Simone Kessell Revealed How Melanie Lynskey Possibly Helped Her Land The "Yellowjackets" Role Of Adult Lottie
Lottie is definitely my favorite as I can never be sure if the visions and It talk are real, or if that's all in her head — such a fresh and interesting character! So, you can imagine my heartbreak when we had to say goodbye to Adult Lottie. Simone Kessell really brought her to life with so much charm and intrigue. And those last couple of scenes at Shauna's house were wonderful. Simone and Melanie Lynskey have such great chemistry together!
Well, I recently chatted with Simone for BuzzFeed's Voices of the Pacific series about her time on Yellowjackets, including behind-the-scenes memories with the fellow Kiwi actor.
"I knew Melanie going into the season, and she was actually, I think, the reason why I got to play in the world of Yellowjackets because Melanie told the showrunners about me," Simone told BuzzFeed. "I'm eternally grateful for that, and through the last couple of years, we've just become incredibly close."
"There have been many electric moments between us on set in character as Shauna and Lottie, which plays back so nicely into the past storyline as well," she continued.
Simone said she loves Melanie "very, very much" — so lovely to hear that they're genuinely friends outside of the show, too!
"I've got to say, it was a highlight getting to work with her, watching her craft. I think her work this season is sublime. She's so nuanced and honest and heartbreaking, and Melanie is so vastly different from that character. Seeing and knowing Melanie, and then seeing the work that she does as Shauna — it's very, very special to be around."
"Often after work, she'd be like, [whispering] 'Should we go for a Chardonnay?' And I'd go, 'Let's go for a Chardonnay, babe,'" she concluded with a laugh.
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Also — shout out to his Barney Rubble in the live action Flintstones movie (it's worth a Google to remember that killer cast)." —braccolirob In 2015, Rick told the Hollywood Reporter, "I took a break, which turned into a longer break. But I'm interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role...I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people [in Hollywood]. I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful." "Jonathan Taylor Thomas for sure! He was super talented and had that X factor about him. I wish he would make a comeback. The actor who played Jill on Home Improvement [Patricia Richardson] was on a podcast last year where she said she still spoke to him and said he has no desire to return to acting, and I respect him for that. 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In 2010, she told Creative Loafing, "I wasn't working enough in LA and kept leaving LA to work. When my daughter was younger, I had no issue with taking her out of preschool, since I know my colors and my ABCs, and could teach her those. But once she got older – she's 10 years old now – I had to decide what's the best lifestyle for her. Atlanta is easier for transportation, money, food, rent, jobs. And I found it more loving, more embracing. Because I grew up here, I knew what will happen for a young person who lives here. I found LA to be a more separate city, and I hated that separation. I want her to grow up around all kinds of people." "Bridget Fonda." —AllyBILM According to the Independent, Bridget Fonda retired from acting in 2002. She had actually signed on to a recurring role on The Practice in 2003, but after "miraculously" surviving a car accident a few weeks before the series went into production, she was replaced. In 2023, she reportedly told a paparazzo at an airport that she wouldn't return to acting because "it's too nice being a civilian." "Shane McDermott. A handful of TV appearances and one movie (with Jack Black and Seth Green), and he noped right out of Hollywood and became a realtor." —luxahoy Shane became known for his roles in Airborne, All My Children, and Swans Crossing. However, he reportedly stopped acting because he wanted to lead a simpler life and start a family. Now based in Texas, he's an artist as well as a realtor. "Leelee Sobieski. She was hugely popular in the '90s with films such as Deep Impact and Never Been Kissed. Then she retired from acting in the 2010s to focus on her family and art career. —gaelicmaiden In 2018, Leelee told AnOther, "A lot of the time when you work, it's a money project basically. I started paying the rent on our house when I was 15, so I had a lot of pressure and things got complicated for me… So when I could, I stopped. 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"Richard Grieco." —Jock7373 Richard is known for his roles in 21 Jump Street, Mobsters, and If Looks Could Kill. While he's done a few smaller acting roles over the years, he's also become known for his paintings. He describes his work as "Abstract Emotionalism." In 2012, he told Chron, "Dennis Hopper told me my artwork was too good to just hang on walls. He said I needed to get out and show it." "Richey Edwards." —lovelychicken23 The Main Street Preachers' lyricist and rhythm guitarist was known for his incredible talent as well as his outspokenness about social issues. However, he also very publicly dealt with mental health issues. In 1995, the day before the band's US tour was set to kick off, he disappeared. He left his hotel in London, dropped his passport, prescription, and credit card at his home in Cardiff, then drove to a service station near a bridge in the small town of Aust. The car was found at the station, but Richey was never seen again. In 2008, he was legally declared dead — something his parents had the option to do since 2002, but they held out hope that he'd faked his own death to escape the pressure of the spotlight. "Didn't Jason Patric kinda fizzle out?" —waxmuseums "Jason