Melanie Lynskey is making waves in the TV industry with two Emmy nominations under her belt. So, the idea of her rejecting Buffy, because she didn’t want to be in one of the best thriller series, seems absurd, right? Maybe so, but that’s actually exactly what happened, with the Yellowjackets cast member explaining how she passed on the horror series in an interview with Evan Ross Katz.
Addressing longstanding rumors, Lynskey confirmed that she was being considered for the role of Willow but had several reservations. “It was kind of a visa issue, but not really; I also was not sure about doing television at that time,” she explained.
“It was very early in my career. I had a very old-school agent who was like, ‘TV? That’s for has-beens!’ and I was like, ‘I don’t think it is anymore.’ Certainly now things have really changed, but I just wasn’t super into it at the time. ”
She added, “I had a dinner with Joss, and I don’t remember if it was an offer or if it was like, ‘Would you come read for it?’ or what it was, but we stayed in touch after that. And then I guess they were replacing the person from the pilot at a certain point, and I had stayed in touch with [Joss], and he said, ‘Now do you think you would want to do it?’ And I had seen the pilot, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is good,’ and I kind of took my agent into it.
“And then, it became this whole thing of, “Well, now you have to audition.’ So I auditioned,” she continued. “Then: ‘Oh, they didn’t like what you were wearing.’ It was a whole process. And then I didn’t get it! Alyson Hannigan got it, who was absolutely wonderful, and all was [cast] as it should have been. That was the actual story.”
Sure, Lynskey might’ve fumbled one of the best TV series of all time, but at least she has her two Emmy nominations to dry her tears. To see Lynskey in action, check out our guides on how to watch The Last of Us TV series and how to watch Yellowjackets season 2.
Or, find out more about these hit series with our guides on the Yellowjackets season 3 release date, The Last of Us season 2 release date, The Last of Us cast, Joel explained, Ellie explained, the Infected explained, and the Fireflies explained.