–present),[3] for which she won the 2022 Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress and was nominated twice for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress (2022, 2024). She appeared as Kathleen on the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us in 2023, receiving a nomination for the 2024 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | Pauline Parker | |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | Deputy | |
| 1998 | Ever After | Jacqueline | |
| 1999 | Foreign Correspondents | Melody | |
| Detroit Rock City | Beth | ||
| But I'm a Cheerleader | Hilary | ||
| The Cherry Orchard | Dunyasha | ||
| Measureless to Man | Short film | ||
| 2000 | Coyote Ugly | Gloria | |
| 2001 | Snakeskin | Alice | |
| 2002 | Shooters | Marie | |
| Abandon | Mousy Julie | Credited as Melanie Jayne Lynskey | |
| Sweet Home Alabama | Lurlynn | ||
| 2003 | Claustrophobia | Lauren | |
| Shattered Glass | Amy Brand | ||
| 2004 | The Nearly Unadventurous Life of Zoe Cadwaulder | Zoe Cadwaulder | Short film |
| 2005 | Say Uncle | Susan | |
| 2006 | Park | Sheryl | |
| Flags of Our Fathers | Pauline Harnois | ||
| 2007 | Itty Bitty Titty Committee | Plastic Surgery Lady | Uncredited |
| 2008 | Show of Hands | Jess | |
| A Quiet Little Marriage | Monique | ||
| 2009 | Away We Go | Munch | |
| Up in the Air | Julie Bingham | ||
| The Informant! | Ginger Whitacre | ||
| Leaves of Grass | Colleen | ||
| 2010 | Helena from the Wedding | Alice | |
| 2011 | Win Win | Cindy | |
| Touchback | Macy | ||
| 2012 | Hello I Must Be Going | Amy | |
| Eye of the Hurricane | Amelia Kyte | ||
| Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | Karen | ||
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Aunt Helen | ||
| Putzel | Sally | ||
| 2013 | The Big Ask | Hannah | |
| 2014 | Happy Christmas | Kelly | |
| They Came Together | Brenda | ||
| Chu and Blossom | Miss Shoemaker | ||
| We'll Never Have Paris | Devon | ||
| Goodbye to All That | Annie Wall | ||
| 2015 | Digging for Fire | Squiggy | |
| 2016 | The Intervention | Annie | |
| Rainbow Time | Lindsay | ||
| The Great & the Small | Margaret | ||
| Little Boxes | Gina McNulty-Burns | ||
| Folk Hero & Funny Guy | Becky | ||
| 2017 | I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore | Ruth | |
| XX | Mary | Segment: "The Birthday Party" | |
| 1 Mile to You | Coach Rowan | ||
| And Then I Go | Janice | ||
| The Changeover | Kate Chant | ||
| 2018 | Sadie | Rae | |
| 2021 | Lady of the Manor | Hannah | |
| Don't Look Up | June Mindy | ||
| TBA | I, Object † | TBA | Pre-production[4] |
| TBA | Griffin in Summer † | TBA | Post-production[5] |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rose Red | Rachel Wheaton | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | The Shield | Marcy | 2 episodes |
| 2003–2015 | Two and a Half Men | Rose | Series regular (2003–2005), recurring thereafter; 63 episodes |
| 2007 | Drive | Wendy Patrakas | Series regular; 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Comanche Moon | Pearl Coleman | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Psych | Emily Bloom | Episode: "Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion" |
| 2008 | The L Word | Clea Mason | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Kate | Episode: "The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis" |
| 2010 | Memphis Beat | Annaliese Jones | Episode: "Polk Salad Annie" |
| 2010–2012 | The Life & Times of Tim | Becky | Voice; 6 episodes |
| 2012 | House | Natalie Tavares | Episode: "Better Half" |
| 2014 | Over the Garden Wall | Beatrice | Voice; 8 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Pearl | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Togetherness | Michelle Pierson | Main role; 16 episodes |
| 2015 | Key & Peele | Fiancée | Episode: "The Job Interview" |
| 2016–2018 | Future-Worm! | Megan / Madeline Madison | Series regular, voice; 13 episodes |
| 2016 | Animals. | Linda | Voice; Episode: "Squirrels" |
| 2016 | Our Ex-Wife | Sara | Pilot |
| 2017 | American Dad! | Sharon | Voice; Episode: "A Whole Slotta Love" |
| 2017 | Girlboss | Gail | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Laura | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Sunshine | Zara Skelton | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Summer Camp Island | Sun | Voice; 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Castle Rock | Molly Strand | Main role; 10 episodes |
| 2019 | Easy | Beth | Episode: "Blank Pages" |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Rosemary Thomson | 9 episodes |
| 2021 | Young Sheldon | Professor Dora Ericson | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Mom | Shannon | Episode: "My Kinda People and the Big To-Do" |
| 2021–present | Yellowjackets | Shauna | Main role; 19 episodes |
| 2022 | Candy | Betty Gore | 5 episodes |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | Kathleen Coghlan | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | HouseBroken | Pinky / Memory Sheep | Voice; 3 episodes |
| 2024 | The Tattooist of Auschwitz † | Heather Morris | 6 episodes[6] |
| † | Denotes television series that have not yet been released |
Podcasts
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | The Thrilling Adventure Hour | Various | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | The Worst Idea of All Time | Various | 1 episode |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Mousey" | Goodshirt | Directed by Jimmi Simpson |
| 2015 | "Waiting on Love" | Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers | Directed by Todd Hurvitz |
| 2015 | "Team Ball Player Thing" | Various | Directed by Taika Waititi and Jesse Griffin |
References
- ↑ James, Maris (4 September 2012). "The Playlist Profile: Melanie Lynskey Talks Hollywood, 'Hello I Must Be Going,' 'Heavenly Creatures' & More". The Playlist. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ Strauss, Bob (24 February 2017). "How Melanie Lynskey's risky instincts brought her to Netflix". Daily News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ↑ Saner, Emine (24 February 2022). "'I was filled with self-loathing': Yellowjackets' Melanie Lynskey on insecurity, ambition and her idol Kate Winslet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ↑ "Cannes: Melanie Lynskey, Karl Urban, Thomasin McKenzie, Jemaine Clement Team for Andrew Niccol's 'I, Object' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ↑ "Melanie Lynskey's 'Griffin in Summer' Has Begun Shooting in Richmond". The Cinemaholic. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ↑ "Melanie Lynskey Joins 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz'". Collider. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.