Melanie Lynskey

Acting

Melanie Lynskey

Born 1977-05-16 · New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand

Melanie Jayne Lynskey (born May 16, 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American dialects, she works predominantly in independent films. Lynskey is the recipient of two Critics' Choice Awards, a HCA Award, a Gracie, a New Zealand Film Award, a Hollywood Film Award, and a Sundance Special Jury Award, as well as Gotham, Satellite, Saturn, Golden Nymph, Independent Spirit, Screen Actors Guild, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Acting credits

Don't Say Good Luck poster
7.3

Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical — until she's suddenly facing more drama at home than on the stage.

Don't Say Good Luck

2026

The Perks of Being a Wallflower poster
7.8

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

2012

Don't Look Up poster
7.1

Two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humankind of a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth. The response from a distracted world: Meh.

Don't Look Up

2021

Coyote Ugly poster
6.3

Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job as a barmaid at Coyote Ugly. The "Coyotes" as they are affectionately called tantalize customers and the media alike with their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the watering hole for guys on the prowl.

Coyote Ugly

2000

The Frighteners poster
7.0

Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.

The Frighteners

1996

Up in the Air poster
6.9

Corporate downsizing expert Ryan Bingham spends his life in planes, airports, and hotels, but just as he’s about to reach a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles, he meets a woman who causes him to rethink his transient life.

Up in the Air

2009

Sweet Home Alabama poster
6.4

New York fashion designer Melanie Carmichael suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. But her past holds many secrets—including Jake, the redneck husband she married in high school, who refuses to divorce her. Bound and determined to end their contentious relationship once and for all, Melanie sneaks back home to Alabama to confront her past.

Sweet Home Alabama

2002

EverAfter poster
7.5

Danielle, a vibrant young woman, was forced into servitude after the death of her father when she was a young girl. Danielle's stepmother, Rodmilla, is a heartless woman who forces Danielle to do the cooking and cleaning, while she tries to marry off the eldest of her two daughters to the prince. But Danielle's life takes a wonderful turn when, under the guise of a visiting royal, she meets the charming Prince Henry.

EverAfter

1998

But I'm a Cheerleader poster
7.1

Megan is an all-American girl. A cheerleader. She has a boyfriend. But Megan doesn't like kissing her boyfriend very much. And she's pretty touchy with her cheerleader friends. Her conservative parents worry that she must be a lesbian and send her off to "sexual redirection" school, where she must, with other lesbians and gays learn how to be straight.

But I'm a Cheerleader

2000

Flags of Our Fathers poster
6.9

There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.

Flags of Our Fathers

2006

The Informant! poster
6.2

A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Mark Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion.

The Informant!

2009

1 Mile To You poster
6.5

After a teenager's friends die in an accident, he finds running allows him to remember them perfectly. Running, however, also brings him notoriety. He is caught between keeping the past alive and making new memories in the present.

1 Mile To You

2017

Win Win poster
6.8

When down-on-his-luck part-time high school wrestling coach Mike agrees to become legal guardian to an elderly man, his ward's troubled grandson turns out to be a star grappler, sparking dreams of a big win -- until the boy's mother retrieves him.

Win Win

2011

Shattered Glass poster
7.0

Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.

Shattered Glass

2003

Leaves of Grass poster
6.0

An Ivy League professor returns home, where his pot-growing twin brother has concocted a plan to take down a local drug lord.

Leaves of Grass

2009

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poster
6.6

As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

2012

Away We Go poster
6.7

Verona and Burt have moved to Colorado to be close to Burt's parents but, with Verona expecting their first child, Burt's parents inexplicably decide to move to Belgium, now leaving them in a place they hate and without a support structure in place. They set off on a whirlwind tour of of disparate locations where they have friends or relatives, sampling not only different cities and climates but also different families. Along the way they realize that the journey is less about discovering where they want to live and more about figuring out what type of parents they want to be.

Away We Go

2009

XX poster
5.0

This all-female horror anthology features four dark tales from four fiercely talented women.

XX

2017

Heavenly Creatures poster
7.0

Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.

Heavenly Creatures

1994

They Came Together poster
5.5

A small business owner is about to lose her shop to a major corporate development.

They Came Together

2014

The Changeover poster
5.6

Laura Chant, 16, lives with her mother and four-year-old brother Jacko in a poor new suburb on the edge of a partially demolished Christchurch, New Zealand. Laura is drawn into a supernatural battle with an ancient spirit who attacks Jacko and slowly drains the life out of him as the spirit becomes ever younger. Laura discovers her true identity and the supernatural ability within her, and must harness it to save her brother's life.

The Changeover

2017

Griffin in Summer poster
6.8

Griffin is the most ambitious playwright of his generation. He's also fourteen years old. When his mom hires a handsome 25-year-old handyman, Griffin's life and his new play take an inspired turn.

Griffin in Summer

2025

Detroit Rock City poster
6.8

In 1978, a Kiss concert was an epoch-making event. For the four teen fans in Detroit Rock City getting tickets to the sold-out show becomes the focal point of their existence. They'll do anything for tickets -- compete in a strip club's amateur-night contest, take on religious protesters, even rob a convenience store!

Detroit Rock City

1999

Lady of the Manor poster
5.6

Past and present collide when aimless slacker Hannah gets hired to portray Lady Wadsworth -- a Southern belle from the 1800s -- for tours at Wadsworth Manor. Hannah figures she can fake it well enough, until the ghost of Lady Wadsworth appears and tells her it's time to change her wild ways -- or she'll haunt her forever.

Lady of the Manor

2021