Melanie Lynskey filmography

Lynskey at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

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 fairytale 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 played supporting parts in 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] with headline parts in dramedies such as Happy Christmas, Goodbye to All That (both 2014) and The Intervention (2016) coming next, establishing her as a prominent 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 Award for Best Actress.[6]

Lynskey starred as a conflicted housewife on HBO's Togetherness from 2015 to 2016, earning praise and a Critics' Choice nomination.[7] She then appeared as 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 role as a put-upon wife in the 2021 film Don't Look Up, as well as her portrayal of Shauna, a secretive plane crash survivor, on the Showtime thriller series Yellowjackets (2021–present),[8] for which she won the 2022 Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress and was nominated twice for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress (2022, 2023).[9][10][11] She received a further Emmy nomination (Outstanding Guest Actress, 2023) for her role as a ruthless war criminal on the first season of HBO's The Last of Us.[11]

Film

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 film
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 film
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
2024 Griffin in Summer Helen
Over the Garden Wall: 10th Anniversary Tribute Beatrice (voice) Short film
TBA Pike River † Anna Osborne
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

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 Main cast; pilot
2017 American Dad! Sharon (voice) Episode: "A Whole Slotta Love"
Girlboss Gail Recurring; 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) Recurring; 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
Key
† Denotes series that have not yet been released

Podcasts

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

Year Song Artist Notes
2006 "Mousey" Goodshirt Directed by Jimmi Simpson
2015 "Waiting on Love" Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers Directed by Todd Hurvitz
"Team Ball Player Thing" #KiwisCureBatten Directed by Taika Waititi and Jesse Griffin

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Here are the 2022 Emmy nominees (full list)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Emmys nominations 2023: See the full list of nominees". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 July 2023.