Melanie Lynskey
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| Melanie Lynskey | |
|---|---|
 Lynskey at the TIFF screening of Up in the Air |
|
| Born | Melanie Jayne Lynskey 16 May 1977 New Plymouth, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jimmi Simpson (2007-present) |
Melanie Jayne Lynskey (born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Ever After and Heavenly Creatures.
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[edit] Early life
Lynskey was born in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, the eldest of five children (three brothers and one sister). She studied at New Plymouth Girls' High School.
[edit] Career
[edit] Early works, 1992–2002
In 1992, at the age of 15, Melanie won her first professional acting role as Pauline Parker in the Peter Jackson film Heavenly Creatures, based on the 1954 Parker-Hulme murder, opposite Kate Winslet. Over 500 young actors auditioned for the role before Lynskey was cast with Jackson recalling "we knew if we cast an intelligent person, then they were going to hit it. Melanie's also very enigmatic. So what we were looking for was an actress who has that kind of aspect to her...where you can film somebody sitting in a room, doing nothing, and they're still fascinating to watch. We found that in Mel."[1]
The film was released to critical acclaim in 1994 with Richard Corliss of TIME magazine describing her performance as "perfect, fearless in embodying teenage hysteria".[2] Heavenly Creatures won Jackson and partner Fran Walsh a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay[3] and is now considered a cult film.[4] Lynskey was named Best Actress at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards in 1995 for her performance.
After release of the film, Lynskey returned to New Zealand to complete high school and would begin studying a Bachelor of Arts degree at Victoria University of Wellington, majoring in English Literature. She would later make a cameo as a police deputy in Jackson's next film The Frighteners.[5]
Her first appearance in American film was as Jacqueline de Ghent in Ever After opposite Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston, and was quickly followed by roles in films such as Detroit Rock City, But I'm a Cheerleader, The Cherry Orchard (an adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play) and the Jerry Bruckheimer produced Coyote Ugly where she took on a New Jersey accent.
In 2002 she played her first television role in the Stephen King mini series Rose Red. She then appeared alongside Katie Holmes in Abandon and Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama, and guested twice on The Shield.
[edit] 2003–present
In Shattered Glass, a 2003 drama revolving around political journalism, she played a writer for The New Republic. Based on a true story, the film depicted the downfall of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) and received extremely positive reviews, with A. O. Scott of the New York Times referring to it as "a serious, well-observed examination of the practice of journalism", and "an astute and surprisingly gripping drama".[6]
Also in 2003, she landed the part of Rose, Charlie Sheen's sweet and zany neighbor on the Emmy Award-winning Two and a Half Men, which frequently appears in the top 10 of the most-watched television shows in America.[7] Although she left her regular slot on the show in 2007, she still makes occasional guest appearances when her schedule allows.
In 2006 she had a small but substantial role in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers[8] and returned to New Zealand in late 2007 to a starring role in Show of Hands, which premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2008.
More recently, she earned rave reviews for her peformance in the Sam Mendes comedy-drama Away We Go, playing a seemingly happy adoptive parent who hides a secret heartache. Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe wrote "Lynskey dramatizes sadness and dysfunction with quiet, moving physicality... It's the best performance in the movie".[9]
She also played the female lead opposite Matt Damon in the Steven Soderbergh black comedy The Informant!, based on the true story of FBI whistleblower Mark Whitacre. The film premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival with The Independent noting "sterling support comes from Melanie Lynskey as Whitacre's ever-loyal wife".[10] Soderbergh told the Los Angeles Times, "She is so watchable, you never quite know what you're going to get, you just know it's going to be good. Her rhythms are really unusual, like her cadence and her reaction times to things, and the way she sort of lays out a sentence. It's just really, really interesting".[11]
Currently awaiting release is the Tim Blake Nelson film Leaves of Grass alongside Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon, as well as Up in the Air where she plays the younger sister of George Clooney.
[edit] Personal life
In 2001 she met her future husband, New Jersey-born actor Jimmi Simpson, whilst co-starring in the Stephen King mini series Rose Red and they became engaged in 2005.
