WITH four A grades in her A-levels, Newry actress Valene Kane's parents hoped she would go on to university to study law. But the headstrong teenager, who enjoyed success in speech and drama festivals across Ireland from an early age, had other ideas. Determined to pursue her dream, she moved to London at the age of 18.
While acting didn't run in the family, success and drive is in the genes – her dad Val Kane was a successful Down county Gaelic footballer and coach.
"My wife and I were both horrified when Valene told us she wanted to be an actor. I deliberately made it as awkward as possible for her. When she went over for an interview at London Central School of Drama I told her she would being going on her own," the 71-year-old confesses.
"I always compare acting to sport – it's a competitive business and requires an inherent talent. You either succeed or you don't and if you don't it's tough. But Valene was absolutely determined."
Valene, who returns to our screens this week playing the role of Rose Stagg, the ex-girlfriend of serial killer Paul Spector in The Fall, proved she made the right decision – though she admits it wasn't easy.
"I struggled and I had loads of part-time jobs – waitressing, baby-sitting, PA, gym instructor and drama tutor. And it was particularly hard because my parents really didn't want me to do it. I was bright and they didn't want to waste that. To be honest there is a part of me wishes I'd gone to university and I'm currently looking at Open University courses," Valene admits.
Despite his reservations about her career choice, Val is very proud of his daughter – and it's a mutual appreciation and respect.
"Daddy is quite genuinely the man I respect most in all my life," says Valene who credits her father for sparking an early interest in the world of film.
"I always go back to that time daddy was sick we used to watch a lot of movies together. There were a lot of westerns – John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. I remember watching Viviene Lee in Gone with the Wind. I think it was watching someone playing an Irishwoman made me think ‘I could do that’."
Val, a former PE teacher and vice-principal at Abbey CBS Grammar School, Newry, explains that he was off due to having had surgery on his throat and swapped the training pitch to become "the taxi driver for Valene as she went from feis to feis".
"My other two girls were force-driven to go to speech and drama, but Valene was immersed in it. Like any other hobby when you are successful it generates more interest and she earned numerous certificates, plaques and trophies."
Val has his own collection of silverware, including for an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1968 and a number of Ulster Minor, Under-21 and Senior Football Championships.
"In the 60s Down was fairly used to success and it was more or less expected," he says.
He was joint manager in the 80s with James McCartan, winning an Ulster title and a Senior National League and three U21 Ulster titles.
Valene's memories of GAA involve selling programmes at the McCrory School Cup final at Casement Park.
"I just remember always being around boys" – “Which she never objected to," her dad interjects teasingly.
Valene claims she was "super sporty" at school.
"I think I was good. Was I good?" she asks her dad.
“You were destined for the stage, not the sports field, Valene,” his response.
A year ago Valene married fellow actor Ed Cooper Clarke, who starred in Downton Abbey. Earlier this year she received critical acclaim for her role in the BBC kidnap drama Thirteen.
"Thirteen scripts were unlike anything I'd read, though I admit my honeymoon was ruined by it because I was taped 15 times to get that part,” she says.
Swapping victim for antagonist, in her Thirteen role as DS Lisa Merchant, she admits she did borrow some “steely” characteristics from Gillian Anderson's portrayal of DSI Stella Gibson in The Fall.
Valene reassures viewers that the long wait for series three of The Fall will be worth it.
"The first episode is amazing. It's like a hospital drama but shot unlike most hospital dramas. It's really slowly done and evocative. This series has lots of new characters and is a real exploration into the psychology of the main characters. You learn a lot more about Rose and Spector's past. Allan Cubitt has written some massive, but beautiful, lyrical monologues for Rose.”
Was it quite a challenge as well?
"It's a hard role, very emotional," admits Valene who puts much preparation into her acting, creating artistic mood boards for each character she plays.
"I add pictures and textures of how I see her and pick songs for a play list I listen to before going on set. It helps you click into the energy and feeling of that character."
Her one-time film-buff father admits he now rarely watches television, apart from sport, and didn't watch his daughter's debut in The Fall until six months after it was broadcast.
"The series was very realistic as sadly there are people in world like [Spector],” he says.
And did it find it uncomfortable watching his daughter gagged and lying in the boot of a car?
"It's very difficult to describe the emotions you feel about the parts she plays. But in That Fall I didn't recognise her as Valene, and I suppose this is credit to her acting."
She is grateful for the opportunities the series has given her globally. “The fact I'm now being seen for American projects using my own accent is due to The Fall’s success,” says Valene, who next January will celebrate her 30th birthday in LA where she will be working on a top-secret feature film.
This December viewers can see her on the big screen playing 2016 Lyra Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed by Gareth Edwards. "I grew up watching Stars Wars and I didn't believe it was happening until I was filming in Iceland. It has a really edgy independent vibe.”
Has she any other dream roles? "I just saw Billy Piper in [Federico Garcia Lorca's intense drama] Yerma and it was mind-blowing. Ibsen's Hedda Gabler is another production I love."
And could we be seeing on the Northern Ireland stage in the near future?
"I flew in yesterday for a theatre job here," she reveals. "If it works out timing-wise with my filming, I would love to work at home."
:: The third series of The Fall starts tomorrow on RTE One at 9.30pm; and on Thursday September 29 on BBC Two at 9pm.
