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]
Amara Karan | |
|---|---|
 Karan during the Olympic Torch Relay in London (2008) | |
| Born | Amara Karunakaran 1 January 1984[1] Wimbledon, London, England |
| Years active | 2007–present |
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
editKaran 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
editFilm
edit| 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 | ||
| 2024 | House of Spoils | Hiral Sen |
Television
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| Year | Title | Voice role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dark Souls III | Sister Friede |
References
edit- ^ "Amara Karan". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "The desi British 'Hottie' in Darjeeling Limited". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Amara Karan". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "St. Trinian's (2007)". Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "SW – Back to school". Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World". www.dailyinfo.co.uk.
- ^ "Drama Podcast". 18 May 2011.
- ^ oxford : multimedia & digital video
- ^ http://www.artsed.co.uk/students.asp Arts Ed Students
- ^ "Amara Karan to carry Olympic torch". Your Local Guardian. 26 February 2008.
- ^ 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
- ^ Dawtrey, Adam (10 February 2012). "Karan cast in 'Jadoo'". Variety. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "Cat among pigeons – Poirot". IMDb. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ Plunkett, John (30 March 2015), "Stan Lee creates superhero for Sky1 series starring James Nesbitt", The Guardian, retrieved 17 November 2022
- ^ Billington, Michael (2 August 2012). "Much Ado About Nothing – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ Longman-Rood, Eleanor (4 March 2022). "Theatre Review: Bloody Difficult Women is a bloody good show". The New European. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
