# Amara Karan

Amara Karunakaran (born 1 January 1984) is an English stage and film actress.

## Biography

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.
Karan went on to study at St Catherine's College, Oxford 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 and was also singled out for her performance in When We Are Married at the Old Fire Station theatre. 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.
Karan began her career as an investment banker (at Hawkpoint and CIBC World Markets) specialising in mergers and acquisitions, before studying for an MA degree in acting at The Arts Educational Schools London.
In 2007, Karan made her film debut as Rita in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited (2007), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and as Peaches in St Trinian's (2007). In 2008, Karan made her stage debut 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 2008, Karan carried the Olympic Torch during its time in London.
In 2016, Karan 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.
Since 2016, Karan has been in a relationship with the actor Jamie de Courcey.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2007 | The Darjeeling Limited | Rita |
| 2007 | St Trinian's | Peaches |
| 2011 | The Task | Toni |
| 2012 | All in Good Time | Vina |
| 2012 | A Fantastic Fear of Everything | Sangeet |
| 2013 | Jadoo | Shalini |
| 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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 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" |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 2008 | The Taming of the Shrew | Bianca | The Courtyard Theatre Stratford-Upon-Avon, England | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2008 | 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 | |
| 2022 | Bloody Difficult Women | Gina Miller | Riverside Studios London, England | |

### Video games

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