Behind the Hollywood Sheen with Melanie Lynskey

She's a Kiwi who's worked with some of Hollywood's most distinguished actors and she has an appetite for reality and racy French novels. Say hello to Melanie Lynskey. How's it going?

I'm good. Thanks for having me.

Thanks for coming in on a Monday morning.

Oh, yes. I'm excited.

So, Hello, I Must Be Going. Watched it and it was amazing. The performances were so great. I know the last time we saw you was at Sundance. And you had screened it there and now it's, you know, getting all this press and now it's finally, it's finally coming out.

Finally coming out. Yeah, I'm so excited. Thank you for having me.

So, working with Blythe and working with Christopher Abbott. Christopher Abbott I know from Girls and his career is just, is just blowing up.

I know.

How was it, how was it for you? Because I know you've done TV, you've done big films and, and what's the difference for you?

It's every experience is so different. The thing I love about doing these little tiny movies is that nobody is there for any reason other than that they really believe in the movie. Because nobody's making money and nobody's comfortable. You know, it's.

Where did you shoot it?

We shot it in Connecticut.

Did you stay in a nice hotel? Because this is the thing about when you do those independent films, it's always like, was it, it was like a Best Western. Not that we don't love Best Western, but it's like something like that.

Yeah, the Best Western is wonderful. Ramada, or wherever you might happen to be put up. Um, no. I mean, it was like a really sweet little hotel. It was like a little local hotel, you know. I was just, I was glad to have a hotel room, honestly. The last movie, the last movie I did.

Where did they put you?

The last movie I did, they put three, the three actresses in this house. It was like a cinder block shack with like a dirt floor, literally, in the desert.

Come on.

Luckily we liked each other. That would, yes. That little hotel room.

Was it, were there beds?

There were beds, but there were beds and there were insects and there, whatever you, whatever your heart desires. But so a hotel room to me at this point, because I've done so many little indies, feels like, oh, really? My own bathroom.

So for all you people out there that think it's all glamorous. Hollywood is all glamorous. Melanie will tell you, no.

No. It's, it's a lot of, it's you really have to want to do it.

And you started really young.

Yes. Yeah, I was 15.

And you're from, being from New Zealand. How are, how is it when you go back now? Because I know you've talked about before, New Zealanders don't generally get impressed. Or they don't let you know they're impressed by anything.

They don't get impressed. They kind of go out of their way to be not impressed. Like, one time I went back, I had a funny thing happen where I went to buy some fish and chips. And, you know, they were all sort of like this and I made my order and I paid with a credit card and then they didn't give me the credit card receipt. And I said, do you need me to sign anything? And the guy was like, who do you think you are? I don't want your autograph. And I was like, no. I'm not trying. I'm verifying the charge that is going to show up on my credit card statement. I'm just verifying my credit card thing. He's like, oh, you I do need you to do that actually. Jeremy, here, is an actor. Jeremy's mother wants to know if you'll show Jeremy around town. He's 19 years old.

Sweet ride.

Thanks.

So in the film, you have like, it's like, I would call the, the Modern Day Harold and Maude. It's kind of like

And I'm Maud.

Yeah, I'm saying Modern Day. Okay. But that was, that's sort of the premise of it is that you sort of have to hide your relationship.

Yes, yeah. With him because he's He's 19 and I'm 35 and we have this unconventional relationship.

If you were to look at somebody in that situation in real life, how would you feel like that would be a strait, or do you think love is just sort of wherever you find it?

I think love is wherever you find it. I'm kind of a romantic. I It was funny though. It was very important to me the casting because I I really wanted it to be somebody who had a youthfulness to them, but also had a kind of maturity. So you weren't like

He couldn't be like a skater boy.

Yeah, exactly. There were some actors sort of being talked about where I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna look like the creepiest person. I'm gonna have to make out with him. I know. It's like, no, this is going to be so weird. But Chris has a real sort of like maturity about him. He seems, he seems like a teenager in the movie, but there's something you understand that they're meeting in a similar kind of place. Emotionally.

I was reading on your Twitter.

Oh, no.

She's like, oh no, what have you been reading? Well, I wouldn't expect this about you, but I read, read some like Bachelorette stuff.

Oh, yeah.

And then there's American Idol and it was like there was a Phillip Phillips thing where you said you you were crushing on Phillip Phillips. I'm like, what are you doing?

He insinuates Phillip Phillips tweeted that he wanted to play Jenga. And I said, Phillip Phillips. No, just Jenga. It was like, oh, I wish I could play Jenga. So I tweeted Phillip Phillips that he could come and play Jenga if he wants to.

And did he respond?

No, he didn't. This is tragic story.

Phillip. Phillip Phillips, come on now. We're gonna play a little game. Oh, no. It's just sort of like the first thing that comes to your mind. Or

This is dangerous.

Quick thoughts about some of these incredible people. Are you ready?

Mhm.

Matt Damon.

So sweet. And loves his kids so much.

Oh, Matt. That's, that's what you would expect about Matt Damon though. Kate Winslet.

Very strong. Very like ambitious and and strong and talented.

George Clooney.

Funny.

Did he play practical jokes on you? Because I know he plays practical jokes on

No. Thank God.

He didn't do the whoopee cushion? Because I know he does that with a lot of his costars.

Oh God. I don't know what I would do. I was reading this bizarre book though that was like very sexually explicit. It was this strange French book. And he came up and he was like, what are you reading? And I was like, oh, never mind. I was so embarrassed. But then he picked it up and he started to read

Did he read it out loud?

Passages out loud. It's very like filthy like the strange like feminist kind of pornography.

Yeah. Charlie Sheen.

Very, very sweet. Very respectful.

That's good to hear. That's good to hear. Blythe Danner who's in this film?

Oh, lovely, kind, generous.

Steve Carell.

Serious.

Really?

Yeah, serious and thoughtful and and sensitive.

And Paul Giamatti.

Like the greatest. Like my favorite person in the world.

Could we put them all together in one film with you? I would be fantastic. What an amazing thing having worked with all these people. They're lucky to work with you. It's a wonderful film. Everybody has to go see it. Hello, I Must Be Going.

Thank you.