Melanie Lynskey onYellowjackets.Photo: Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME
Melanie Lynskeysays she knewYellowjacketswas going to be an important project in her career before it even aired.
“This sounds so crazy,” she toldInStyle, “but I talked to a psychic, who I love, and she told me this was gonna happen.”
She continued, “It had been months and months since we shot the [Yellowjackets] pilot, and she said, ‘That show’s gonna get picked up and it’s gonna be really big, and you’re gonna enter into a time in your career that you thought, if this didn’t happen when you were 25, it was never going to happen. It’s about to happen.'”
Lynskey said while she was grateful for the reading, she was hesitant to believe it.
The role would be different, though, as it awarded theCoyote Uglyactress with herfirst Emmy nomination.
Melanie Lynskey.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
In May, Lynskey, who has been in the business since 1994,spoke to PEOPLEabout how her career has evolved over the years.
“I never needed to be rich, and I didn’t want to be famous,” the actress said. “I wanted to work as much as I could and do work that I liked without people necessarily recognizing me.”
Almost 30 years later, Lynskey said she’s fortunate for the resume she’s built and perspective she’s gained.
“It’s pretty amazing to be 44 and still feeling challenged and excited,” she said. “I had a lot of beliefs when I started about what I was supposed to look like, and it feels very nice to be in a body that I’m comfortable in, to be aging and have people want to cast me.”
Melanie Lynskey.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
The actress has spoken out in the past about the body-shaming she has experienced during her career and specifically as a result of her role on the Showtime series.
In January, Lynskey toldRolling Stonethat a member ofYellowjackets’ production staffimplied that she needed to lose weight.
“They were asking me, ‘What do you plan to do? I’m sure the producers will get you a trainer. They’d love to help you with this,’ " she said.
After the incident, Lynskey’s costars,Tawny Cypress,Christina RicciandJuliette Lewis, immediately came to her defense, she said, with Lewis writing a letter to theYellowjacketsproducers. (Showtime did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment at the time.)
Along with the alleged on-set conflict over her looks, Lynskey said she was also frustrated that fans didn’t believe that her character could have an affair with mysterious young artist Adam (Peter Gadiot).
“I’m just like, ‘Wow, really? That’s where people’s heads are at, that the most important thing is being thin or young?'” she said.
Frazer Harrison/Getty
When speaking toInStyle, Lynskey discussed this side of the business and how she has dealt with it. Her husband, actorJason Ritter, has also been known to jump to his wife’s defense onlineagainst body-shamming trolls.
“Sometimes, my husband will tweet things about thinking I look hot or whatever and a lot of people like it, and I said to him, ‘Isn’t it funny that if I was a Victoria’s Secret model and you tweeted the exact same thing, people would not respond the way that they do?'” she said.
“People get excited because I look like I look, and my husband, he’s like a cute, young actor, but I am aware that some of the responses to him are like, ‘Good for you.’ It’s like, well, he got together with me because he found me attractive. It’s not like he’s throwing himself on the sword for the rest of mankind,” she said. “And also — he had competition.”
She said she is learning how to take in the commentary — both good and bad — though wishes her appearance was not such a central part of the narrative.
She said, “Sometimes, I get tired of hearing about my body, even when it is positive, I just, you know, feel like I need a break from thinking about it and hearing about it and I think all women feel that way.”
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Season 1 ofYellowjackets is streaming now on the Showtime app, Prime Video and more.
source: people.com
