Biography
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. Descriptio...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Pike River
2025
as Anna Osborne
Based on the Pike River tragedy of 2010, this drama captures the profound impact of one of the worst mining disasters in New Zealand's history.

Griffin in Summer
2024
as Helen
14-year-old aspiring playwright Griffin becomes enamored with a local handyman over the course of summer vacation.
Making 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz
2024
as Self
Cast and crew discuss the making of Sky Studios' The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Don't Look Up
2021
as June Mindy
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.

Lady of the Manor
2021
as Hannah
Past and present collide when aimless slacker Hannah gets hired to portray Lady Wadsworth -- a Southern belle from the 1800s -- for tours at Wadsworth...

Sadie
2018
as Rae
While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in the newes...

The Changeover
2017
as Kate Chant
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 Ze...

And Then I Go
2017
as Janice
In the cruel world of junior high, Edwin suffers in a state of anxiety and alienation alongside his only friend, Flake. Misunderstood by their familie...

Little Boxes
2017
as Gina
It's the summer before 6th grade, and Clark is the new-in-town biracial kid in a sea of white. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act 'more black...

1 Mile To You
2017
as Coach Rowan
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...

XX
2017
as Mary (segment "The Birthday Party")
This all-female horror anthology features four dark tales from four fiercely talented women.

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
2017
as Ruth Kimke
When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon f...

The Intervention
2016
as Annie
A weekend getaway for four couples takes a sharp turn when one of the couples discovers the entire trip was orchestrated to host an intervention on th...

Folk Hero & Funny Guy
2016
as Becky
Two artistically inclined childhood friends, a comedian and a folk-rocker respectively, set out on a tour together in hopes of regaining their "mojo" ...

The Great & The Small
2016
as Margaret
Twenty-six year old Scott is living on the streets and trying to find his way back into society while on probation for petty crimes. He attempts to na...

Rainbow Time
2016
as Lindsay
Todd grew up under the strange shadow of his older mentally challenged brother Shonzi. As kids, Shonzi forced Todd to make action movies. As adults he...

Digging for Fire
2015
as Squiggy
Tim and Lee are married with a young child. The chance to stay at a fancy home in the Hollywood Hills is complicated by Tim's discovery of a bone and ...

Behind Over the Garden Wall
2015
as Self
A special look at the making of Patrick McHale's award winning miniseries Over the Garden Wall.

Goodbye to All That
2014
as Annie Wall
Otto Wall is just a little unlucky in life, and unbeknownst to him, in love. When his wife suddenly asks for a divorce, he bounces between a search fo...

We'll Never Have Paris
2014
as Devon
Quinn, a neurotic man, is diagnosed with a harmless eye condition and soon after his life spirals out of control. He second-guesses his plans to propo...

Happy Christmas
2014
as Kelly
After a breakup with her boyfriend, a young woman moves in with her older brother, his wife, and their 2-year-old son.

They Came Together
2014
as Brenda
A small business owner is about to lose her shop to a major corporate development.

The Big Ask
2014
as Hannah
The Big Ask is a dark comedy about three couples who head to the desert to help their friend heal after the death of his mother. They would do anythin...

Chu and Blossom
2014
as Miss Shoemaker
A militant performance-artist and a tall Korean foreign-exchange student become trapped in a small Southern town.

A Kiwi Legend
2013
as Self
Change is afoot in New Zealand as creative forces take on the ultimate Kiwi icon. But all is not well in paradise, and the nation is divided. Whilst s...
Putzel
2012
as Sally
For Walter, a young man endearingly known as "Putzel," life literally doesn't go beyond his neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Walter's...

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2012
as Aunt Helen
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam ...

Hello I Must Be Going
2012
as Amy
An affair with a 19-year old actor helps reinvigorate life for thirty-something Amy after she moves home to her parents’ house following her divorce.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
2012
as Karen Amalfi
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...

