Melanie Lynskey

 

Melanie Jayne Lynskey, born 16 May 1977 is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American dialects, she is a performer mostly in independent film. Lynskey is the winner of two Critics' Choice Awards, as well as an HCA Award and a Gracie. She also won an award from the New Zealand Film Award and an Hollywood Film Award.

 Lynskey was a screen actress when she made her debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994). She was awarded an New Zealand Film Award for her performance as Pauline Parker, a teenage serial killer. In the following years, she was in a variety of international films, including Ever After (1998), Detroit Rock City, but I'm no cheerleader The Cherry Orchard (1999), Coyote Ugly (2001), Snakeskin (2001), Shooters, Abandon, Sweet Home Alabama (all 2002). After moving to the United States, Lynskey became known as a character actor who gained recognition for her variety of small and large-budget film productions, including Shattered Glass (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Away We Go, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Leaves of Grass (all 2009), Win Win (2011), Seeking an Friend to the The End of the World, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (both 2012) Then they Came Together (2014), and Don't Look Up (2021).

 In 2012, Lynskey received critical acclaim and she received a Gotham Award nomination for her leading role as a divorced woman who is depressed in The Big Ask (2012), which she starred in as a depressed divorcee in I Must Be Going, that proved to be an important turning point in her career. Her subsequent roles include The Big Ask (2013) and Happy Christmas, We’ll Never Have Paris (all 2014), The Intervention (all 2016), Rainbow Time, Little Boxes (2016), I Don’t Feel at home in This World Anymore (both 2017), Sadie (2018) and Lady of the Manor (2021) and established her standing as a prominent actor in the American independent film industry.