Melanie Lynskey

At 46 years old, Melanie Lynskey has this physical status:

Melanie Jayne Lynskey (born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress and voice actor.

She has received several awards, including a New Zealand Film Award, a Hollywood Film Award, and a Sundance Special Jury Award, as well as Critics' Choice Award, Gotham Award, and Golden Nymph Award nominations. Lynskey made her film debut at the age of 17, appearing as a teenage murderer in Heavenly Creatures (1994).

She spent a lifetime in the United States, including Ever After (1996), and Detroit Rock City, But I'm a Cheerleader (both 2002), Shattered Glass (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), The End of the World (2010), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (both 2012). Lynskey received critical esteem for her role in Hello I Must Be Going (2012), which was to be a turning point in her career.

In Happi Christmas, We'll Never Have Paris (both 2014), The Intervention, Rainbow Time, and Little Boxes (both 2016), I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, And Then I Go (both 2017) and Sadie (2018) have established her as a leading figure in the American independent film industry, with her appearance of Rose on the sitcom Two and a Half Men (1997–2015).

Michelle Pierson appeared on HBO's Togetherness from 2015 to 2016, for which she received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Beatrice's voices were used on Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall (2014) and Megan's Future-Worm! (2016–2018):

Molly Strand appeared on the Hulu show Castle Rock in 2018.

Lynskey is engaged to actor Jason Ritter; they have one child.

Early life

Lynskey was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand, to Kay Lynskey, a real estate agent, and Tim Lynskey, an orthopedic surgeon. She is the oldest of five children, and she has three brothers and one sister. Her surname is Irish.

Lynskey's family lived in England for one year before returning to New Zealand in her youth. She attended New Plymouth Girls' High School, where she was active in the drama department and school performances. Lynskey completed high school at Victoria University of Wellington.

Personal life

Lynskey met American actor Jimmi Simpson on the filming of Rose Red, in which they both appeared. They married in 2005 and were married on April 14 in a chapel on Lake Hayes, near Queenstown, New Zealand. Lynskey applied for divorce from Simpson on September 25, 2012, citing irreconcilable inconsistencies. On May 23, 2014, the divorce was finalized. Lynskey announced in February 2017 that she was engaged to Jason Ritter, whom she had been dating for four years. They became parents to a child in December the following year. They were married in 2020.

Lynskey lives in Los Angeles. She is a close friend of Clea DuVall, who she met when they first met together in But I'm a Cheerleader. Lynskey became a vegetarian after learning about sheep raising at the age of ten, but now identifys as a pescetarian. She has misophonia.

Lynskey has talked openly about her struggle with an eating disorder that lasted for many years. "I was really sick for a long time," she said, and later shared that "even when I was 58 kilograms [128 pounds] I would still be ashamed in wardrobe fittings for not being sample size."

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Career

Lynskey made her professional debut at age 16, appearing in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures, a psychological thriller based on the Parker-Hulme murder case. Lynskey played Pauline Parker, a teen who commits a violent murder with the help of her best friend (played by Kate Winslet). When a casting director visited her high school, she auditioned for the role, but "none were right" before that. "We knew right away that she was right for the role," Fran Walsh, the film's co-writer, adored Lynskey's "quiet vigor." On its debut in 1994, Heavenly Creatures received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert lauded Jackson for bringing "the right two actors," noting that Lynskey has a way to get up from under her glowering eyebrows, which allows you to know she's insides are churning." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly characterized Lynskey as "extraordinary," while Richard Corliss said in his Time & Space review.

Heavenly Creatures is regarded as a New Zealand cinema landmark. At the 67th Academy Awards, it was named for Best Original Screenplay, while Lynskey was named Best Actress at the 1995 New Zealand Film Awards. She finds working with Jackson and Winslet as an enriching learning experience. During the film's making, she grew close to Winslet, who later said, "Mel is like the left side of my body." [We] had the exact same relationship as Pauline and Juliet had in terms of communication and love. We knew each other from the first moment.

