Melanie Lynskey - Biography

At 16 years of age, Melanie Lynskey captivated audiences with her explosive debut in Peter Jackson's Academy Award-nominated Créatures célestes (1994), scooping a Best Actress prize at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards for her portrayal of an outcast teen whose relationship with her best friend (Kate Winslet) spirals dangerously out of control.

Following a three-year hiatus spent studying at university and re-locating from New Zealand to Los Angeles, Lynskey made a welcome return to the silver screen when she was cast opposite Drew Barrymore in À tout jamais: Une histoire de Cendrillon (1998).

Parts in Detroit Rock City (1999), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Coyote Girls (2000), Snakeskin (2001), Abandon (2002), Fashion victime (2002), Le mystificateur (2003) and Clint Eastwood's Mémoires de nos pères (2006) came next.

In recent years, Lynskey has worked her scene-stealing magic in a variety of projects, such as Sam Mendes's Away We Go (2009), Best Picture Oscar nominee In the Air (2009), Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (2009), Les Winners (2011), Jusqu'à ce que la fin du monde nous sépare (2012), and Le monde de Charlie (2012).

Prolific supporting roles - opposite the likes of George Clooney, Edward Norton and Matt Damon - aside, central parts in Hello I Must Be Going (2012), Happy Christmas (2014), We'll Never Have Paris (2014), Goodbye to All That (2014) and The Intervention (2016) - for which she scooped a Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival - have proved that she is also a capable and charismatic leading lady.

In addition to an impressive body of film work, Lynskey has appeared regularly on the small screen since her television debut in Stephen King's Rose Red (2002), which was followed by roles in Drive (2007) and Comanche Moon (2008), as well as guest stints on The Shield (2002), L Word (2004), and Dr House (2004).

However, she's probably best known to TV audiences for her frequent appearances as Rose - Charlie Sheen's delightfully deranged stalker - on the Emmy Award-winning Mon oncle Charlie (2003), and her portrayal of Michelle Pierson on HBO's Togetherness (2015), for which she received a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.