Amara Karan
Karan during the Olympic Torch Relay in London (2008)
Born
Amara Karunakaran

(1984-01-01) 1 January 1984 (age 40)[1]
Wimbledon, London, England
Years active2007–present

Amara Karunakaran[2] (born 1 January 1984) is an English actress.[3] She made her film debut in 2007 as Rita in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, which premiered Venice Film Festival, and Peaches in St Trinian's.[4]

She made her stage debut in 2008 as Jessica in an RSC production of The Merchant of Venice and as Bianca in an RSC production of The Taming of the Shrew. With the latter, she made her West End debut at the Novello Theatre. In 2016, she co-starred on the HBO crime drama mini-series, The Night Of. In 2012, she co-starred in the film A Fantastic Fear of Everything.

Background

Karan was born to Sri Lankan Tamil parents who had emigrated from Zambia to Britain two years before she was born. She was brought up in Wimbledon and attended Wimbledon High School.[5]

Karan went on to study at St Catherine's College, Oxford[6] and while there began acting in amateur plays including Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World at the Burton Taylor Theatre for which she received rave reviews[7] and was also singled out for her performance in When We Are Married at the Old Fire Station theatre.[8] During her time at Oxford, Karan wrote, directed, produced, and acted in a short film, By Myself, which came in second place in the 2002 Shoestring Shorts Competition.[9]

She began her career as an investment banker (at Hawkpoint and CIBC World Markets) specialising in mergers and acquisitions,[citation needed] before studying for an MA degree in acting[citation needed] at The Arts Educational Schools London.[10]

She carried the 2008 Olympic Torch during its time in London.[11]

Since 2016 she has been in a relationship with the actor Jamie de Courcey.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2007 The Darjeeling Limited Rita
St Trinian's Peaches
2011 The Task Toni
2012 All in Good Time Vina
A Fantastic Fear of Everything Sangeet
2013 Jadoo Shalini [13]
2017 Those Four Walls Jasmine
2018 The Death and Life of John F. Donovan Mrs. Kureishi
2023 T.I.M. Rose

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2007 The Bill Abha Chaudhari Season 23, Episode 46 "Match Day Violence"
2008 Agatha Christie's Poirot Princess Shaista Season 11, Episode 2 "Cat Among the Pigeons" [14]
2011 Doctor Who Rita Season 6, Episode 11 "The God Complex"
2011–2012 Kidnap and Ransom Carrie Heath, Dominic's assistant 5 episodes
2013 Ambassadors Isabel Main cast, three-episode serial
2014 Goodness Gracious Me various roles Reunion special
2016 The Night Of Chandra Kapoor 6 episodes
2016–2018 Stan Lee's Lucky Man DS Suri Chohan 28 episodes [15]
2017 Bancroft Anya Karim 4 episodes
2019 The Twilight Zone Rena Episode 1 "The Comedian"
2021 Midsomer Murders Adele Paige Episode 1 "Scarecrow Murders"
2021–2022 Hope Street DC Leila Hussain Main cast
2022 Moonhaven Indira Mare Main cast
2023 Culprits Doctor Recurring role

Radio

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2007 The Making of a Marchioness Lady Agatha Frances Hodgson Burnett for BBC Radio 4
2017 The Beard Thea Collins Timothy X Atack for BBC Radio 4

Theatre

Year Title Role Venue(s) Production
company 		Ref.
2008 The Taming of the Shrew Bianca The Courtyard Theatre
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England 		Royal Shakespeare Company
The Merchant of Venice Jessica The Courtyard Theatre
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England 		Royal Shakespeare Company
2009 The Taming of the Shrew Bianca The Novello Theatre
London, England 		Royal Shakespeare Company
2012 Much Ado About Nothing Hero The Courtyard Theatre
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England 		[16]
2022 Bloody Difficult Women Gina Miller Riverside Studios
London, England 		[17]

Video games

Year Title Voice role Ref.
2017 Dark Souls III Sister Friede

References

  1. ^ "Amara Karan". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. ^ "The desi British 'Hottie' in Darjeeling Limited". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Amara Karan". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  4. ^ "St. Trinian's (2007)". Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  5. ^ "SW – Back to school". Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
  6. ^ "Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Natalie Portaman Finish Filming for Wes Anderson's New Movie 'Darjeeling Limited' | Gauravonomics Diary". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  7. ^ "Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World". www.dailyinfo.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Drama Podcast". 18 May 2011.
  9. ^ oxford : multimedia & digital video
  10. ^ http://www.artsed.co.uk/students.asp Arts Ed Students
  11. ^ "Amara Karan to carry Olympic torch". Your Local Guardian. 26 February 2008.
  12. ^ Jimi Famurewa: Amara Karan, The Night Of interview: ‘I’ve not signed for a Season 2, but there’s a huge appetite for more’. Evening Standard, 26 August 2016
  13. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (10 February 2012). "Karan cast in 'Jadoo'". Variety. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Cat among pigeons – Poirot". IMDb. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  15. ^ Plunkett, John (30 March 2015), "Stan Lee creates superhero for Sky1 series starring James Nesbitt", The Guardian, retrieved 17 November 2022
  16. ^ Billington, Michael (2 August 2012). "Much Ado About Nothing – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  17. ^ Longman-Rood, Eleanor (4 March 2022). "Theatre Review: Bloody Difficult Women is a bloody good show". The New European. Retrieved 17 November 2022.

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