Following a three-year absence, she lived in Los Angeles, enrolled in a lecture, auditioned for a role in The Crucible (1996), and received significant praise for its use of crowdfunding, a technique that was still popular at the time. In Ever After, an epic retelling of the Cinderella tale, she was portrayed as Drew Barrymore's "charming and amusing" stepsister. Since its debut in 1998, the film was a commercial and critical success.

Lynskey appeared in four films in 1999: teen comedy Detroit Rock City; Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard; British gangster drama Shooters; and a cult film But I'm a Cheerleader, which is often regarded as one of the best LGBT films ever made. Alice, a free-spirited wanderer who embarks on a thrilling road trip in the award-winning Snakeskin (2001), which screened at the Cannes Film Festival, was adopted with a New Jersey accent for a key role as Piper Perabo's best friend in Coyote Ugly (2000). She was nominated for Best Actress at the New Zealand Film Awards in the second category.

Lynskey re-teamed with director Andy Tennant (who also worked on Ever After) to play Reese Witherspoon in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, which had a record-breaking opening weekend in North America. The scene in which Lynskey's character (Lurlynn) nurses her baby in a crowded bar has been praised in recent years for its cultural relevance. Next, she appeared alongside Katie Holmes in the psychological thriller Abandon, Stephen Gaghan's debut, in a psychological thriller. Critics had scathing reviews about the film, but Lynskey's appearance was regarded as one of the film's finest points, with Variety's Todd McCarthy pointing out that she "does some self-conscious scene stealing." She made her television debut in Rose Red, Stephen King's debut miniseries. The film attracted a following of 18.5 million viewers in three nights, an average of 18.5 million viewers.

In Shattered Glass, a film based on former journalist Stephen Glass' career (played by Hayden Christensen), Lynskey played Amy Brand—a writer for The New Republic in 2003. Jeff Otto of IGN described it as "a tension-filled drama with great performances," while Andrew Sarris said it was "as good as any movie I've seen this year," noting that "the performances of... Ms. Sevigny, Ms. Dawson, and Ms. Lynskey do more than support [his] pathological deceptions to gradually unravel against." On the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, Rose, the devious yet lovable neighbor of Charlie Harper (played by Charlie Sheen) appeared later this year. Lynskey, who appeared in the pilot episode as a guest character, was invited to become a series regular and continued to appear on the show's first two seasons. Despite leaving the main cast in 2005 to concentrate on filmmaking—a decision that executive producer Chuck Lorre said he had "a lot of respect for"—she continued to make guest appearances on the show until its final episode, which aired in February 2015.

In the Clint Eastwood-directed war feature Flags of Our Fathers, Lynskey appeared as Rene Gagnon (played by Jesse Bradford). Burl Burlingame, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, called it "the richest testament Hollywood has yet produced about World War II's paroxysm... an amazing film on every level," while Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said it was "a film of utter devotion and thrilling provocation." On the short-lived television series Drive, which was cancelled by FOX midway during its first season run, she was one of the main characters — a woman struggling to get away from her violent husband. Mary McNamara's review of Lynskey as "particularly touching" in the series's first two episodes of the Los Angeles Times.

Lynskey appeared in Comanche Moon, a three-part Western miniseries that aired on CBS in 2008. Critics shared mixed reviews about Lynskey's role, but People said his performance was one of the "best" in the series. She returned to New Zealand later this year to perform in the romantic drama Show of Hands, for which she received a nomination for Best Actress at the Qantas Film and Television Awards.

