Yorkshire-born Lena Headey has been a long-established face in serious British drama, beginning
her career at fifteen playing opposite Jeremy Irons in Waterland. Before long, Headey was hailed
as one of Britain's most exciting young actresses, landing memorable parts in such films as
Antonia Bird's Face and Marleen Gorris's adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway.
Her other credits include Stephen Poliakoff's Century, The Remains Of The Day, the romantic
comedy If Only and the role of Olga Larin alongside Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler in Onegin, for
which she received enthusiastic notices. Headey relished the chance that The Parole Officer
gave her to try a new genre. Headey admits "It has challenged me to take it lightly, which goes against my instincts sometimes, as I haven't done that much comedy before."
Headey was also attracted to the romance between her and Coogan's characters, "I like that it doesn't pretend to be any
grand passion or great romance. They're both pretty normal people, with relatively normal jobs." Describing the shoot as
"great fun," Headey is proud that the film is "totally British - and northern, as well, because just about everyone involved
with the film is from this part of the world."