Patric decided very early on in his career that he wasn't interested in being famous at all — that happened when he dated Julia Roberts, and the spotlight was on both of them for a minute. He's still working in films today, and definitely had the talent and good looks to be a bigger star, but he maintained that he was just happier without the fame thing. There are some actors who love the work but just prefer not to be in the spotlight." —sappydark In 1992, while he was still dating Julia, Jason told the Oklahoman, "It's a persona that one has to deal with that's largely speculative and out of control. I don't subscribe to People magazine, and I don't know what George and Edna think in Illinois, but I haven't been invited over anyway. I've been forced into a glare at times that certainly was not my creation... The idea is that because you have fame or money, you have no right to privacy, that somehow that's been forfeited. If you go to the other end of the spectrum and say someone who makes under $20,000 a year has no protection and no privacy, you'd have your head handed to you. The idea of the human being has been forced out the window." And in 2003, he told the Irish Independent, "I knew dating [Julia] would be trouble. I just didn't know how much of an impact it would have on my privacy, because I'm such a private person. What happened was the ultimate nightmare. I'd worked for six years on my career to be as anonymous as possible, and in the space of a few weeks, I was one of the most public people in the world just because I was dating a famous person who enjoyed being in the media spotlight. There is celebrity that comes with fame. There's no question about it. I don't bemoan that. However, don't come into my house, don't bother me at a non-public event. But if I use my personal life to advance my fame, then I owe you my personal life. If I invite People magazine to the wedding, then they're invited to the divorce as well." "Edward Furlong." —Tasty-Celery9082 After rising to fame in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Edward reached teen idol status in the '90s. However, in the following decades, his career declined to mainly straight-to-DVD releases as he faced a series of substance abuse problems and legal issues, including a DUI and several alleged instances of domestic abuse. When he returned to the Terminator franchise in 2019, the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence director of programs, Jacquie Marroquin, told the Hollywood Reporter, "It's important not to sweep Edward Furlong's reported history of domestic violence under the rug just because he's returning to a beloved movie role... There are consequences for survivors, who may think twice about seeking help when they see people who harm gaining fame or power without being held accountable by their fans and peers." "Anybody remember Dan Cortese, the rock climbing himbo from Seinfeld?" —Aromatic-Bath-5689 Dan has worked consistently, but he dealt with typecasting. In 2009, he told Greg in Hollywood, "It is one of those things with television where it's, 'Dan's great at playing the good-looking, dumb guy, that's what he does. If you need a good-looking, dumb guy who can hit his mark and hit the punchline, he's your guy.' It is tough to play against type... I always want to play against type. The fact that I've basically made my living as a television actor. In television, you tend to get pigeonholed, where they'll be like, 'You know who we need for this? We need Dan because Dan plays that guy.' But I would love to have like a film role where I could play completely against type. I love dark movies; I like dark comedies. Anything like that." "Kari Wuhrer played the part of Gina Lempke in the Stephen King movie Thinner (1996) and was a part of the ensemble in Anaconda (1997). She also spent a year on Beverly Hills, 90210 in the mid-'90s. But I can't tell you the last time I heard her name." —Anonymous, 41, Pennsylvania Kari was a working actor through the '90s, '00s, and 2010s. She last appeared in the made-for-TV movie Fiancé Killer in 2018. She's active on Instagram, where she shares her life as a dedicated mother. And finally: "Jewel — she was so major, like Taylor Swift! And now nothing…" Jewel took a two-year hiatus following the success of her second album, and she later took a seven-year break before releasing her most recent album in 2022. She told Spin, "I couldn't psychologically adjust to the amount of fame that I got to. By the time I was on the cover of TIME, it didn't work for me. It was really psychologically crushing, and so giving myself two years to contemplate, 'How do I do this? Can I do this? Does this make me happy?' and developing a career and a strategy that upheld my number one goal, which was to make sure my mental health was the priority. Then my number two goal was I want to make the records I want, how I want, in the genre I want, that's going to be how it is. It's going to be an adventure." "The choices I made in my career, especially in the '90s, were considered suicidal–career suicide. Taking two years off at the height of my fame was a huge no-no. Switching genres was a huge no-no, but it's what I needed to do to keep myself psychologically healthy and creatively healthy. I had to deal with a lot of people saying, 'Oh, she's washed-up. She doesn't know what to do for her third album.' Completely misunderstood, and to make sure that didn't bother me, and that's your decision. It has to be water off a duck's back. You persevere because you believe you made the right decision," she said. Are there any other actors you thought would be major stars, but their careers never quite took off? Let us know in the comments (or in the anonymous comments box below)! Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity. Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything!
