Biography
An inner-ear infection changed Jane McLean's life. She was working in the marketing department of a Toronto finance company when she was forced to take a fortnight's sick leave and realized she no longer needed the stress of a job she wasn't passionate about and enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California. Arriving in Canada from the Philippines at the age of 10 months, McLean had performed for her family as a child, but had plumped for the security of a steady job. She was soon in demand after making an uncredited debut in the 2001 teleplay "Largo Winch: The Heir" and landed minor roles in such small-screen dramas as "Guilty By Association," "Her Sister's Keeper," and "Of Murder and Memory." Following a bit in the 2003 redemption drama "Levity," McLean was cast in the Oscar Wilde update "Dorian," the hospital farce "Whitecoats," and the knockabout actioner "Shoot `Em Up." However, her best roles came in series like "Terminal City," in which she played feisty TV producer Jane Richards, and "Dexter," which allowed her to explore anger management issues as C.S. Lee's unpredictable girlfriend, Tammy Okama. Emerging unscathed from the misfiring Easter bunny romp "Hank and Mike," McLean's breakthrough finally came as Rachel McAdams's best friend Charisse in Robert Schwentke's 2009 adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's Chrono-Displacement Disorder drama "The Time Traveler's Wife," which led to guest slots in "24" and "CSI:NY" and the key role of candidate Thomas Michael's wife in the small-town election comedy, "Running Mates."