Lynskey's debut in Away We Go, a comedy-drama directed by Sam Mendes in 2009, where she played a woman with a string of miscarriages. "Lynskey dramatizes pain and loss with the quiet, touching physicality," refers to a scene in which her character (Munch) performs a pole dance in front of her grieving husband. [Her] entire life is included in her long face and drooping legs. It's the best cast role in the film." In Steven Soderbergh's comedic biographical drama The Informant!, she co-starred Matt Damon's wife, Ginger. Rolling Stone's film was portrayed as "devilish fun," by Rolling Stone's Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent, who found that Lynskey provided "sterling assistance" based on real events. Soderbergh told the Los Angeles Times during the film's promotion in September that year: "Today is the best day of the year"

Soderbergh discouraged Lynskey from contacting the person on which her character was based as he wanted her to reach her own conclusion about whether Ginger had been complicit in her husband's murders. Later, she said, "I had no idea what was going on." "She was trusting, she was convinced that her job is to stay in the house and take care of the children," says the mother, though certain topics didn't always add up. Lynskey claims she spent her time on The Informant. One of her best work experiences.

Lynskey appeared in Tim Blake Nelson's black comedy Leaves of Grass in 2009, as the younger sibling of George Clooney's character in Up in the Air. At the 82nd Academy Awards, the former, directed by Jason Reitman, was nominated in six categories, including Best Picture. Reitman had never expected a foreigner to star in one of his films, but Lynskey said she "tricked" her into giving her the role of Julie by avoiding speaking with him during her audition, denying her true accent. By this point, Reitman was "thrilled." Lynskey received a Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival in October 2009.

Lynskey appeared in Helena from the Wedding, which Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter called a "wise, luminous low-budget comedy." She appeared in Touchback's sports drama Touchback and was praised for her portrayal of Cindy—a recovering heroin user—in Win Win, where she co-starred with Paul Giamatti. David Rooney praised the film's director (Tom McCarthy) for his "unerring touch with minor-key character-based comedy and emotionally sensitive drama," while noting that Lynskey "brings welcome soft shadings to the story's disruptive element." In the meantime, Mary Pols wrote for Time that "[Lynskey] has become one of the most reliable supporting actresses in film,... she had [parts in] Away We Go, The Informant. She was lovely in all three ways, including Up in the Air. In [this], she gives a very different appearance and is even better."

Lynskey appeared alongside Steve Carell in Lorene Scafaria's comedy Seeking a Friend for the Rest of the World in 2012 and was instrumental in the teenage main character's sexually assaulting Aunt Helen in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a drama based on the novel of the same name. Lynskey said it had been a difficult decision to audition due to her character in the latter. Allen Huang wrote that she appeared in the romantic comedy Putzel last year, with Mark Hinson of the Tallahassee Democrat stating that her performance—both as a professional dancer and the main character's love interest—" sparks the film" and "deftly believable"; she wrote an article about her in the Tallahassee Democrat that "delightful" and "deftly believable"; "the film] captures life; as her charming Lyns

The portrayal of Amy Minsky, a divorcee who finds herself having to move back in with her parents in Hello I Must Be Going (2012) by critics, was particularly well received. Lynskey appeared in every scene throughout the film for the first time in her career; she described the situation as "a lot of pressure" and said she hoped that the role would be given to someone like Michelle Williams or Maggie Gyllenhaal. "I knew if I cast her, the film had the ability to resonate on a thousand different levels," director Todd Louiso said of his decision to cast Lynskey. Kenneth Turan wrote an article for the Los Angeles Times: "In his Los Angeles Times review, he wrote: "I'm a person who writes about animals.

While noting that "Lynskey adds depth and wisdom" and a "sympathetic blend of humor, integrity, and naturalness to the role," USA Today praised the film for being "funny, well-written, involving, and emotionally honest." For her performance, she received a nomination for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor. Lynskey's portrayal of Amy in the '20 Best Acting Performances of the Last Five Years' in 2015 ranked No. 6 on Screen Rant's list of the "20 Best Acting Performances of the Last Five Years.'

