Melanie Lynskey

“I know my mother-in-law would drive two hours to go see a movie that I'm in.”

“I guess I've never really had a great desire to be a leading lady, or be seen as an ingenue.”

“I feel like any actor should always be thinking about how to serve the story. The thing to be cautious of is trying to make too much of your 'moment,' or whatever. The story is a lot bigger than you, and you're there to help it along.”

“The interesting thing about acting is using all your own stuff and having some kind of personal catharsis while you're working.”

“I used to write stories and poetry, but for some reason I have it in my head that if I'm going to write, I have to write a script.”

“I read every single review, because I love film criticism and I'm interested.”

“I'll audition for something and then the feedback has been, 'The director wants you, the creative people want you, but the studio is saying no.' It's depressing, but I understand. People are investing a lot of money and they want somewhat of a guarantee; they want someone who's been on the cover of magazines.”

“I don't think I've played a lot of crazy people.”

“I feel weird when I go to the movies and everybody's faces are perfect.”

“I'm not one of those people who can cry on cue. If I have to cry in an audition, I'm like, 'Okay, let me see what I can do.'”

“The acting life is different than I thought it would be. I love it - it's actually a lot less pressure than I thought it would be.”

“I think filmmakers are always interested in getting the best actor that they can find, the person who's the most right for it.”

“People in New Zealand go out of their way to not be impressed by things.”

“Everybody goes through challenges. There's stuff that happens personally that's challenging, stuff in work that's difficult, disappointments that happen.”

“To take a job just so I can go on a fancy vacation doesn't really seem worth it.”

“I love festivals because I feel like I'm more of a movie fan than a person who's in the film industry.”

“I feel so grateful when I see a movie and there's a woman who looks somewhat like me. I'm like, 'Thank you, Samantha Morton!' You know, a woman who feels like a human being. That means so much to me.”

“If a movie is received badly, and I'm in only one scene of it, I still feel responsible. I feel like it was my fault at all times. If people were like, 'This movie sucks!' I'd be like, 'Well, that's because I'm terrible.'”

“I don't know, I love it when I see movies with people who are not super familiar to me or people who I've seen in smaller parts who are suddenly getting a chance to do something bigger. For me that's very exciting.”

“I was at university and I was studying modern drama and studying English, and I just was like, 'I don't wanna be in this place. I wanna be acting.'”