Heavenly Creature (Lucire, June 2005)

With a regular sitcom, CBS's Two and a Half Men, her star has officially risen. Melanie Lynskey is now one of New Zealand's best known exports. She talks exclusively to Lucire about fame, home, and compares the New Zealand way to the American one.

Melanie Lynskey is known to most New Zealanders for her role in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures in 1994. To American readers, and no doubt many in Europe listening to her dubbed, she's Rose, the neighbour, on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, starring Charlie Sheen.

Lynskey has been acting for over a decade and it was expected that Heavenly Creatures would propel her on to the world stage. While her role was critically acclaimed, Lynskey had to work particularly hard - an automatic acceptance into the major leagues of acting didn't come after her first major role. But success soon followed because of her determination: her big-screen credits include Foreign Correspondents, Ever After, Coyote Ugly and Sweet Home Alabama. Despite a regular TV series, she has continued her silver-screen career, with Say Uncle her most recent film.

Now with an American green card and a regular, high-profile role on network television, Lucire spoke to Lynskey in Los Angeles.

After Heavenly Creatures, your next film was Foreign Correspondents. What did it feel like when you got the offer? Did it feel like a break away from New Zealand?
I had been auditioning for quite a bit from New Zealand (on videotape) for different projects and had gone over to Los Angeles for callbacks and auditions and so on. So it was nice to be able to go to America knowing I had a job there to go to. I felt a bit more purposeful.

But it was really when I got Ever After that I had that feeling of, 'Oh, people trust me to be in their movie, and maybe I could actually do this for a living.' Plus we filmed it on location in the south of France, so that was really a break from New Zealand. Not that I wanted to get away from New Zealand, but I wasn't doing very much there, I felt unhappy and aimless because I wanted to be working. So it was wonderful to go and be busy and work with an experienced director and cast.

Did you ever confront "tall poppy syndrome" at home, and can this be contrasted with your experience in the United States?
People at home are a bit weirder when they recognize you. Like in America, when I get recognized, people come up and say, 'Oh, I liked you in' such-and-such. At home they just kind of stare at me, unless I go out to a bar or something, then everyone's drunk and they come up and say whatever they want, like 'You're skinny in real life but you looked fat in Sweet Home Alabama.' Um, thank you? It's kind of funny.

As far as tall poppy syndrome, when I was still at school it was a bit difficult. People assumed I thought I was the greatest thing ever. And at home I get a lot of people being very standoffish, thinking I'm going to be rude, so they might as well be rude first.

When I got to America I was a typical New Zealander, always trying to downplay things, which is not how people operate here at all. I would be in a meeting getting compliments and I would deflect them and be embarrassed and say, 'Oh, no, I wasn't that good,' or 'Oh, it was so long ago," and people would be confused. It took me a long time to be able to just say, 'Thank you,' without being terrified my head was going to explode with arrogance.

There are some of the locals there who are getting the roles that you would be suited for. Yet as you know, most of these actresses are just regular folks. Is it their promotion? And did you have to actively promote there?
I don't have a publicist. I do think it's important, if you want to be in the public eye, to have someone like that working for you to get you out there. Where the problem is for me is that I don't like the idea of promoting myself to try and get famous, because that is not a goal I have for myself.

I don't mind at all promoting things that I am in, I like doing it in fact. For Snakeskin (2001) I did all the press in New Zealand, pretty much, and I had fun, because I loved the movie and I wanted people to know about it. And if someone asks me to do press "just because", then why not? Like, this photo shoot was really fun.

It's just the thought of going out, trying to wrangle interviews, and having someone try to get me into places, on talk shows and whatever that makes me really uncomfortable.

The only good thing about being famous is the freedom to choose from a wider range of films. (And the free clothes!) I have lost roles because of not being famous. The money people don't consider me a guaranteed investment, and that is upsetting when you really care about a project. I get a bit sick of being the director's choice and then having the money people say no to me.

I don't like the idea of being famous. I like my life so much and I like the privacy I have, but I do want to be able to do those films, so it's tricky. If I end up in a movie that I feature in a lot and I want people to know about it, then I'll go and talk about it. But I'm not going to go to a bunch of parties and try to get photographed. I don't want to be one of those girls on the red carpet at every premiere pushing myself into the spotlight. It just isn't me.

I've worked very hard to get where I am in a way that feels right for me, and I want to continue being true to myself. It's so weird to me how many people in this world think that being famous is the greatest thing that can happen in life. I really think fame can do bad things to people, and create a kind of scary, insular world that isn't very healthy to live in. I'm very grateful for the life that I have. I think I'm extremely lucky.