Lynskey appeared in The Big Ask, an independent comedy-drama, in 2013. Critics generally approved the film, but Lynskey's portrayal of Hannah was lauded. She was named an Emerging Master at the RiverRun International Film Festival in April each year. When her sister-in-law (played by Anna Kendrick) arrives to visit, her sister-in-law (played by Anna Kendrick) returns to visit, her sister-in-law's passion for writing was reignited. The film was praised for being almost entirely improvised. "The performances in Happy Christmas are so natural that the actors melt into their roles," Stephen Holden of The New York Times said, though other commentators singled out Lynskey as a highlight. She appeared in They Came Together by Amy Poehler in David Wain's They Came Together, and she played the female leads in We'll Never Have Paris and Goodbye to All That later this year. Bilge Ebiri characterized Lynskey as "fantastic" in his reflection of the former. Beatrice, an ill-tempered bluebird, was the first female character to be featured in Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall. Kevin Johnson of The A.V. "Lynskey steals the show with her incredible putdowns and passive-aggressiveness, while still avoiding overdone sass or sarcasm," the club said. The series went on to win three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.

Lynskey appeared on HBO' Togetherness, which centered on two couples living under the same roof from 2015 to 2016. The show, which was created by the Duplass brothers, ran for two seasons, and was praised for its intimate storytelling and the performances of its cast members. "All deep waters and live wires," Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times said, as soft and steely as she tried on new personas for size, her Michelle becomes the series' gravitation center. You can imagine her emotions. Lynskey was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series by the 2015 Critics' Choice Television Award. Despite losing out on a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2016, she was chosen as a worthy candidate in the run-up to that year's award ceremony. HBO had decided not to renew Togetherness for a third season in March 2016. Lynskey later compared this to having her "heart broken by someone I'm still in love with."

Lynskey received the U.S. Gold Medal for her role in The Intervention (2016). Individual Achievement at the Sundance Film Festival, Dramatic Special Jury Award for Individual Achievement. Russ Fischer's critique of IndieWire highlighted Lynskey's "extraordinary good comic timing," while Ethan Anderton of /Film said, "Lynskey is the standout, with a show that is both authentic and amusing at the same time." The film was Clea Duvall's debut as a director, particularly for Lynskey. "I didn't want anything to happen to our friendship," a close friend of many years, before filming began, she sought the assistance of a psychologist to prepare herself for working with DuVall. She appeared alongside Robert Webb in the BBC Two comedy pilot Our Ex-Wife, and she appeared in the independent films Rainbow Time, Little Boxes, and The Great & The Small. Variety's Joe Leydon described her role in the latter as "quietly devastating."

Critics often lauded Lynskey's role in the Netflix crime thriller "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017). Ruth, a downtrodden feminist who partners with her neighbor (played by Elijah Wood) to track down a robbery with Lynskey in mind, was written by the film's director (Macon Blair). The job was physically demanding, due to stunt work and prosthetic use. Blair's Peter Debruge of Variety praised her for giving Lynskey "something unforgettable to do" and said she did her "best work to date," according to Time Out. Matt Zoller Seitz wrote a review for RogerEbert.com, saying: "I am a writer from Germany....

At Sundance, the film was given the Grand Jury Award, while Lynskey was nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress.

Lynskey appeared in Several films after the release of I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore; the mother of a girl with supernatural abilities in The Changeover; and a horror film XX, in which her character frantically tries to conceal her husband's body after finding him dead. "The picture has a wry, comic charge," Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote about it, and Lynskey, a natural performer of pathos to the tumultuous proceedings, adds a note of pathos to the wicked proceedings."

Lynskey appeared in Sadie, a women struggling to raise her daughter while her husband is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Variety characterized the film as "quietly absorbing" and "compelling," adding that Lynskey's work was "strong" and "compelling," while Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "It's no surprise that Lynskey, who has subpoenae, is firmly on display, and "it's no surprise" that she has remained one of the best actresses indie cinema's finest actresses Molly Strand appeared in the first season of Castle Rock, a psychological thriller series based on characters and settings from Stephen King's books. The series premiered on Hulu in July 2018 and received rave reviews; Paste referred to Lynskey as "delicately complicated," while Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall said it was "the latest example of how much humanity and macabre can add to the most surreal and macabre of stories — a tradition that goes back to when she was a teenager in Heavenly Creatures." The series was later revived for a second season, but it did not include a different group of characters due to the story's anthological nature.

