# Melanie Lynskey filmography

New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey made her film debut in 1994 when she played teenage murderess Pauline Parker in Heavenly Creatures, a crime drama directed by Peter Jackson. Following a hiatus, she resumed her career with a supporting role in the fairytale romance Ever After (1998), and spent the next few years appearing in a variety of big-budget and small-scale features, such as Detroit Rock City, But I'm a Cheerleader (both 1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), Snakeskin (2001), Abandon (2002), and the commercially successful romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama (2002).
Lynskey appeared as Rose, the conniving love interest of Charlie Harper, on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men between 2003 and 2015. During this time she played supporting parts in Shattered Glass (2003), Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Sam Mendes's Away We Go, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (all 2009), Win Win (2011), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). Her starring role as a depressed divorcee in Hello I Must Be Going (2012) proved to be a turning point in Lynskey's career, with headline parts in dramedies such as Happy Christmas, Goodbye to All That (both 2014) and The Intervention (2016) coming next, establishing her as a prominent figure on the American independent film scene. For her portrayal of a disgruntled vigilante in the 2017 thriller I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, she was nominated for the Gotham Award for Best Actress.
Lynskey starred as a conflicted housewife on HBO's Togetherness from 2015 to 2016, earning praise and a Critics' Choice nomination. She then appeared as an ambitious defence lawyer in the Australian drama series Sunshine (2017), a troubled psychic on Hulu's Castle Rock (2018), a conservative activist in the FX miniseries Mrs. America (2020), and real-life murder victim Betty Gore in the Hulu miniseries Candy (2022). Her transition to mainstream success continued with her role as a put-upon wife in the 2021 film Don't Look Up, as well as her portrayal of Shauna, a secretive plane crash survivor, on the Showtime thriller series Yellowjackets (2021–present), for which she won the 2022 Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress and was nominated twice for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress (2022; 2023). She received a further Emmy nomination (Outstanding Guest Actress, 2023) for her role as a ruthless war criminal on the first season of HBO's The Last of Us.

## Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures | Pauline Parker | |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | Deputy | |
| 1998 | Ever After | Jacqueline | |
| 1999 | Foreign Correspondents | Melody | |
| 1999 | Detroit Rock City | Beth | |
| 1999 | But I'm a Cheerleader | Hilary | |
| 1999 | The Cherry Orchard | Dunyasha | |
| 1999 | Measureless to Man | Unknown | Short film |
| 2000 | Coyote Ugly | Gloria | |
| 2001 | Snakeskin | Alice | |
| 2002 | Shooters | Marie | |
| 2002 | Abandon | Mousy Julie | Credited as Melanie Jayne Lynskey |
| 2002 | Sweet Home Alabama | Lurlynn | |
| 2003 | Claustrophobia | Lauren | |
| 2003 | Shattered Glass | Amy Brand | |
| 2004 | The Nearly Unadventurous Life of Zoe Cadwaulder | Zoe Cadwaulder | Short film |
| 2005 | Say Uncle | Susan | |
| 2006 | Park | Sheryl | |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Pauline Harnois | |
| 2007 | Itty Bitty Titty Committee | Plastic Surgery Lady | Uncredited |
| 2008 | Show of Hands | Jess | |
| 2008 | A Quiet Little Marriage | Monique | |
| 2009 | Away We Go | Munch | |
| 2009 | Up in the Air | Julie Bingham | |
| 2009 | The Informant! | Ginger Whitacre | |
| 2009 | Leaves of Grass | Colleen | |
| 2010 | Helena from the Wedding | Alice | |
| 2011 | Win Win | Cindy | |
| 2011 | Touchback | Macy | |
| 2012 | Hello I Must Be Going | Amy | |
| 2012 | Eye of the Hurricane | Amelia Kyte | |
| 2012 | Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | Karen | |
| 2012 | The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Aunt Helen | |
| 2012 | Putzel | Sally | |
| 2013 | The Big Ask | Hannah | |
| 2014 | Happy Christmas | Kelly | |
| 2014 | They Came Together | Brenda | |
| 2014 | Chu and Blossom | Miss Shoemaker | |
| 2014 | We'll Never Have Paris | Devon | |
| 2014 | Goodbye to All That | Annie Wall | |
| 2015 | Digging for Fire | Squiggy | |
| 2016 | The Intervention | Annie | |
| 2016 | Rainbow Time | Lindsay | |
| 2016 | The Great & the Small | Margaret | |
| 2016 | Little Boxes | Gina McNulty-Burns | |
| 2016 | Folk Hero & Funny Guy | Becky | |
| 2017 | I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore | Ruth | |
| 2017 | XX | Mary | Segment: "The Birthday Party" |
| 2017 | 1 Mile to You | Coach Rowan | |
| 2017 | And Then I Go | Janice | |
| 2017 | The Changeover | Kate Chant | |
| 2018 | Sadie | Rae | |
| 2021 | Lady of the Manor | Hannah | |
| 2021 | Don't Look Up | June Mindy | |
| 2024 | Griffin in Summer | Helen | |
| 2024 | Over the Garden Wall: 10th Anniversary Tribute | Beatrice (voice) | Short film |
| TBA | Pike River † | Anna Osborne | |
Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |

## Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Rose Red | Rachel Wheaton | Main cast; 3 episodes |
| 2003 | The Shield | Marcy | 2 episodes |
| 2003–2015 | Two and a Half Men | Rose | Series regular (2003–2005), recurring thereafter; 63 episodes |
| 2007 | Drive | Wendy Patrakas | Main cast; 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Comanche Moon | Pearl Coleman | Main cast; 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Psych | Emily Bloom | Episode: "Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion" |
| 2008 | The L Word | Clea Mason | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Kate | Episode: "The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis" |
| 2010 | Memphis Beat | Annaliese Jones | Episode: "Polk Salad Annie" |
| 2010–2012 | The Life & Times of Tim | Becky (voice) | Recurring; 6 episodes |
| 2012 | House | Natalie Tavares | Episode: "Better Half" |
| 2014 | Over the Garden Wall | Beatrice (voice) | Main cast; 8 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Pearl (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Togetherness | Michelle Pierson | Main role; 16 episodes |
| 2015 | Key & Peele | Fiancée | Episode: "The Job Interview" |
| 2016–2018 | Future-Worm! | Megan; Madeline Madison (voice) | Series regular; 13 episodes |
| 2016 | Animals | Linda (voice) | Episode: "Squirrels" |
| 2016 | Our Ex-Wife | Sara | Main cast; pilot |
| 2017 | American Dad! | Sharon (voice) | Episode: "A Whole Slotta Love" |
| 2017 | Girlboss | Gail | Recurring; 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Laura | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Sunshine | Zara Skelton | Main role; 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Summer Camp Island | Sun (voice) | Recurring; 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Castle Rock | Molly Strand | Main role; 10 episodes |
| 2019 | Easy | Beth | Episode: "Blank Pages" |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Rosemary Thomson | Main cast; 9 episodes |
| 2021 | Young Sheldon | Professor Dora Ericson | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Mom | Shannon | Episode: "My Kinda People and the Big To-Do" |
| 2021–present | Yellowjackets | Shauna | Main role; 19 episodes |
| 2022 | Candy | Betty Gore | Main role; 5 episodes |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | Kathleen Coghlan | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | HouseBroken | Pinky; Memory Sheep (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | The Tattooist of Auschwitz | Heather Morris | Main role; 6 episodes |
Key :
| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |

## Podcasts

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 2014–2016 | The Thrilling Adventure Hour | Various | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | The Worst Idea of All Time | Roxanne / Mom / Malcolm / Paddy Schwarz | 1 episode |

## Music videos

| Year | Song | Artist | Notes |
| 2006 | "Mousey" | Goodshirt | Directed by Jimmi Simpson |
| 2015 | "Waiting on Love" | Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers | Directed by Todd Hurvitz |
| 2015 | "Team Ball Player Thing" | #KiwisCureBatten | Directed by Taika Waititi and Jesse Griffin |