Melanie Lynskey's Not at all 'Up in the Air' About Playing Gay: Exclusive

Lesbian cinephiles will know Melanie Lynskey instantly from her debut role as Pauline Parker, the teenager who fell hard for Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures. The actress who was Winslet’s first on-screen kiss went on to co-star as the uptight fink Hilary in Jamie Babbit’s lesbian fave But I’m a Cheerleader and will soon share the screen in Up in the Air, playing George Clooney’s small-town sister. The native New Zealander recently took time out to talk with SheWired about a the best picture Oscar race, playing gay and Heavenly Creatures.

SheWired: You’ve worked with some incredible directors – Sam Mendes (Away We Go), Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures), Clint Eastwood (Flags of Our Fathers), Steven Soderbergh (The Informant!) and now Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno). How have those experiences helped shape your career?

Melanie Lynskey: You just learn so much working with somebody who knows what they’re doing. Each one of those experiences has been so different and so just great. It’s hard to articulate but I feel very fortunate for all of them.

SW: There’s already Oscar talk about Up in the Air. What would being part of the best picture of the year mean to you?

It’s so bizarre. It’s so far outside the world I live in. This last year has been really wonderful but I’m not usually participating in things that people are saying “Oscary” things about; I don’t even feel part of it (laughs); it feels strange to me. I would be so happy for Jason; I think he’s so talented. I found out the other day that he’s only 31, which is incredibly intimidating. But I’d be very happy for him and for everyone involved. I think George is so lovely in the movie and (co-star) Vera Farmiga is incredible, so I hope that people pay attention to that.

SW: What was working with George Clooney like?

It was lovely. He was so warm and kind and good and thoughtful. He’s just somebody who cares a lot about the world and about people. It kind of surprised me how gentle and lovely he was. I don’t know what I was expecting; I think I was expecting some kind of playboy-type or something (laughs). But he’s a really lovely man.

SW: You’ve had some great on-screen love interests: Most recently Danny McBride (Up in the Air) and Matt Damon (The Informant!), this year alone, plus this lady named Kate Winslet as well as Leisha Hailey on The L Word. Who was the best kisser?

(Laughs.) I didn’t really kiss any of them properly! They were just little pecks! I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel like I’ve really kissed any of them, so it’s sort of hard to answer.

SW: You’ve played gay four times — Heavenly Creatures, But I’m a Cheerleader, and the short The Nearly Unadventurous Life of Zoe Cadwaulder and a pair of episodes of The L Word — in your career. Do you specifically look for those parts?

I like those parts. I feel like I’m drawn to those stories because I’m always interested in a story that hasn’t been told a whole lot. And there aren’t enough films about lesbian women, I don’t think. So it’s always interesting to me when I read a script; I guess I’m more willing to see if it’s any good or not, because then I’m like, “OK, I like this, someone wants to tell this story.” So maybe that’s it. I’m not saying to my agent, “Bring me the lesbian roles!” (Laughs.)

SW: How did you become the sort of go-to girl for playing gay? Is it because of Heavenly Creatures?

Oh I’m sure. I think it must have because I know that (writer-director) Jamie Babbit — who made But I’m a Cheerleader — was a big fan of Heavenly Creatures and that’s why she asked me to do But I’m a Cheerleader. Then it sort of started happening from there.

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