So you'd live a more balanced lifestyle than some of your contemporaries, e.g. Drew Barrymore. Would this be fair?
I think it's very hard for people to be hugely famous, and live a normal, balanced life. For me, I'm fine, because no one's looking, so I can just do what I want. I find my happiness in my friendships and in my relationship and in feeling good within myself, and enjoying my work. I don't live that kind of Hollywood life so there's no danger of me getting caught up in it.

It is interesting to see how people behave though. There are definitely celebrities who just surround themselves with sycophants and no one who would ever dare to disagree with them. [They] don't have a true friend or a real relationship in the world, and obviously that's not a balanced life. Then there are people like Reese Witherspoon, who is a very normal woman who is incredibly talented and works really hard and has a family she absolutely loves - but is also a superstar. She is completely inspiring to me. She got to where she is by working really hard and always being amazing, and gradually people started to notice. I have a lot of respect for her on every level. She lives her life as a mother and a wife and an actor, as a real person, not as a celebrity.

I think that's the difference. If you start believing you're special and live in that insular Hollywood world, you can really become a horrible person. Celebrities can't help the fact that people are going to stare at them when they go out and paparazzi [are] going to be around, but they are in charge of themselves and who they surround themselves with. If you have a strong structure of people who really know you, you're not going to go too crazy. Transient things like fame and that type of attention are not going to be your real source of happiness.

You asked about Drew, and the people she spends her time with are close friends who really care about her as a person. She doesn't have a crazy unbalanced life. One thing I really admire about her is that she is so gracious to everyone she meets. She does have a weird life, having always been famous, but she handles it so well. I've gone out with her and she constantly has people coming up to her, and she is always so kind to everyone. She must get sick of it, but I never saw her show it.

You now have a green card and a house in Los Angeles. What were those moments like, knowing that they kind of separate you a little from home?
Kind of amazing and kind of sad. It felt great to be finally settled here, after having spent so long really struggling and not knowing if I was going to be able to stay here or not. And I do love LA and my life here. And I love my house. But, you know, since I was little I always imagined living in Wellington, so it did feel a bit weird buying my first house, but not there. Then I guess my life is different to what I imagined.

While your film roles have been excellent, I feel your television work has really upped your profile to mainstream audiences. Anything you'd do with this newfound fame?
Well, I don't feel very famous. I get more fan mail now, and it's all from men, but that's about all that's changed. If I ever felt like I was in a position where people wanted to listen to what I had to say, I think I would try to emulate my friend Kathy Najimy, who is so inspiring. She speaks out on behalf of every underprivileged person and animal you could think of, and she's always raising money for different charities, and using the fact that she has a public profile to be the voice for people who aren't being heard. I could only hope to try and do some of the good that she does.

What are your beauty essentials?
I love beauty products. I have crazily sensitive skin, so when I find a product that doesn't make my face all red, it's very exciting. My skin is also dry, and I never thought I would find a scrub for it, but Caudalie has an amazing exfoliant for sensitive skin. I use Shiseido Bio-Performance moisturiser and eye cream. At night I use the AEsop Fabulous Face Oil. I like the smell of vanilla and rose so for body lotion I use Dr Hauschka's Rose Oil or Ecco Bella vanilla lotion, both of which you get at health food stores. I also like Kiehl's rose lotion, and their coconut one in summer.

I've never had any clue what to do with my hair. I get my hair cut about once a year and put it in a pony tail most of the time, but my hairdresser on Two and a Half Men has a great line called Prawduct, which is all natural. For the first time in my life, I like how my hair looks when it's down. You can just spritz some stuff in and go. His products smell good too which is very important!

I love make-up and I have boxes and boxes of it. My new best friend is Benefit: they have a great mascara called Bad Gal Lash and I love all their glowy shimmery highlighting stuff. I love NARS and use their amazing eyeshadows as liners, too. I have been faithful to my MAC pressed powder for years, as well as Clinique's Soft Finish foundation, which I truly believe is the best base ever for dry skin.

What do you miss the most about home?
The air feels different in New Zealand, cleaner and crisper. I notice it the minute I step off the plane. I miss my friends and family. I miss Zambesi, Karen Walker and Helen Cherry. I miss good lattes. Wellington. Hearing New Zealand music on the radio. I miss New Zealand summers, being at a house by a lovely beach somewhere, drinking good New Zealand wine and having Kapiti cheese.

Heavenly Creature