With everything Melanie Lynskey has done in films and television, it is hard to believe that her role in Showtime’s Yellowjackets and subsequent nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is actually her first Emmy nom. Yet, that it is. She talks about it, the series, her other current Hulu limited series Candy and much more when she visits our studios for this week’s edition of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side.
Lynskey is an actor’s actor, a true veteran whose first film came when she was a teen and landed the plum part of Pauline opposite Kate Winslet (also in her first film) in Peter Jackson’s 1994 feature Heavenly Creatures; speaking of awards, she actually won the New Zealand equivalent of an Oscar as Best Actress for her efforts. Movies like Ever After, Sweet Home Alabama, The Informant, Up in the Air, Hello I Must Be Going, Shattered Glass and so many others followed including Adam McKay’s Best Picture nominee last year Don’t Look Up. On television, Lynskey’s credits included Rose Red, Comanche Moon, Mrs. America, Togetherness and as a cast member playing Rose in Two and a Half Men.
Earlier this year she won not one but two Critics Choice Awards for her role as Shauna Shipman in Yellowjackets, which has also been nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in its first season. Showtime has picked it up for a second and it goes into production again next month. Lynskey has much to say about her career, and the winding road she has taken as a true character actor — the way she describes herself — and what all this new recognition means.
To watch our conversation, click on the video above.
Join me every Wednesday during Emmy season for another edition of The Actor’s Side.
