Melanie Lynskey Says Harvey Weinstein Was ‘Dismissive’ After ‘Heavenly Creatures’ Premiere
Samantha Bergeson
Back in 1994, Melanie Lynskey was hoping to get Harvey Weinstein‘s attention.
After “Heavenly Creatures” premiered at the 1994 Venice Film Festival and won the Silver Lion, Lynskey recalled Miramax producer Weinstein being “dismissive” over her performance, preferring instead to focus on co-star Kate Winslet.
“People were so into the movie and very kind to us,” Lynskey told Vulture. “Harvey Weinstein was so excited to see Kate. He introduced her to people, like, ‘This is the next big thing.’ To me he was just like, ‘Hi.’ It was so dismissive.”
Lynskey added, “I was like, I think I did a bad job. I’m not the kind of person these people are looking for.”
Even when “Heavenly Creatures” director Peter Jackson first met with newcomer Lynskey, he showed her Winslet’s audition tape, saying, “This is a professional actress we’ve cast from England, and this is how good you have to be.”
“I mean, it was so intimidating,” Lynskey remembered.
The “Yellowjackets” star revealed it was “overwhelming” to do press for “Heavenly Creatures,” especially alongside “big sister” Winslet who was “very confident and good at that stuff.
“Every step of the way, I kept going, oh, I’m not…good at this,” Lynskey said. “So many agents wanted to sign Kate. She was getting scripts, she was getting movie offers; it was such an exciting thing to see. I felt proud of her because she wanted it so badly and also wasn’t questioning whether it would happen for her.”
Lynskey continued, “But after Venice, there was nothing [for me]. No, ‘Would you be interested in this part, or I’m an agent who wants to represent you.’ I kept getting reminded I was not the things you needed to be.”
Twenty-eight years later, and Lynskey is a frontrunner for an Emmys nomination for her scene-stealing turn as Shauna in Showtime’s series “Yellowjackets.” Lynskey previously told IndieWire that the series, much like “Heavenly Creatures,” focused on the “weird cusp” of being a teenage girl.
“None of them were two-dimensional girls,” Lynskey explained during IndieWire’s Consider This FYC brunch earlier this month. “They were all really complex. And I hadn’t seen teenage girls written that way.”
