Valene Kane
Birth placeNewry, Northern Ireland
OccupationActress
Yearsactive2007–present

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).[1] She also appeared in BBC dramas Thirteen (2016) 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[2], 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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] She was chosen partly for her successful experience with improvisation in that short film.[6]

Career

2013 saw Kane play Rose Stagg in BBC's The Fall,[4] and Dara in the comic Irish thriller Jump. That year, she also played the title role in Strindberg's Miss Julie at the newly founded Reading Rep.[7]

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 - Murder and, most recently, - 2023's hugely popular Blue Lights.[4]

On the big screen, Kane played Lyra Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.[8][4]

Stage work has included 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,[4] 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]

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.[14] 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[15] 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."[16] 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".[17]

Kane's radio work includes The Demon Brother and Stroma Sessions for which she won 'Best Supporting Performer'.[4]

In 2023, Kane starred as Lady Macbeth in a "subtly mercurial performance"[18] on the Royal Shakespeare Company main stage in Stratford, England[19] in a production that was "saved by its dark atmosphere and Valene Kane’s turn as Lady Macbeth."[18] She also played Morgan le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister in The Winter King, which premiered on MGM+ in the United States and on ITVX in the UK.

2025 will see the release of her Channel 4's "compelling Scottish drama", Summerwater[20]

Personal life

Kane is married to English actor Ed Cooper Clarke.[21]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010The Fading LightYvonne
2011War GamesMonica
2012JumpDara
2014'71Orla
2016Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryLyra Erso
2017Ex-PatriotRiley Connors
2018ProfileAmy Whittaker
2019Sonja: The White SwanConnie
2020First Person: A Film About LoveAnnabelleWinner: Best Actress
2020Nowhere SpecialCelia
2023Five and a Half Love Stories in a Vilnius ApartmentMeghan
TBAEverybody Digs Bill EvansPost-production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013CasualtyHolly BaddesleyEpisode: "The Milk of Human Kindness"
2013–2016The FallRose Stagg11 episodes (seasons 1–3)
2016ThirteenD.S. Lisa Merchant5 episodes[22]
2016MurderBrennanEpisode: "The Third Voice"
2017–2019The Other GuyOlivia Collins10 episodes
2018Death and NightingalesCatherine Winters3 episodes
2018Women on the Verge Siobhan2 episodes
2018Queen of the SouthAideenEpisode: "La Muerte"
2018CounselOliviaTitle roll, television film
2020HannaNicola GoughEpisode: "You're With Us Now"
2020–2022Gangs of LondonJacqueline Robinson10 episodes
2023Blue LightsAngela4 episodes
2023The Winter KingMorgan9 episodes
2024Say NothingHannah HanlonEpisode: "The People in the Dirt"
2025SummerwaterJustine Tindall6 episodes

Music Videos

YearTitleArtistRoleNotes
2010ChristinaBoy MandevilleGirlCredited 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."[23]

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."[24]

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[25] 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.[14]

Awards and nominations

AwardYear[a]CategoryWorkResultRef.
BBC Audio Drama Awards2017Best Supporting PerformerStroma Sessions[26]
Sherman Oaks Film Festival2019Best Actress in a Lead RoleFirst Person: A Film About Love[27]
Philadelphia Independent Film Festival2020Best ActressFirst Person: A Film About Love[27]

References

  1. ^ "Episode 4, Series 1, The Fall - BBC Two". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Dougray Scott, Shirley Henderson and Valene Kane lead the cast of new drama Summerwater on Channel 4". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  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. ^ "Reuben Joseph and Valene Kane will play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth at the RSC". rsc.org.uk. 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Valene Kane". Culturenorthernireland.org. 2010-10-12. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  7. ^ "Miss Julie opens to critical acclaim". Reading Rep. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  8. ^ "Does Jyn Erso Have a Sister in Star Wars: Rogue One?". 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  9. ^ Billington, Michael (2012-03-06). "Autumn Fire – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  10. ^ HAzel (2011-07-06). "The Black Diamond: An Immersive Adventure". Londonist. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  11. ^ "Stella Artois Black and Punchdrunk's 'The Black Diamond': exclusive ticket giveaway". Now-here-this.timeout.com. 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  12. ^ "The Rivals". Mrhartstheatreco.com. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  13. ^ McDonagh, Martin. "THE LONESOME WEST". ReviewsGate.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  14. ^ "Berlin: 'Profile' Wins Panorama Audience Award". hollywoodreporter.com. 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  15. ^ "'Sonja: The White Swan': Sundance Review". screendaily.com. 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  16. ^ "BBC iPlayer: Counsel". bbc.co.uk. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  17. ^ "Actress Valene Kane on Ireland and her love of Marina Carr's "Portia Coughlan"". vimeo.com. 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  18. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (31 August 2023). "Stewart Lee rewrites Macbeth – with some questionable modern ideas". telegraph.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  19. ^ "RSC announces Reuben Joseph and Valene Kane as Macbeth leads". whatsonstage.com. 13 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Dougray Scott, Shirley Henderson and Valene Kane lead the cast of new drama Summerwater on Channel 4". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  21. ^ Ganatra, Shilpa (2023-11-19). "Valene Kane: ‘The Fall changed everything and it put Northern Ireland on the map’". Image. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  22. ^ "Most requested show on BBC iPlayer in 2016". BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  23. ^ "The Fall, Episode 2, Series 5 review". independent.co.uk. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  24. ^ "Why you should be watching BBC3's Thirteen". radiotimes.com. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  25. ^ "Sherman Oaks Film Festival". shermanoaksfilmfestival.com. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  26. ^ "2017 BBC Audio Drama Awards Winners finalists". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Valene Kane Awards". imdb (Index source only). Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  1. ^ Year in which awards ceremony was held