EXCLUSIVE! Melanie Lynskey on being bullied: 'It made me feel bad about myself and I listened to it for so long'

Two and a Half Men star Melanie Lynskey has been working the Hollywood circuit for over two decades.

But in an exclusive interview, she confessed to TheFIX that her career early days were actually plagued by bullies.

In fact, it was so bad, she revealed that the experience of trying to break into Hollywood nearly broke her.

"I had a hard time believing that I could make it over here," the 37-year-old told TheFIX. "People say things like: 'Who do you think you are?'

"That's the kind of thing that will hold you back — your own feelings of uselessness.

"[But] you can't listen to what people say. I had people say to me: 'Oh you think you can go to Hollywood and be an actor, who do you think you are?' It made me feel bad about myself and I listened to it for so long."

Melanie was hand-picked at the age of 16 by The Hobbit producer Fran Walsh, to star alongside Kate Winslett in Heavenly Creatures (1994). A role which landed her a Best Actress award at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards.

Since then she's had a successful career spanning 21 years, starring alongside the likes of George Clooney, Drew Barrymore and Michael J Fox to name just a few.

Who could forget her adorable character of Rose in Two and a Half Men opposite Charlie Sheen?!

So what's Melanie's advice for young Aussies wanting to be as successful as her?

"Work on your confidence," she said. We couldn't agree more!

Melanie stars next alongside Girls star Lena Dunham and Anna Kendrick in comedy-drama Happy Christmas.

Happy Christmas will be available to download or stream from this Friday (July 25, 2014) at digital stores including Xbox Video, iTunes, Google Play and EzyFlix. Check out the Happy Christmas clip below…

Written by Yasmin Vought. Approved by Amy Nelmes.