Melanie Lynskey: This Scene Stealer Gets Her Big Break On ‘Togetherness’

You may not know Melanie Lynskey’s name — at least not yet — but you’ll probably recognize her face as a scene-stealer from such films as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Up in the Air, and Sweet Home Alabama. That may change with her starring role on HBO’s Togetherness, which is now in its second season. The actress, who got her start in director Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, co-starring with a very green Kate Winslet, talked with Entertainment Weekly about her role in the series.

While Lynskey is still looking for the kind of mega-success that Jackson found with The Lord of the Rings or Winslet found in Titanic, she loves being a part of the cast and story of Togetherness. The road wasn’t so easy though for the actress, even though creator Jay Duplass and series star Mark Duplass were familiar with her work when she came in for an audition.

“Mark and I were supposed to do a movie together playing husband and wife at one point and I went to a premiere of their movie to hang out — but we hadn’t worked together. And then Togetherness came up and I had a meeting with Jay, whom I hadn’t met, and Jay had just seen this movie I did called Hello, I Must Be Going. And he arrived at the meeting still weeping having just watched it. I was like, ‘Who is this magical creature?’ I’ll do anything he asks of me — I was so enchanted by him. We had this great this time talking, talking, and talking. I read the first two episodes and thought, ‘Yes,’ and then I had an audition. It was a long process, actually.”

Lynskey told EW that the audition was mostly improvisation and that they mainly wanted to make sure she could not only improvise, but that the native New Zealander could improvise with an American accent. Lynskey passed with flying colors, and the series continues to focus on a lot of improvisation, although Lynskey says she and co-star Amanda Peet often fight for the original words because the writing is so good.

“Amanda and I have to fight them to do one version that it is scripted. The script is so perfect but by the time it gets to us they’re so sick of it and they love stuff to feel fresh. They don’t want to hear their words again.”

Speaking of Peet, Lynskey had the highest praise for her co-star, even though they started out as competitors in the audition process.

“I was cast and then I read with two people for Amanda’s part of Tina. But it was so clearly going to Amanda. She’s so good. She’s so good! It’s crazy! Even in her audition: she was so relaxed and confident and so different from her real self.”

Togetherness relies on creating a sense of, well, togetherness amongst the characters, who had never worked together before the series. Although if Lynskey had had her way, that might have been very different. Because she wasn’t aware that Mark Duplass was considering playing the part of Brett, at one point, she suggested casting her ex-husband, Jimmi Simpson. While that might have made for some interesting improv, even in what is apparently a pretty friendly relationship post-divorce, that wasn’t in the cards.

“Well, we’re still very close. And [Simpson would] be so right for it and the dynamic would be so interesting cause we have this history together … but they were still like, ‘You are a maniac.’ So when Mark was able to [take on the part himself] it was instantly so great. Something just clicked and it felt so natural and so very right.”

Lynskey has gotten recognition lately not only for Togetherness, but she won the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award for her performance in The Intervention, written and directed by her friend and fellow actress Clea DuVall. While Lynskey is more than happy to keep doing her smaller, independent films, she confesses to EW that she wouldn’t mind just once getting a chance at a huge blockbuster. Like, say, a Marvel franchise movie.

“Aren’t there secretaries and things like that? I don’t think I could be a superhero, but I could play someone in the office who is giving them their messages or whatever… ‘Iron Man, your mother is trying to get a hold of you.'”

Togetherness airs Sunday nights on HBO at 10:30 p.m. ET.

[Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP]