After 30 years of comments on her physique, Melanie Lynskey is still troubled by them
In a new interview, Melanie Lynskey discusses the fixation on her body type she's experienced throughout her career
Aux News Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey is currently experiencing perhaps the peak of a long and fruitful career. Yet even amidst the critical acclaim and audience adoration, she’s still forced to navigate Hollywood’s—and society’s—impossible beauty standards. While celebrating the success of Yellowjackets, she must also combat incessant body shaming. It’s undoubtedly exhausting, even if she’s well used to it by now.
Lynseky tells The New York Times that her early career consisted of scripts for “the fat friend or the jokey kind of fat person. … There was one thing I read where the person had a candy bar in every scene.” She reflects, “It was kind of a strange disconnect. I felt like I was pretending when I was going in and auditioning to play these dowdy people.”
Luckily, she’s now being offered meatier characters and starring roles, in which the persona is not tied to the way her body looks. Even then, though, Lynskey hasn’t been able to escape the scrutiny. People weighing in on her weight and health has been “The story of my life since Yellowjackets premiered,” she previously shared on Twitter, adding that “Skinny does not always equal healthy.” She also defended herself in the wake of her episode of The Last Of Us. “I’m playing a person who meticulously planned & executed an overthrow of FEDRA,” she replied to a former America’s Next Top Model who criticized the casting based on Lynskey’s appearance. “I am supposed to be SMART, ma’am. I don’t need to be muscly. That’s what henchmen are for.”
In January 2022, she told Rolling Stone that even a member of the Yellowjackets production team had suggested she get a trainer for the show. (Her castmates came to her defense in that instance.) “It was really important to me for [Shauna] to not ever comment on my body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like, ‘I wish I looked a bit better,’ “ she told the outlet. “I did find it important that this character is just comfortable and sexual and not thinking or talking about it, because I want women to be able to watch it and be like, ‘Wow, she looks like me and nobody’s saying she’s the fat one.’ That representation is important.”
For the Times, Lynskey now says, “I very much want to be onscreen representing an interesting person who’s not paying attention to what her tummy looks like.” Unfortunately, lots of other people have been paying attention—but hopefully, that won’t always be the case. “If there were more people who look like me, then I wouldn’t have to talk about it as much.”
56 Comments
She is gorgeous and incredibly talented. One of the incredible things about the show is that they found a younger actress who can match her rare quality of being still and yet seeing in her eyes that there are dark undercurrents happening.
She is gorgeous, and it drives me a little crazy because she’s “Hollywood fat” which is like a size 6? with a little tummy maybe, god forbid? And meanwhile us actually average-sized women are doomed.
When the guys running things have a certain, narrow mindset about how a woman should look, everything below thing is going to echo that mindset. And Hollywood, here we are.
I’m just baffled how anyone could say anything unkind about this living legend. I really think it comes down to some people just feel so threatened by someone so talented and successful, gasp, happy, that they need to tear down.
“I’m just baffled how anyone could say anything unkind about this living legend.”
What does the fact that you see her as a living legend have to do with anything?
People shouldn’t be talking about her weight NO MATTER WHO THE FUCK SHE IS. Whether she’s a living legend or a terrible, shitty actress, her weight should not be the point.
I saw her and Jason Ritter at Whole Foods one time, and they were smiling and giggling at each other and it was quite possibly the most adorable non-kitten-related thing I’ve ever seen.
Honestly if there is something that makes me upset about her, it’s that she has such a loving, adorable marriage. Because I so want that kind of relationship!
Because there’s a subset of the population that’s completely fine with being slack-jawed, popcorn-chomping dipshits looking to “take people down a peg or two.” Tabloid shit.
“a subset of the population that’s completely fine with being slack-jawed, popcorn-chomping dipshits looking to “take people down a peg or two.””- The A.V. Club
When I lived in LA, I noticed that the Jenny Craig ads’ ‘before’ in LA looked like their ‘after’ everywhere else.
People who looked perfectly FINE all wanted to lose 30 lbs. in LA.
Or, rather, not ‘people’ – ‘women’. It’s always women who need to lose weight. Can’t have us being big and strong or anything like that.
One underseen movie of hers I really like is Hello I Must be Going, where she plays an agoraphobic divorcee who finds herself in an unconventional new relationship. The director I think said they lost the funding for the movie because they didn’t cast a big star as the female lead, so they had to make it with no money, but they didn’t care because there was no movie without Melanie Lynskey playing the character.
I happen to like her body type and wish there was more of it in major productions. I thought she did a great job in The Last of Us and was a fine fit for the character.
it was a ‘fine fit’ eh…
if only her pants could say the same!
There are people out there who think Melanie Lynskey is fine just the way she is and would tap her like a keg. I am one of those people. Yeah, I went the opposite direction!
I’m surprised I’ve never heard “tap…like a keg” before. I learned something new today!
Jamming a siphon into someone’s skull, pumping out their blood into solo cups, and then drinking it while playing blood pong is a really niche kink, so I’m not surprised.
Yeah, I clicked on this article expecting that people had been making comments like “KAKOW” with respect to her physique and that it bothered her.
I have certainly felt that way about her since I was in high school (over twenty years ago).How anyone could see her dainty ‘lil “eeeeeeeee” in Ever After and not fall HARD is a perpetual mystery to me.
Been a fan since Heavenly Creatures. She elevates everything she touches. Haters can kick rocks for all I care.
Everything? No matter how talented, nobody could have elevated Two and a Half Men.
She killed Charlie Sheen’s character. She gets a pass.
Truly the character everyone wishes they could have been.
I hope that in private she doesn’t give god damn fuck what people say about her. She is an amazing actress. LOVED her in “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore”.
None of the actors on The Last of Us are really skinny & malnourished enough for a post-apocalyptic setting years after the collapse of civilization. And an entire cast imitating Christian Bale in The Machinist isn’t going to happen.
and like even if possible is it necessary? like i can suspend my disbelief when i watch a post apocalyptic show and people have not horrifying teeth
That’s bothered me a bit too – I mean, I don’t care what the actors look like, but these people are supposedly running around be chased by zombies and all that while eating what appears to be, at best, 500 calories a day in decades old canned goods.
She’s a great actress, always elevates the material, and does not deserve this bullshit. Props to her for calling it out and standing up in the face of it.
The idea that Melanie Lynskey is anything other than crazy attractive is genuinely confusing to me.
Luckily, she’s now being offered meatier characters and starring roles, in which the persona is not tied to the way her body looks.“Meatier,” eh…?
Not the best choice of words here!
accidentally based choice of words
Glad I’m not the only one who caught that phrasing. There were so many other ways to say that…
all this fat acceptance puff promo healthy at any size nonsense is symptomatic of a deep cultural rot
She’s not even fat, you dumb cunt.
never said she was idiot. but her cope mindset is clearly being validated by the previously mentioned cultural rot
I guaran-fucking-tee you’re overweight.
lolol. Internalize more.
Shoop shoop ba-doop
Shoop ba-doop
Shoop ba-doop ba-doop ba-doop
Shoop shoop ba-doop
Shoop ba-doop
Shoop ba-doop ba-doop ba-doop
Is this the song you sing to block out intrusive thoughts/reality?
Can I get some fries with that shake shake booty?
Unfunny.
What’s up with that thang?
and so what if I am? that would only make my points more true and valid
No your point is still dumb.
respect fat voices
I’ve had a huge crush on her since Detroit Rock City. She’s gorgeous and always seems super sweet.
For me, it was Ever After. But, yeah, she’s always been a total smokeshow.
Ooh, me too!“I just lost my virginity in a Confessional Booth!”Lucky bastard.
Lynskey had only a small role in Away We Go, but she was unforgettable.
I’ve had a crush on Melanie Lynskey for years. I’m appalled that anyone could think she’s not absolutely gorgeous as is.
That flick with her and Frodo is low key brilliant.
I kinda wanna read the script where they note that one character is eating a candy bar in every scene. Or at least know what movie it was.
God, if she is, (and I have no doubt) that she is as sexy as she is in Yellowjackets; I can totally see why Jason Ritter fell for her. I’ve only ever seen her in Yellowjackets.
“she’s now being offered meatier characters”Nice Freudian Slip there, Mary.
After 30 years of comments on her physique, Melanie Lynskey is still troubled by themThis is like saying “After 30 years of getting punched in the face, it still hurts when people punch you in the face!” Why would you expect it to stop hurting?