Valene Kane

Valene Kane is a Northern Irish actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in all three series of BBC Two's BAFTA-nominated The Fall, in which she played Jamie Dornan's first victim, Rose Stagg.[1]

Valene Kane
Kane at the press conference of Profile, the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival
Born30 January 1985 (1985-01-30) (age 38)
Newry, Northern Ireland
OccupationActress
Years active2007–present

In June 2023, the Royal Shakespeare Company announced Kane as Lady Macbeth alongside Reuben Joseph as Macbeth performing in Stratford, England from 19th August to 14th October 2023.[2]

Early life

Kane was born and raised in Newry, County Down. She is the daughter of former footballer and coach Val Kane.[3] From the age of 15, she was part of the National Youth Theatre, most notably starring in their production of 20 Cigarettes. She left Northern Ireland for London at 18 and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career
Shazad Latif, Timur Bekmambetov, Valene Kane at the press conference of Profile at Berlinale 2018

Kane was cast in The Fading Light by the director Ivan Kavanagh after he spotted her in a short film, July, that was posted on YouTube.[4] She was chosen partly for her successful experience with improvisation in the short film.[5] 2013 saw her play Rose Stagg in the BBC's TV series The Fall, and Dara in the comic Irish thriller Jump. Also in 2013, Kane played the title role in Strindberg's Miss Julie at the newly founded Reading Rep.[6]

Another film work Still Early, a short film which premiered at the Galway Film Festival. Kane's work for the BBC in 2016 includes taking the lead in BBC Three drama Thirteen, the third series of The Fall, and an episode of Murder. Also that year, she played Lyra Erso, the protagonist's mother, in the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.[7][8]

Kane has been seen on stage as Nance, in the Finborough Theatre's production of Autumn Fire,[9] The Love in Punchdrunk's production The Black Diamond,[10] which sold out "in mere minutes"[11] and Lady Lydia Languish in The Rivals.[12] She also played Girleen in Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West in which one reviewer said "Kane gives Girleen a schoolgirl reality, her confident swagger and challenge covering the only genuine feelings for anyone else that the play possesses".[13]

Kane's radio drama work for the BBC includes The Demon Brother and Stroma Sessions for which she won Best Supporting Performer.

In 2018 Valene Kane played journalist Amy Whittaker who investigates the recruitment of young European women by ISIS in the 2018 thriller film Profile by Timur Bekmambetov. The film takes place entirely on computer screens. It premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Panorama Audience Award.[14]

2019 saw Kane in Anne Sewitsky's Sonja: The White Swan which premiered at Sundance Film Festival[15] and in BBC TV Movie Counsel in which she played "an alpha female barrister [who] complicates her professional and personal life when she takes on a young client"[16]

Kane could also be heard on the Monobox Speech Share podcast reading from Marina Carr's "Portia Coughlan".[17]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2013–2016 The Fall Rose Stagg BBC Two (seasons 1–3)
2016 Thirteen D.S. Lisa Merchant BBC iPlayer's most requested show of 2016[18]
2016 Murder Brennan Dir. Birger Larsen
2017–2019 The Other Guy Olivia Collins Dir. Kacie Anning (2017), Gracie Otto (2019)
2018 Death and Nightingales Catherine Winters Dir. Allan Cubitt
2018 Women on the Verge Siobhan Created by Sharon Horgan & Lorna Martin. Dir. Annie Griffin
2018 Queen of the South Aideen
2018 Counsel (TV movie) Olivia Dir. Declan Recks
2019 Hanna Nicola Gough Dir. Ugla Hauksdottir
2020 Gangs of London Jacqueline Robinson Dir. Gareth Evans & Corin Hardy
2022 Gangs of London 2 Jacqueline Robinson Dir. Corin Hardy
2023 Blue Lights Angela Dir. Gilles Bannier
2023 The Winter King Morgan Dir. Otto Bathurst

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Fading Light Yvonne Winner - Best Irish Film - Dublin International Film Festival 2010 - Dir. Ivan Kavanagh
2011 War Games Monica Dir. Cosimo Alema
2012 Jump Dara Dir. Kieron J. Walsh
2014 '71 Orla Dir. Yann Demange
2015 Victor Frankenstein Mrs. Winthrop Dir. Paul McGuigan
2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Lyra Erso Dir. Gareth Edwards
2017 Ex-Patriot Riley Connors Dir. Conor Allyn
2018 Profile Amy Whittaker Winner - Panorama Audience Award - Dir. Timur Bekmambetov
2019 Sonja: The White Swan Connie In competition: Sundance & Berlin - Dir. Anne Sewitsky
2020 First Person: A Film About Love Annabelle Dir. Ashley Cahill
2020 Nowhere Special Celia Dir. Uberto Pasolini
2023 5 1/2 Love Stories Meghan Dir. Tomas Vengris

Accolades

Press

The Independent described her performance in The Fall as "the standout performance" of Series 2; "harrowing to watch and completely convincing"[19]

Her role as Lyra Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story saw Kane and on-screen husband Mads Mikkelsen battle with Ben Mendelsohn's "Director Krennic" after desperately seeking help from Forest Whitaker's "Saw Gerrera"[20]

In BBC Three's kidnap drama Thirteen, she starred opposite Jodie Comer as Detective Lisa Merchant in a performance described as "superb" by the Radio Times: "The former star of The Fall's scenes [...] are among the show's most intriguing, simmering with sexual tension and professional frustration."[21]

Kane recently won 'Best Actress in a Lead Role' at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2019 for her performance as "a mother [who] refuses to bend to society's mores even in the face of unspeakable tragedy" in First Person: A Film About Love.[22] and won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Supporting Performer for her role in The Stroma Sessions.

The film Profile, in which she played a struggling undercover journalist who connects with a Jihadi through Facebook, won the Panorama Audience Award at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.[23]

Awards and nominations
Award Year[lower-alpha 1] Title(s) Category Result Ref.
BBC Audio Drama Awards 2017 Stroma Sessions Best Supporting Performer Won
Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2019 Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2019 First Person: A Film About Love Best Actress in a Lead Role Won [24]

References
  1. "Episode 4, Series 1, The Fall - BBC Two". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. "RSC announces Reuben Joseph and Valene Kane as Macbeth leads". whatsonstage.com.
  3. "The Fall's Valene Kane and her GAA dad Val talk pursuing their goals". www.irishnews.com. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  4. "From to the big screen; Newry-born Valene Kane says acting is about luck ... and she's got plenty of it at the moment. Audrey Watson reports". highbeam.com. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. "Valene Kane". Culturenorthernireland.org. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  6. "Miss Julie opens to critical acclaim". Reading Rep. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. "Does Jyn Erso Have a Sister in Star Wars: Rogue One?". 28 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. "Rogue One on imdb.com". IMDb. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. Billington, Michael (6 March 2012). "Autumn Fire – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  10. HAzel (6 July 2011). "The Black Diamond: An Immersive Adventure". Londonist. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  11. "Stella Artois Black and Punchdrunk's 'The Black Diamond': exclusive ticket giveaway". Now-here-this.timeout.com. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  12. "The Rivals". Mrhartstheatreco.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. McDonagh, Martin. "THE LONESOME WEST". ReviewsGate.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  14. "Berlin: 'Profile' Wins Panorama Audience Award". hollywoodreporter.com. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  15. "'Sonja: The White Swan': Sundance Review". screendaily.com. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  16. "BBC iPlayer: Counsel". bbc.co.uk. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  17. "Actress Valene Kane on Ireland and her love of Marina Carr's "Portia Coughlan"". vimeo.com. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  18. "Most requested show on BBC iPlayer in 2016". BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  19. "The Fall, Episode 2, Series 5 review". independent.co.uk. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  20. "Valene Kane". imdb.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  21. "Why you should be watching BBC3's Thirteen". radiotimes.com. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  22. "Sherman Oaks Film Festival". shermanoaksfilmfestival.com. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  23. "Berlin: 'Profile' Wins Panorama Audience Award". hollywoodreporter.com. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  24. "2017 BBC Audio Drama Awards Winners finalists". BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  1. Year in which awards ceremony was held


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