The 2000s gave us some of the best comedy television series, and Two and a Half Men delivered. Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer made us laugh every week, and even after the little shuffle of Charlie for Walden, the show continued to deliver solid ratings.
With a revolving door of female conquests for Sheen’s Charlie, few women made it past an episode or two.But not Melanie Lynskey. While her character Rose may have started as a one-time deal turned Harper stalker, Melanie took the role further, and her time on the series gave us something to look forward to every episode she was in.
Let’s see how Melanie has fared since her stalker days ended.
Background info
Melanie Jayne Lynskey was born on May 16, 1977, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, to parents Kay, a real estate agent, and Tim Lynskey, an orthopedic surgeon.
She comes from a large family, being the oldest of five kids, having one sister and three brothers. Her family moved to England for one year, but must not have liked it as they moved back to New Zealand.
While at New Plymouth Girls’ High School, Melanie became interested in things like school plays and the drama department before attending Victoria University of Wellington.
It was in those high school days that Melanie knew she had that special something. At 16 years old she was cast in Peter Jackson’s psychological drama Heavenly Creatures in 1994, which also starred Kate Winslet.
But Melanie was still in school, and after the acclaim and success she earned for her role as Pauline, she stepped back to finish her schooling.
Early career
When Lynskey did go back to acting, it started with a small, non-speaking cameo in another Peter Jackson film, the horror comedy movie The Frighteners.
The year 1998 would keep Lynskey quite busy, and be the start of a non-stop, decades-long career. Well, besides 1995 and 1997, Melanie has had a project come out every year since 1994.
Her first role in 1998 was as Jacqueline in the Drew Barrymore retelling of the princess fairy tale, Every After: A Cinderella Story.
The following year, Melanie had a handful of projects released, like the teen satire film But I’m a Cheerleader with Natasha Lyonne. She started the 2000s off with the musical drama hit Coyote Ugly and appeared as Lurlynn in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama in 2002.
Melanie became well-known in the indie movie circuit, and her credits are too numerous to mention. On the TV side, she had a three-episode run on Rose Red in 2002 and two episodes on The Shield under her belt in 2003 before sliding into the role that we all know and love her for.
Two and a Half Men
If you watched TV in the 2000s, Two and a Half Men was in your rotation. Charlie Sheen was on top of the world, and the comedy show could do no wrong.
Melanie played the part of lovable stalker that you knew wasn’t above doing dangerous things but seemed innocent enough. And she played it so well.
For 63 episodes across all 12 seasons from 2003 until 2015, we saw Rose stalk Charlie, date Alan, run away to Paris with Charlie, date Walden, then stalk Walden, and all of her antics in between.
While the character seemed a bit crazy, fans loved to see who in the Harper clan she would turn her stalking sights on next.
What did Melanie do after Two and a Half Men?
Melanie was quite busy while filming Two and a Half Men, appearing in both feature films and television. She had roles in films like Say Uncle with Gabrielle Union and Kathy Najimy, Away We Go with Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, Up in the Air with George Clooney and Anna Kendrick, The Informant! with Matt Damon, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World with Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower with Emma Watson.
On the TV side, Lynskey was in episodes here and there of shows like Drive, Psych, The L Word, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and House. Around 2010, Melanie started doing voice-over work, with The Life & Times of Tim, Over the Garden Wall, and Jake and the Never Land Pirates being some of her first roles.
What is Melanie Lynskey doing now?
Melanie is still killing it in acting. She appeared on Castle Rock as Molly for ten episodes in 2018 and as Rosemary for nine episodes on Mrs. America.
In 2021, she grabbed the role of Shauna in the dramatic thriller series Yellowjackets alongside Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci. The show was picked up for its third season at the end of 2022.
Melanie played Betty in the crime drama Candy with Jessica Biel in 2022. And if you are one of the few people not obsessed with Pedro Pascal, Melanie also portrayed Kathleen for two episodes in the post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us.
Melanie’s latest movie roles were as Hannah in Lady of the Manor, a comedy that starred Justin Long, Judy Greer, and Ryan Phillippe, and as Leonardo DiCaprio’s wife in the black comedy Don’t Look Up in 2021.
What’s ahead for Melanie?
Lynskey currently has two projects in the works. She will play Heather in the upcoming series The Tattooist of Auschwitz, based on the book, which is in production. She’ll also star in the film I, Object with Karl Urban, which is in pre-production.
Melanie made her first convention appearance in 2023 for Yellowjackets, so you might be able to catch her on more in the future. She regularly posts to her Instagram account, where you’ll see behind-the-scenes gems of her recent work.
Personal life
Melanie was married for the first time to actor Jimmi Simpson in 2007, after four years of dating and another two of being engaged. The pair met while filming the 2001 film Rose Red. The couple finalized their divorce, which was filed by Lynskey, in mid-2014.
In 2013, Melanie started dating fellow actor Jason Ritter. The pair became engaged in 2017, had a daughter in 2018, and married in 2020. Busy couple!
Melanie has to keep her work streak going, so we know we’ll see her for years to come. Well, that, and her shows keep getting renewed. Acting in something that has come out every single year for 25 straight years isn’t something to turn your nose up at, though. We can’t wait to see what roles Melanie gives us over the next 25.