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Melanie Lynskey

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Melanie Lynskey (born May 16, 1977) is a New Zealand actress best known for her starring turn in Peter Jackson's Oscar-nominated movie Heavenly Creatures (1994).

Melanie Lynskey
Born
Melanie Jayne Lynskey
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

Biography

Early life

Melanie Lynskey was born in the small town of New Plymouth, New Zealand on May 16, 1977. She has three siblings; two younger brothers and a younger sister. Lynskey developed a love of acting at a young age, but never dreamt she'd one day be working in Hollywood; her goal was to be a stage actor in Wellington, New Zealand.

Career

In 1993, Lynskey was chosen by Fran Walsh to play teenage murderer Pauline Parker in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures, set in Christchurch, New Zealand in the 1950s. The film opened in 1994 to rave reviews and box office success, and a year later was honoured with an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

File:Winslet & Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures.jpg
Melanie Lynskey (right) alongside Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures, her first film role

But Lynskey, unlike the film and Kate Winslet (her co-star), remained widely unnoticed outside of New Zealand. Despite travelling to Los Angeles for a gruelling six weeks' worth of auditions, she failed to secure another role, and instead spent a three-year hiatus completing high school and studying for an English Literature degree at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. However, this wasn't to be the end of the actress's career.

In 1997, she headed to Los Angeles for a second time at the request of indie filmmaker Mark Tapio Kines, who had read about Lynskey on the internet and was eager to cast her in his debut feature, Foreign Correspondents. Accepting the offer, Lynskey found herself taking centre stage as Melody, opposite Wil Wheaton, and the drama would later find acclaim at various local film festivals.

It wasn't long afterwards that Lynskey secured her third silver screen role - this time in a major Hollywood production; period romance and Drew Barrymore vehicle Ever After, an updated spin on the Cinderella fairy tale co-starring Anjelica Huston and Dougray Scott. The film proved a sleeper hit during its theatrical run in 1998, and gained Lynskey a great deal of exposure in the film world. Supporting roles in Detroit Rock City, But I'm a Cheerleader, The Cherry Orchard and Jerry Bruckheimer's romantic comedy hit Coyote Ugly were next up, followed by a return to roots in the New Zealand thriller Snakeskin, which earned Lynskey a Best Actress nomination at the New Zealand Film Awards in 2001.

The following year, Lynskey made her mark in Stephen Gaghan's slow-burning psychological thriller [[Abandon], starring a post-Dawson's Creek Katie Holmes, and Andy Tennant's #1 hit comedy Sweet Home Alabama, led by Reese Witherspoon. She also appeared in the Stephen King-penned miniseries Rose Red (film), which was a ratings smash for ABC. Playing a New Republic journalist in multi award-winning true story Shattered Glass - opposite Hayden Christensen - was next on the cards, before a change of pace saw Lynskey rubbing shoulders with Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer in CBS's runaway hit sitcom, Two and a Half Men. It was in 2003 that she landed the part of Rose - Sheen's sweet, vaguely insane next-door-neighbour - and the show has since become the most-watched comedy on American television.

Despite staying under Hollywood's radar for the best part of a decade, Lynskey has maintained a steady career and is garnering more exposure with each new role. She will next be seen alongside Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Paul Walker in veteran actor/director Clint Eastwood's WWII-set drama [[Flags of Our Fathers (film)], due at the end of the year.

Personal life

Lynskey, a committed vegetarian, is engaged to actor Jimmi Simpson. The two met while filming the miniseries Rose Red (film). They now live together in Los Angeles, California with their dog, Mouse (a chihuahua-dachshund mix).

Quotes

  • (on life after Heavenly Creatures) "I think the hardest thing was to go back to school. It's a pretty catty environment at an all-girls school and things happened. For example, 60 Minutes came to do a story on me and followed me around for a day. At school, you just don't need that. And then I would have to go to New York or Sydney for a week and take time out. And, while they were amazing experiences, it was hard because I had these two completely separate lives. I think a lot of people resented that. It put me outside of them a bit."
  • "I don't think I'll ever be a 'movie star'."
  • "You always see those movies that have amazing casts, and it's funny to be in one of them. It's a list of all these fantastic people--and, oh, me as well."
  • (on Sheen's reaction to her native accent) "He turned around and said, 'What's this, uh, voice? What are you doing?' I said, 'I'm just talking.' Then he said, 'Hmmm. Is that some kind of actor-y thing?'"

Filmography


 

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