Melanie Lynskey
Acting
- Born:
- 1977-05-16
- Place of birth:
- New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand
Biography
Melanie Jayne Lynskey (born May 16, 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American dialects, she works predominantly in independent films. Lynskey made her film debut at age 17 portraying Pauline Parker in Heavenly Creatures (1994). She went on to establish herself as a character actress through supporting parts in Ever After (1998); But I'm a Cheerleader (1999); Coyote Ugly (2000); Sweet Home Alabama (2002); Shattered Glass (2003); Flags of Our Fathers (2006); Away We Go; Up in the Air; The Informant! (all 2009); Win Win (2011); The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012); and Don't Look Up (2021). Her starring role in Hello I Must Be Going (2012) proved to be a turning point in Lynskey's career, with subsequent lead parts in Happy Christmas (2014), The Intervention (2016), and I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017) highlighting her as a prominent figure in independent cinema. On television, Lynskey played Rose in Two and a Half Men (2003-2015), Shauna in Yellowjackets (2021-2026) and Kathleen in The Last of Us (2023). Lynskey is the recipient of two Critics' Choice Awards, a HCA Award, a Gracie, a New Zealand Film Award, a Hollywood Film Award, and a Sundance Special Jury Award, as well as Gotham, Satellite, Saturn, Golden Nymph, Independent Spirit, Screen Actors Guild, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Known For
Filmography
Don't Say Good Luck
Pike River
Griffin in Summer
Hollywood Squares
Matlock
The Making of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Hot Ones Versus
After Midnight
Poker Face
The Last of Us
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Candy
Don't Look Up
Yellowjackets
Lady of the Manor
Mrs. America
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Sadie
Castle Rock
Summer Camp Island
Sunshine
The Changeover
Young Sheldon
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later
And Then I Go
Girlboss
Little Boxes
1 Mile To You
XX
I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Easy
Our Ex-Wife
The Intervention
Folk Hero & Funny Guy
The Great & The Small
Rainbow Time
Future-Worm!
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Digging for Fire
Behind Over the Garden Wall
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Togetherness
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Goodbye to All That
Over the Garden Wall
We'll Never Have Paris
Celebrity Name Game
Happy Christmas
They Came Together
The Big Ask
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Chu and Blossom
Mom
A Kiwi Legend
Putzel
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Hello I Must Be Going
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Eye of the Hurricane
Key & Peele
Touchback
Win Win
Helena from the Wedding: Cast Interviews
Helena from the Wedding
Up in the Air
The Informant!
Leaves of Grass
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Away We Go
A Quiet Little Marriage
Show of Hands
The Life & Times of Tim
Comanche Moon
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Drive
Flags of Our Fathers
Psych
Say Uncle
Park
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
American Dad!
House
The Nearly Unadventurous Life of Zoe Cadwaulder
The L Word
Shattered Glass
Two and a Half Men
Claustrophobia
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Abandon
Sweet Home Alabama
The Shield
Rose Red
Shooters
Snakeskin
Foreign Correspondents
Coyote Ugly
But I'm a Cheerleader
Big Brother
Detroit Rock City
The Cherry Orchard
EverAfter
The Frighteners
Heavenly Creatures
This Morning
Mushroom Murders