Eye of the Hurricane
2012
as Amelia Kyte
An Everglades community struggles to put their lives back together in the wake of a hurricane.

Touchback
2011
as Macy
A former high-school football star loses his shot at a college scholarship due to a devastating gridiron injury, but gets a second chance at living hi...

Win Win
2011
as Cindy Timmons
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...

Helena from the Wedding: Cast Interviews
2011
as Self
On-set interviews with the cast of Helena from the Wedding (2010).

Helena from the Wedding
2010
as Alice
Newlyweds Alex and Alice host a New Year's Eve party for their closest friends at a remote cabin in the mountains. However, when an unexpected guest s...

Up in the Air
2009
as Julie Bingham
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 f...

The Informant!
2009
as Ginger Whitacre
A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Mark Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-...

Leaves of Grass
2009
as Colleen
An Ivy League professor returns home, where his pot-growing twin brother has concocted a plan to take down a local drug lord.

Away We Go
2009
as Munch
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 ...

A Quiet Little Marriage
2008
as Monique
A Quiet Little Marriage is the love story of Dax and Olive, who manage to find harmony even as they juggle family, romance and intimacy, but that all ...

Show of Hands
2008
as Jess
Jess is a solo mother and reluctant parking warden. Tom is a self-obsessed greetings cards salesman with an addiction to competitions who will do anyt...

Itty Bitty Titty Committee
2007
as Pat (uncredited)
High School grad and all American gal, Anna, finds her purpose and herself after she hooks up with the radical feminists in The Itty Bitty Titty Commi...

Flags of Our Fathers
2006
as Pauline Harnois
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 s...

Say Uncle
2006
as Susan
A young gay artist, desperate to replace the relationship he had with his recently relocated godson, is targeted by a neighborhood mom as a potential ...

Park
2006
as Sheryl
Park takes place all in one day in a public park in Los Angeles, as 11 disaffected Angelenos find both love and loss in unexpected ways

The Nearly Unadventurous Life of Zoe Cadwaulder
2004
as Zoe Cadwaulder
Romantic dark comedy sees phobia-riddled Zoe Cadwaulder overcoming her fears and discovering true love.

Shattered Glass
2003
as Amy Brand
The true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass, who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff wr...

Claustrophobia
2003
as Lauren
A serial killer armed with a crossbow pistol is murdering people from their own rooftops. When three young coworkers at a poorly-attended slumber part...

Abandon
2002
as Mousy Julie
A psychological thriller about a senior at one of America's most prestigious universities. Under enormous pressure to complete her thesis and earn a t...

Sweet Home Alabama
2002
as Lurlynn
New York fashion designer, Melanie Carmichael suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. But her past holds many secrets—inc...

Shooters
2002
as Marie
Gilly comes out of prison after serving a six year stretch and decides that he will now turn his life around and go straight. But when he returns to h...

Snakeskin
2001
as Alice
A hitchhiker takes two kids on the ride of their dreams, but they soon learn that their newfound hero is just as capable of delivering nightmares.

Foreign Correspondents
2001
as Melody
Equal parts romance, fable, ghost story, character study, and cinematic puzzle, Foreign Correspondents ties two seemingly unrelated stories together i...

Coyote Ugly
2000
as Gloria
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 sid...

But I'm a Cheerleader
2000
as Hilary
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 wit...

Detroit Rock City
1999
as Beth Bumsteen
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 ...

The Cherry Orchard
1999
as Dunyasha
Madame Ranevskaya is a spoiled aging aristocratic lady, who returns from a trip to Paris to face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate aft...

EverAfter
1998
as Jacqueline de Ghent
Danielle, a vibrant young woman is forced into servitude after the death of her father when she was a young girl. Danielle's stepmother Rodmilla is a ...

The Frighteners
1996
as Deputy
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 r...

Heavenly Creatures
1994
as Pauline Parker
Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy an...
Don't Say Good Luck
N/A
Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical — until suddenly she’s living with even more drama at home than on ...