Valene Kane

Valene Kane is a Northern Irish actress. On television, she gained prominence through her role as Rose Stagg in the BBC Two series The Fall (2013–2016). She also appeared in BBC dramas Thirteen and Blue Lights (2023–24), the Stan series The Other Guy (2017–2019), the Sky Atlantic series Gangs of London (2020–2022), and the ITVX series The Winter King (2023). Her films include The Fading Light (2010), Rogue One (2016), Profile (2018), and Nowhere Special (2021).

Kane takes a leading role in the Channel 4 drama Summerwater, and in the feature film biopic of Bill Evans' life Everybody Digs Bill Evans.

Early life Kane was born and raised in Newry, County Down. She is the daughter of former Gaelic footballer and coach Val Kane and sister of Gaelic footballer John Kane. From the age of 15, she was part of the National Youth Theatre, starring in their production of 20 Cigarettes.

She left Northern Ireland for London at 18 to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Early career 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. She was chosen partly for her successful experience with improvisation in that short film.

Career 2013 saw Kane play Rose Stagg in BBC's The Fall,

Kane's later work for the BBC included playing the lead detective in BBC Three crime drama Thirteen, the second and third series of The Fall, Scottish court-room drama Murder and, most recently, 2023's hugely popular Blue Lights. The Love in Punchdrunk's production The Black Diamond, which sold out "in mere minutes" and Lady Lydia Languish in The Rivals.

She also played Girleen in Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West,

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 is confined entirely to her character's computer screen and follows the video calls, emails and messages on her character's screen. It premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Panorama Audience Award. and was later picked up and made available on Netflix.

2019 saw Kane in Anne Sewitsky's Sonja: The White Swan which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and in the 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." and in the following year she played the lead role in First Person for which she won Best Actress at the Sherman Oaks film festival.

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

Kane's radio work includes The Demon Brother and Stroma Sessions for which she won 'Best Supporting Performer'. on the Royal Shakespeare Company main stage in Stratford, England in a production that was "saved by its dark atmosphere and Valene Kane’s turn as Lady Macbeth."

Filmography

Film Year Title RoleNotes 2010 The Fading Light Yvonne 2011 War Games Monica 2012 Jump Dara 2014 '71 Orla 2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Lyra Erso 2017 Ex-Patriot Riley Connors 2018 Profile Amy Whittaker 2019 Sonja: The White Swan Connie 2020 First Person: A Film About Love Annabelle Winner: Best Actress 2020 Nowhere Special Celia 2023 Five and a Half Love Stories in a Vilnius Apartment Meghan TBA Everybody Digs Bill Evans Post-production

Television

Music Videos Year Title Artist RoleNotes 2010 Christina Boy Mandeville Girl Credited as Girl, however video suggests she is Christina

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

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."

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 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.

2019 Best Actress in a Lead Role First Person: A Film About Love

2020 Best Actress First Person: A Film About Love