Melanie Lynskey

At 16 years old, Melanie Lynskey captivated the film world with her explosive portrayal of an outcast teen whose relationship with best friend Kate Winslet spirals frighteningly out of control, in Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-nominated Heavenly Creatures (1994). Despite spending three years out of the limelight to study theatre at university and re-locate from New Zealand to Los Angeles, Lynskey made a welcome return to the silver screen when she landed a key role in Andy Tennant’s acclaimed romantic fantasy, Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), opposite Drew Barrymore. Parts in Detroit Rock City (1999), But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), The Cherry Orchard (1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), and the award-winning Snakeskin (2001) came next, followed by appearances in Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Abandon (2002) and Shattered Glass (2003).

In recent years, Lynskey’s reputation as a versatile character actor has seen her score major parts in such notable projects as Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Sam Mendes’s Away We Go (2009), Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant! (2009), Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass (2009), Jason Reitman’s Best Picture Oscar nominee, Up in the Air (2009/I), and Thomas McCarthy’s critically lauded Win Win (2011). High-profile support roles – opposite the likes of Matt Damon, Edward Norton and George Clooney – aside, smaller projects such as Show of Hands (2008), Helena from the Wedding (2010) and Eye of the Hurricane (2011) have shown that she is also a confident and charismatic leading lady.

In addition to an impressive string of film credits, Lynskey has worked extensively in television since making her small-screen debut in Stephen King’s “Rose Red” (2002): alongside pivotal roles in the action-packed “Drive” (2007) and epic western “Comanche Moon” (2008), she’s guested on various hit shows, including “The Shield” (2002), “The L Word” (2004), “Psych” (2006) and “Memphis Beat” (2010). However, she’s probably best known to TV audiences for her endearing portrayal of Rose, Charlie Sheen’s obsessive neighbor-turned-stalker, on the Emmy Award-winning “Two and a Half Men” (2003). –IMDb