Seventh Star Studios is proud to announce Niki Marie as Hanan in the TV Pilot Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart!
Niki will portray Hanan, a young woman from a village whose life is upended when brigands take her and many others captive, intending to sell them into slave markets. The brigands are soon hunted by a mercenary band led by the renowned heroine Rayden Valkyrie. The danger to Hanan increases when Rayden’s band catches up to the slavers, and a few of them escape with Hanan and another young woman into a forest; a forest containing far deadlier threats than brigands.
The world Hanan inhabits is featured in Stephen Zimmer’s sword and sorcery novel Heart of a Lion. The story in the TV pilot is not an adaptation of the novel, but rather an original storyline envisioned to be the foundation for a series of episodes filled with the adventures of Rayden’s war band.
“Niki is a great discovery for us,” Director/Screenwriter Stephen Zimmer said. “She is a very talented actress who can convey the kinds of emotions needed to bring Hanan to life. She is not afraid to take on challenging roles, and I am very glad that Niki is a member of our primary ensemble.”
Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart is scheduled for production late spring on locations in Kentucky and represents the first visual media project for Seventh Star Studios, a division of Seventh Star Press, a publisher of speculative fiction based out of Lexington, Kentucky.
About Niki: Niki is a Kentucky native who made her debut into film acting just last year. Since finally taking the big leap forward to follow her passion, she has been in multiple films that involve a wide range of characters she has had the opportunity to portray. From playing the stereotypical snob, to the girl next door, to even a homeless paranoid schizophrenic, she has enjoyed every bit of this roller coaster ride of emotions she’s had to grasp. She loves taking on roles that push her limits and are out of her comfort zone.
She’s currently involved with 3 productions this spring which includes two feature films, Scream for Summer and The Open House. Her film credits include The Unfinished Girl, How Lovely, The Shape, Typewriters, Nightmare, and many more. Something that she has always wanted to star in is a period piece, so she’s extremely excited to play the role of Hanan in our upcoming TV pilot Rayden Valkyrie Saga of a Lionheart. Niki is currently represented by Heyman Talent Agency.
She strongly urges people to realize that it’s never too late to follow your dream, no matter your age or where you’re at in life. After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor’s in accounting and getting a job in finance, she could have easily let her true passion in life fade away and never at least try to pursue it. However, after a huge leap of courage and realizing she isn’t getting any younger, she enrolled in acting classes and started getting more involved in the local film community and hasn’t looked back since.
In her free time, she enjoys her other passion which is baking and creating her own recipes. She loves the creativity and science behind baking and always pushes herself to broaden her knowledge to try new things. She also has an extremely hairy child named Chandler, a 4-year-old Great Dane.
To follow Niki online, use the following links:
IMDB: www.imdb.me/nikimarie
Instagram: @nikimarieee
To follow the Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart TV pilot on Twitter and Facebook, use these links:
Twitter: @RaydenValkyrie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raydenvalkyrie