- Melanie Lynskey
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Melanie Lynskey 
Lynskey at the TIFF screening of Up in the Air, September 2009Born Melanie Jayne Lynskey
16 May 1977
New Plymouth, New ZealandOccupation Actress Years active 1992–present Spouse 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 Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After and Heavenly Creatures.
Contents
Early life and career
Lynskey was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand. She attended New Plymouth Girls' High School.[citation needed]
In 1993, at the age of 16, Lynskey 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 and is now considered a cult film.[3] Lynskey was named Best Actress at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards in 1995 for her performance.[citation needed]
After release of the film, Lynskey completed high school and began studying at the Victoria University of Wellington. During that time she made a brief appearance as a police deputy in Jackson's next film, The Frighteners. Her next major film appearance was as Jacqueline de Ghent in the 20th Century Fox production Ever After, opposite Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston, which was quickly followed by roles in 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 guest starred twice on The Shield.[citation needed]
2003–present
In Shattered Glass, a 2003 drama revolving around political journalism, Lynskey 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".[4]
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.[5] Although she left her regular slot on the show in 2005, 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[6] 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, and earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the Qantas Television Awards.[citation needed]
More recently, she earned rave reviews for her performance 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".[7]
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".[8] 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".[9]
Lynskey's 2009 films also included Leaves of Grass, in which she co-starred with Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon, and the Academy Award-nominated Up in the Air, in which she played Julie Bingham, the younger sister of George Clooney's character.
Lynskey recently starred in the 2011 films Win Win, opposite Paul Giamatti, Touchback opposite Kurt Russell, and Eye of the Hurricane opposite Campbell Scott. She'll next appear in Focus Features' upcoming comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, alongside Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, and in the film adaptation of Stephen Chbosky's cult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.[citation needed]
Personal life
In 2001, she met American actor Jimmi Simpson, while co-starring in the Stephen King miniseries Rose Red. They became engaged in 2005 and married on 14 April 2007, in a chapel overlooking a vineyard on Lake Hayes, near Queenstown, New Zealand.[10] Also in attendance was her best friend and Rose Red co-star Emily Deschanel,[11] who was one of her bridesmaids.
Filmography
Film
List of film performances Year Film Role Notes 1994 Heavenly Creatures Pauline Parker Winner — Best Actress New Zealand Film and TV Awards 1996 The Frighteners Deputy 1998 Ever After Jacqueline De Ghent 1999 Detroit Rock City Beth 1999 The Cherry Orchard Dunyasha 1999 But I'm a Cheerleader Hilary 1999 Foreign Correspondents Melody Nominated — Best Actress, Chicago Alt.Film Fest 2000 Coyote Ugly Gloria 2001 Snakeskin Alice Nominated — Best Actress New Zealand Film and TV Awards 2002 Shooters Marie 2002 Abandon Julie 2002 Sweet Home Alabama Lurlynn 2003 Shattered Glass Amy Brand 2004 Claustrophobia Lauren 2005 Say Uncle Susan 2006 Park Sheryl 2006 Flags of our Fathers Pauline Harnois 2007 Itty Bitty Titty Committee Plastic Surgery Lady Uncredited 2008 Show of Hands Jess Nominated — Best Leading Actress Qantas Television Awards 2008 A Quiet Little Marriage Monique 2009 Away We Go Munch Garnett 2009 The Informant! Ginger Whitacre 2009 Up in the Air Julie Bingham Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated — Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble2009 Leaves of Grass Colleen 2010 Helena from the Wedding Alice 2011 Win Win Cindy 2011 Touchback Macy 2011 Eye of the Hurricane Amelia Kyte 2012 Seeking a Friend for the End of the World 2012 Perks of Being a Wallflower Aunt Helen Television
List of television performances Year Title Role Notes 2002 Rose Red Rachel Wheaton Television mini series 2003 The Shield Marcy Television series Ep. 2.3 & 2.7 2003–present Two and a Half Men Rose 56 episodes 2007 Drive Wendy Patrakas Television series, 6 episodes 2008 The L Word Clea Mason Television series Ep. 5.11 & 5.12 2008 Comanche Moon Pearl Coleman Television mini-series 2008 Psych Emily Bloom Television series Ep. 2.15 2009 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Kate Television series Ep. 5.1 2010 The Life & Times of Tim Becky Television series Ep. 2.3, 2.6, 2.8 & 2.9 2010 Memphis Beat Annalise Television series Ep. 1.4 2011 House (TV Series) Television Series Season 8, Episode 9 [12] 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.
- ^ AV Club - The New Cult Canon - Heavenly Creatures
- ^ 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/movies/news/article.cfm?c_id=200&objectid=10408609. 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.[dead link]
- ^ 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.[dead link]
- ^ "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.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael. "House Exclusive: Two and a Half Men's Melanie Lynskey to Guest Star". TVLine.com. http://www.tvline.com/2011/10/house-melanie-lynskey-season-8-episode-9/. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
External links
Categories:- 1977 births
- Living people
- New Zealand expatriates in the United States
- New Zealand film actors
- New Zealand television actors
- People from New Plymouth
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