In preparation for chatting with one of New Zealand's most successful actresses, I turned to that well-known research tool, Google.
It appears that no matter how famous Melanie Lynskey gets and how many high-profile roles she lands, most interviewers are only interested in finding out what it was like working with Kate Winslet on Heavenly Creatures.
"I understand it, being the lead and the first thing I did," Lynskey says from a hotel room in Vancouver where she is visiting her husband, Jimmi Simpson, who is working there.
"It's kind of an easy story for people, you know - one's a superstar [Kate Winslet] . . . and the other one isn't. Every time someone comes with the Kate Winslet question I think it's lazy journalism."
So with that behind us, how is the weather in Vancouver? "It's rainy, but I don't mind that," Lynskey says, "it reminds me of home."
Lynskey is particularly enthusiastic when talking about her infrequent trips down under, the most recent of which was to play the part of solo mother Jess in Show of Hands, which opens this week.
Written and directed by London-based Kiwi Anthony McCarten, Show of Hands takes place against the backdrop of Mt Taranaki.
Having not worked in New Zealand since 2001's Snakeskin, Lynskey loved the experience of filming in her home town, but it wasn't the only reason she pursued the role.
"My decision to do Show of Hands wasn't based on the location. If it was a bad film then I wouldn't have done it. But working at home certainly made it interesting, I love the movie so much.
"It was very strange working in New Plymouth because I haven't lived there for any substantial period of time since my teens, and it was funny to be back at home again, but it was great to see my family, and the people of New Plymouth were very supportive of what we were doing."
Show of Hands, originally written as a novel by McCarten, is based on a real contest staged in Lower Hutt.
One contestant outlasted the competition by keeping their hand attached to a car for a world-record five days to win it. Contests of this ilk are common enough in New Zealand, but Lynskey was unfamiliar with the concept before she was sent the script.
"I had never heard of competitions like that before, but then I saw a documentary about a similar contest in Texas and that fascinated me. Honestly, it is such a good story, very simple and compelling, and when I read the script I couldn't put it down. I became very invested in the character that I played."
And it's a good thing that Lynskey persevered. Alongside a veritable roll-call of local acting talent, fitting in a little small-budget film in New Zealand is not all that easy these days.
"I'm lucky now I that have a great agent, and she is amazing at keeping me in touch with what's happening in New Zealand. It's a really interesting industry and it's not all about making your money back," Lynskey says.
Working at home has its lighter side as well. Given a helping hand from Venture Taranaki, the film production was enticed to shift location from Wellington to New Plymouth.
The price of this decision would leave Lynskey with very fond memories for the quirkiness of the local process.
"There was this one time when I was filming this scene where I was crying. I had this shot set up, this beautiful shot, and I had been preparing myself to cry with a tear ready to roll when the camera comes around the corner, and then just before the camera arrives I hear this voice . . . [with an accentuated Kiwi accent] 'they're filming a movie, it's a scene from the movie . . . is that Melanie Lynskey?' It was this sweet little New Plymouth lady.
"She was very excited."
Securing a part in a low-budget Kiwi feature is one thing, but Lynskey is under no illusions about how fortunate she has been to work with some best in the business.
"I guess the next thing that will screen in New Zealand is The Informant that I have just finished working on. It was so much fun making that film. Stephen Soderbergh (Traffic) was great and Matt Damon was super-nice, we played it like a comedy."
Despite casually dropping names and mentioning being on set with the likes of Edward Norton, Tim Blake Nelson, and Susan Sarandon (Leaves of Grass), Lynskey is amazingly grounded and refreshingly Kiwi, right down to her fiercely protected accent.
"Thank you for saying that, by the way. So often I will talk to journalists from New Zealand and then I'll read the interview and they'll say she speaks with a heavy American accent. I take it very seriously. I'm very proud of where I come from.
"You now, I've lived here for 10 years and some sounds have changed, but people still ask me every day where I come from. Oh my God, every audition I go on, every person I meet, when they find out I'm from New Zealand, all they want to talk about is Flight of the Conchords."
Aside from catching up with fellow Kiwi actors Dean O'Gorman and Craig Hall in Los Angeles, buying Kiwi music online and checking out Kiwi films when flying Air New Zealand, Lynskey has also developed a taste for New Zealand wine, readily available from Victors, her local deli.
Working in an industry noted for its left-wing sympathies (Sean Penn, for instance), I venture that Obama was the popular choice among Los Angeles-based thespians.
"Yes, that's exactly right. Though, I was working with someone recently on a set in the South, and we were talking about the election, and you know, she was kind of an older woman and she said she wasn't going to vote for Obama because she didn't want ships full of terrorists pulling up on the shores.
"I was really taken aback, I just said 'if you are worried about your national security, Barack Obama is going to unite the international community better than John McCain'."
The global financial meltdown is also affecting the entertainment industry.
"It's so quiet right now, it's really scary," Lynskey says.
"People aren't making movies and we are just getting over the writers' strike. There is also a rumour that there will be an actors' strike, so there is all sorts of other turmoil . . . But I have been really lucky, I made three movies last year, so I can't really complain."
So aside from Show of Hands, we can expect to see plenty of the talented, charming, and refreshingly down-to-earth Lynskey on our screens in 2009.
Perhaps it's time to ask Kate Winslet: "What was it like to work with Melanie Lynskey?".
Mark Orton is a film-maker and critic.