Lynskey co-starred with Cate Blanchett in the nine-part miniseries Mrs. America, a political drama based on conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly's career from April to May 2020. The film appeared on FX on Hulu and was highly praised by critics, with James Poniewozik of The New York Times calling it "breathtaking... a meticulously created and observed mural that uncovers the nexus of modern America among righteously mad women." Rosemary Thomson, a faithful fan of Schlafly's, was portrayed by Lynskey as "delightful" and a "standout" among the cast members. Blanchett was "one of my life's greatest adventures" later in life.

Hannah, a layabout stoner who inadvertently land a job as a tour guide in a historic mansion, was the director of actor Justin Long and his brother, Christian. Lynskey said she committed to audition because "the thought of being in sweats and not behaving like I was high for a whole film was so liberating." Critics were dismissive of the film's reliance on scatological humor, but Lynskey's role was well received, with Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter remarking that she "brings the same airtight commitment to Hannah's "incredible, classless screw-up" and that she "shines as... the rudderless, classless screw-up" and that her co-star Joyce Greer's performance was "warm and sincere She [She] embraces physical comedy and actively participates in the satisfaction and quickly commits to the gags. There are a few laugh-out-loud scenes in the film, and Lynskey is at the center of all of them." Don't Look Up, Adam McKay's satirical representation of the climate change crisis, was Lynskey's second film role in 2021. With David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter describing her as "terrible" and "it's] poignant [climax]," her portrayal of June—the wife of Leonardo DiCaprio's Randall's Randall -- was chosen out as a highlight among the ensemble cast members, with her grounded role paving the way for a surprisingly touching [climax]" in the film's "news." Don't Look Up had set a record for the most viewers of a single week on Netflix, making it the third most watched product in the company's history.

Lynskey, a suburban housewife and mother who, alongside three old friends (played by Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis), is hiding information about a plane crash that occurred 25 years ago. Judy Berman of Time's praise for the series's "psychological realism" and ability to mix various genres well, while Lacy Baugher Milas of Paste said it was "one of the fall television season's most innovative new offerings," a twisty mystery that "based its tale in a way that other [shows] like this haven't bothered to try." The cast had been praised for their performances unashamed, but Rolling Stone said, "The standout... is Lynskey." Shauna is always brilliant, but Shauna appears to be "the... part she's been waiting for her whole career to play" in her role. "Lynskey does by far the most emotional lifting of the series," The Guardian said in a similar analysis. Lynskey said it was the character's "internal rage" that attracted her to the role, as well as "a true dark streak" that I... loved and was also afraid of."

She told the New York Post:

Lynskey had been nominated for the 2022 Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Shauna, according to the film. During the 2022 celebration, she was proclaimed the winner.

In the true crime miniseries Candy Montgomery, which aired on Hulu for five nights in May 2022, Lynskey starred as Betty Gore, the perpetrator of real-life murderss Candy Montgomery (played by Jessica Biel). Despite mixed critical reaction, with some identifying the show as too similar to others of its kind, Biel and Lynskey's performance was unanimously lauded, while Roger Elliott of RogerEbert.com said, "She does so much with just a sigh or defeated body language." Richard Roeper, a Chicago Sun-Times writer, called the series "a fascinating psychological study," adding that "Although Candy devotes the majority of screen time to describing events from the title character's point of view, Lynskey's appearance makes Betty's appearance "both sad and heartbreaking."

Lynskey was confirmed to be guest star on The Last of Us, a 2013 video game that will air on HBO in 2023. Kathleen will appear in Kansas City as the "ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement."

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