If She Chooses You, You're in: Melanie Lynskey on the Magic of Natasha Lyonne
Ahead, Lyonne's long-time best friend Melanie Lynskey tells IndieWire about the many qualities that set our Maverick Award apart, both as a performer and as a pal.
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There's a moment when Melanie Lynskey talks about Natasha Lyonne that kind of says it all.
'If she chooses you, you're going to be her friend,' she said. 'That's just it.'
For more than 20 years, Lyonne and Lynskey have been ride-or-dies bonded by weird nights, great scripts, and deep mutual respect. They've starred in three movies together, including 'But I'm a Cheerleader' and 'The Intervention' (that one directed by their great pal and 'Cheerleader' co-star Clea DuVall).
So as Lyonne gets her flowers at IndieWire Honors, Lynskey is here to remind us why there's nobody like Natasha.
'She's always been insanely talented,' Lynskey said. 'But now, she knows exactly what she's capable of — and the world knows it too.'
That includes writing, directing, producing, and starring in not one but two groundbreaking shows ('Russian Doll' and 'Poker Face'), all while championing the people she loves. 'If she loves you, she wants you to be doing everything to the maximum of your abilities,' Lynskey said. 'She's everyone's biggest cheerleader.'
Their friendship kicked off in Toronto during filming for the 1999 film 'Detroit Rock City,' when a shy, New Zealand-based Lynskey arrived on set. 'Natasha took me out for the night and that was it. We were bonded for life,' she said. That night included a Halloween KISS concert, an attempted casino trip (denied at the door: no passport), a persistent limo driver trying to crash the afterparty, and vodka. Lots of vodka. 'If we tried that now, it would take me two weeks to recover.'
Lynskey still lights up when she talks about how Lyonne works. 'I really kind of envy the looseness she has in her body, like the drapey-ness and the kind of physicality that can be a little bit masculine at times. It's really fun,' she said. 'She's very loose, especially in 'Poker Face.' She has a real sort of looseness to her limbs. And I feel like there's always a part of my brain that's like, 'What do I do with hands?'— there's just this swagger. Meanwhile, I'm over here like, 'What do I do with my hands?''
Even before 'Poker Face,' Lyonne's spirit helped shape Lynskey's path — sometimes literally. When Lynskey was auditioning for the role of a New Jersey girl in 'Coyote Ugly' and couldn't afford a dialect coach, she leaned on her interpretation of Lyonne (never mind that she was very much born and raised on the Upper East Side). 'It morphed into something else after I got cast, but I kind of based it on Natasha, yeah,' she said with a laugh. 'I don't know how impressed she was about that: 'I did that audition, too.' I was like, 'Well, sorry about that.'
Now, even as Lyonne's busy running the show, she's still hyping her friends. 'She's everyone's biggest cheerleader. I remember one time I got a message from her, and she was looking for acting coach or a dialect coach and she said, 'You're the best actor I have in my phone.' Such a specific compliment. I loved how it wasn't hyperbolic,' Lynskey said.
They don't see each other as much as they'd like, although Lynskey has an upcoming guest-star slot on episode 8 of 'Poker Face' — but when they do, nothing's changed. 'We had this great night recently, just hanging at Natasha's house and talking for hours. That's the good stuff.'
So what's left to say?
'She's such a treasure to all of us,' Lynskey said. 'There's nobody like her, so it's really so special to see her being recognized.'
Read Natasha Lyonne's full IndieWire Honors profile.
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