On 14 April 2007 they married in a chapel overlooking a vineyard on Lake Hayes, in Queenstown, New Zealand.[12] Also in attendance was her best friend and Rose Red co-star Emily Deschanel,[13] who was one of her bridesmaids. Lynskey currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | Pauline Parker | Winner Best Actress New Zealand Film and TV Awards |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | Deputy | Saturn Award Film nominated for Best Film |
| 1998 | Ever After | Jacqueline De Ghent | Teen Choice Awards Film nominated for Best Drama |
| 1999 | Detroit Rock City | Beth | |
| The Cherry Orchard | Dunyasha | ||
| But I'm a Cheerleader | Hilary | ||
| 2000 | Coyote Ugly | Gloria | |
| 2001 | Snakeskin | Alice | Nominated Best Actress New Zealand Film and TV Awards |
| 2002 | Shooters | Marie | |
| Abandon | Julie | ||
| Sweet Home Alabama | Lurlynn | Teen Choice Awards Film winner Best Comedy | |
| 2003 | Shattered Glass | Amy Brand | Independent Spirit Awards Film nominated Best Feature |
| 2005 | Say Uncle | Susan | |
| 2006 | Park | Sheryl | |
| Flags of our Fathers | Pauline Harnois | Satellite Awards Film nominated Best Motion Picture, Drama | |
| 2008 | Show of Hands | Jess | Nominated Best Leading Actress Qantas Film and Television Awards |
| A Quiet Little Marriage | Monique | ||
| 2009 | Away We Go | Munch Garnett | |
| The Informant! | Ginger Whitacre | ||
| Up in the Air | Julie Bingham | ||
| Leaves of Grass | Colleen | ||
| 2010 | Helena from the Wedding | Alice | Post-production |
[edit] Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rose Red | Rachel Wheaton | Television mini series |
| 2003 | The Shield | Marcy | Television series Ep. 2.3 & 2.7 |
| 2003-2009 | Two and a Half Men | Rose | 50 episodes |
| 2007 | Drive | Wendy Patrakas | Television series, 7 episodes |
| 2008 | The L Word | Clea Mason | Television series Ep. 5.11 & 5.12 |
| Comanche Moon | Pearl Coleman | Television mini-series | |
| Psych | Emily Bloom | Television series Ep. 2.15 | |
| 2009 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Kate | Television series Ep. 5.1 |
[edit] References
- ^ Lippy, Tod (1994). "Heavenly Creatures Interview with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (1994)". TheOneRing.net. http://tbhl.theonering.net/peter/interviews/walsh_jackson.html/. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (1994-11-21). "A Heavenly Trip Toward Hell (1994)". TIME magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981818-2,00.html/. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "Heavenly Creatures (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/heavenly_creatures/. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ AV Club - The New Cult Canon - Heavenly Creatures
- ^ Sibley, Brian (2006). Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey. London: HarperCollins. pp. 261, 303 - 322. ISBN 0-00-717558-2.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (October 31, 2003). "A Young Writer's Ambition, With Loyalty and Betrayal". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/2003/10/31/movies/31GLAS.html?ex=1244952000&en=d43260871b37f0c3&ei=5070. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2008-12-24). "Two and a Half Men". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/arts/television/25arts-TWOANDAHALFM_BRF.html?partner=rss&emc=rss.html. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ Calder, Peter (2006-11-02). "Flags of our Fathers". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10408609.html. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ Morris, Wesley (2009-06-12). "Away We Go review". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/06/12/away_we_go_journeys_from_serious_to_smug.html. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (2009-09-08). "The Informant! Tale of Corporate Crime review". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-informant-venice-film-festival-1783366.html. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ Olsen, Mark (2009-09-15). "Melanie Lynskey, Toronto's Triple Threat". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-lynskey15-2009sep15,0,2092774.story.html. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "In Style Weddings (2007)". In Style. http://www.instyleweddings.com/weddings/gallery/1,,20280136,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ Jacobs, Jay S. (2007-09-26). "Emily Deschanel: The Doctor is In". PopEntertainment. http://www.popentertainment.com/deschanel.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
[edit] External links
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