Melanie Lynskey and Natasha Lyonne’s ‘Actors on Actors’ Is a Pride Month Gift to Us All
The 'But I'm a Cheerleader' duo reunite for Variety.
If you’re a queer millennial like me, you likely carry a torch for iconic actors Natasha Lyonne and Melanie Lynskey. And it’s easy to see why: both are beloved performers with a long list of queer-friendly credits who have always vocally supported the LGBTQ+ community. Lynskey broke onto the scene with her devastating performance in Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, while Lyonne launched a career comeback as inmate Nicky Nichols in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. And of course, the duo starred in Jamie Babbit’s seminal 1999 lesbian romantic comedy But I’m a Cheerleader.
Now the two are enjoying career highs in their respective prestige television dramas. Lynskey plays a traumatized plane crash survivor in Showtime’s Yellowjackets while Lyonne solves murders in Peacock’s Poker Face. So naturally, Variety paired them for their popular ‘Actors on Actors’ interview series. Lyonne and Lynskey, who have been friends since their teen years, share an easy warmth and chemistry that is delightful to watch. It also begs the question: when will we get a gay romantic comedy with these two as the leads? I mean, based on these photos alone, they can take all my money.
The duo discuss their longtime friendship and their respective careers, with both reflecting on the cultural impact of But I’m a Cheerleader 24 years later. “At the time, nobody liked it, and now everybody likes it. I do feel like the movie was very ahead of its time,” said Lynskey. She asks Lyonne if she ever had any hesitation about taking the role, as this was a time when playing gay was considered risky and potentially career-damaging for actors.
Lyonne replied, “I was not hesitant at all. I’m consistently shocked by the things we consider shocking. I find it very patronizing when we say something like, “Oh, did you see that this straight male actor is playing gay? Bravo.” And it never crossed my mind to not try to use the arts to tell the truth about what’s going on.”
Lyonne continued, “And I would say my biggest beef with the world is how insane it seems to me that certain people think they have a God-given right to tell other people how to live.” Lynskey added, “I remember at the time, after But I’m a Cheerleader, somebody was like, ‘Oh, you’ve played a lot of lesbian characters.’ And I was like, ‘I think it’s two. What are you talking about? … It was so weird to me also that it was a talking point or that anybody had an issue.”
Lyonne also noted that she may not take queer roles in the future, saying “It would be in a very specific circumstance, I guess, that I would take on playing a lesbian again because of the ways in which society has changed, … It feels like, Okay, let’s not take opportunity from people. At the same time, in some way, if you’re gonna call it like a time crime or something, I’m just so proud of the movie that I’m very glad that I got to do it.”
The video is well worth watching in its entirety. But fair warning: you may end up with an even bigger crush on these actors than you had before.
(via Variety, featured image: screencap/Variety)
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