Liane Balaban (born June 24, 1980) is a Canadian actress. Her film debut was in New Waterford Girl (1999), playing Agnes-Marie “Moonie” Pottie, and has since appeared in the films Definitely, Maybe (2008), Last Chance Harvey (2009), and the independent drama One Week.
Balaban’s other films in 2009 include Not Since You, a drama about a group of college friends, and The Trotsky, by Jacob Tierney. She also shot the CBC TV movie Abroad, based on the love life of Leah McLaren, a Toronto columnist for The Globe and Mail. Balaban was nominated for the Gemini Award for best lead actress in a dramatic program or miniseries for the role. She then starred in “The New Tenants” with Vincent D’Onofrio, a short film entered into the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival.
Balaban starred in the 2010 comedy/drama Coach, directed by Will Frears, as an emergency room doctor who falls for an inner city soccer coach (Hugh Dancy). She appeared in the episode “Communication Breakdown” of the TV series Covert Affairs playing Natasha Petrova, a Russian computer hacker, and the character Auggie (Chris Gorham)’s ex-girlfriend.
She played a journalist opposite Paul Ahmarani in The Future is Now!, a docudrama by Gary Burns.
Balaban made her stage debut in Divisadero: A Performance at the Theatre Passe Muraille in February 2011, directed by Daniel Brooks.
She starred as Claire, in an adaptation of the Governor General’s Award-winning novel by Michael Ondaatje, with music by Justin Rutledge.
The show was restaged in February 2012. In mid-2011, Balaban filmed the independent comedy, Finding Joy, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
