Melanie Lynskey filmography
New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey made her film debut in 1994 when she played teenage murderess Pauline Parker in Heavenly Creatures, a crime drama directed by Peter Jackson. Following a hiatus,[1] she resumed her career with a supporting role in the fairy tale romance Ever After (1998) and spent the next few years appearing in a variety of big-budget and small-scale features, such as Detroit Rock City, But I'm a Cheerleader (both 1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), Snakeskin (2001), Abandon (2002), and the commercially successful romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama (2002).[2]
Lynskey appeared as Rose, the conniving love interest of Charlie Harper, on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men between 2003 and 2015.[3] During this time she had supporting parts in films such as 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! (all 2009), Win Win (2011), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). Her starring role as a depressed divorcee in Hello I Must Be Going (2012) proved to be a turning point in Lynskey's career;[4] headline parts in the comedy-dramas Happy Christmas, Goodbye to All That, We'll Never Have Paris (all 2014) and The Intervention (2016) followed, establishing her as a key figure on the American independent film scene.[5] For her portrayal of a disgruntled vigilante in the 2017 thriller I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, she was nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress.[6]
Lynskey starred on HBO's Togetherness from 2015 to 2016, earning a Critics' Choice nomination for her portrayal of a conflicted housewife.[7] She next played an ambitious defence lawyer in the Australian drama series Sunshine (2017), a troubled psychic on Hulu's Castle Rock (2018), a conservative activist in the FX miniseries Mrs. America (2020), and real-life murder victim Betty Gore in the Hulu miniseries Candy (2022). Her transition to mainstream success continued with her appearance as a put-upon wife in the 2021 film Don't Look Up, as well as her starring role as a secretive plane crash survivor on the Showtime mystery-thriller series Yellowjackets (2021–present),[8] for which she won the 2022 Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress[9] and was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress (2022, 2023).[10][11] She received a further Emmy nomination (Outstanding Guest Actress, 2023) for her portrayal of a ruthless war criminal on the first season of HBO's The Last of Us.[11]
Film[edit]
| 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 | Unknown | Short | |
| 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 |
| 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 | Griffin in Summer † | TBA | Post-production[12] |
| Pike † | Anna Osborne | Post-production[13] |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rose Red | Rachel Wheaton | Main cast; 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 | Main cast; 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Comanche Moon | Pearl Coleman | Main cast; 3 episodes |
| Psych | Emily Bloom | Episode: "Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion" | |
| 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) | Recurring; 6 episodes |
| 2012 | House | Natalie Tavares | Episode: "Better Half" |
| 2014 | Over the Garden Wall | Beatrice (voice) | Main cast; 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 (voice) | Series regular; 13 episodes |
| 2016 | Animals | Linda (voice) | Episode: "Squirrels" |
| Our Ex-Wife | Sara | Pilot | |
| 2017 | American Dad! | Sharon (voice) | Episode: "A Whole Slotta Love" |
| Girlboss | Gail | 3 episodes | |
| Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Laura | 2 episodes | |
| Sunshine | Zara Skelton | Main role; 4 episodes | |
| 2018 | Summer Camp Island | Sun (voice) | 3 episodes |
| Castle Rock | Molly Strand | Main role; 10 episodes | |
| 2019 | Easy | Beth | Episode: "Blank Pages" |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Rosemary Thomson | Main cast; 9 episodes |
| 2021 | Young Sheldon | Professor Dora Ericson | 2 episodes |
| Mom | Shannon | Episode: "My Kinda People and the Big To-Do" | |
| 2021–present | Yellowjackets | Shauna | Main role; 19 episodes |
| 2022 | Candy | Betty Gore | Main role; 5 episodes |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | Kathleen Coghlan | 2 episodes |
| HouseBroken | Pinky / Memory Sheep (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| 2024 | The Tattooist of Auschwitz | Heather Morris | Main role; 6 episodes |
| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
Podcasts[edit]
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | The Thrilling Adventure Hour | Various | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | The Worst Idea of All Time | Roxanne / Mom / Malcolm / Paddy Schwarz | 1 episode |
Music videos[edit]
| 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[edit]
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (22 September 2012). "Melanie Lynskey makes sexy splash in 'Hello I Must Be Going'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Sweet Home Alabama tops the weekend box office". Entertainment Weekly. 29 September 2002. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Melanie Lynskey Could Have Been Just The Wacky Sitcom Neighbor. She Chose Otherwise". Fast Company. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ 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". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ Cox, Gordon (19 October 2017). "'Get Out' Leads 2017 Gotham Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ "2015 Critics' Choice TV Award Nominations Are Outstanding & More Than Make Up For Some Big Emmy Snubs". Bustle. 6 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Wynne, Kelly (13 March 2022). "Melanie Lynskey Thanks Husband Jason Ritter and Her 'Angel' Nanny in Critics Choice Speech". People. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Here are the 2022 Emmy nominees (full list)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Emmys nominations 2023: See the full list of nominees". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ "Melanie Lynskey's 'Griffin in Summer' Has Begun Shooting in Richmond". The Cinemaholic. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "New Pike River film follows aftermath of explosions which killed 29 men". The New Zealand Herald. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.