Jennifer Riker
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Anderson Group Public Relations 323.655.1008 [email protected] JENNIFER RIKER JENNIFER RIKER BIOGRAPHY Jennifer is a working, professional actress with over 30 years in the industry. The multi-faceted and talented actress shows her dark side in CW’s hit series “Black Lightning” as Dr. Helga Jace, “Black Lightning’s” newest no nonsense villain. Riker’s character, Dr. Jace is a calculated, potentially sociopathic scientist who first appeared in 1983’s Batman and the Outsiders #1 comic as an ally to the Outsiders, but shows no mercy in Season 2 of “Black Lightning.” Upon release, the show became an overnight success, premiering as CW’s #1 new series with COLLIDER’s continual praise, “the series continues to be one of the most thought-provoking on television” and additional rave reviews from The New York Times, IGN, The New Yorker, and dozens more. Soon to be seen in 20th Century Fox’s action/comedy STUBER, viewers may also recognize Riker from AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s “Lodge 49,” USA’s “The Purge,” and NANCY DREW AND THE HIDDEN STAIRCASE (produced by Ellen DeGeneres). Born and raised in Pennsylvania as the oldest of four siblings, Riker started auditioning for roles at the age of 7, landing a 7UP commercial. Several years later, she landed her first manager while starring on “Wrap Around,” a teen talk show that didn’t shy away from tough topics like anorexia and suicide. After delving into numerous high school plays and spending summers at performing art camps, Riker attended Florida State University and earned a prestigious BFA degree. With a tenacity to master her craft, Riker moved to New York City and auditioned for a 3-year master program, yielding a MFA Degree from the Yale School of Drama. After refining her skills in NYC, Riker moved to LA to land more TV centric roles. In 2015, Riker moved to Atlanta, debuting a short hair style, a fresh attitude, and has been booking non-stop ever since. Her credits also include “Nashville,” “Numb3rs,” “Castle,” “House of Cards,” “Monk,” and “Criminal Minds,” just to name a few. Riker’s reinvention of herself ultimately landed her the wickedly fun recurring role of Dr. Helga Jace on “Black Lightning.” She has worked in a variety of theaters including Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep, and Georgia Shakespeare Festival. She is also a voiceover actor who narrates books for Audible Audiobooks. When she’s not filming in Atlanta, Riker resides in Florida, where she enjoys teaching, hiking, reading, and perfecting her cinematic craft. Black Lightning season 2 spoilers: ‘Anything is possible’ Dr Jace star reveals future BLACK LIGHTNING concludes its second season this evening and will no doubt see Dr. Jace fighting alongside Tobias Whale to take down Jefferson Pierce - and Dr. Jace actor Jennifer Riker has now spoken out about her future in the show. By CALLUM CRUMLISH PUBLISHED: 04:01, Mon, Mar 18, 2019 Black Lightning closes its second season this week, and will see Jefferson Pierce - better known as Black Lightning (played by Cress Williams) - going up against a number of foes. As tensions rise in Freeland between Jefferson and the number of enemies he is constantly facing, one villain in particular is taking a more subtle approach to evil. Dr. Helga Jace (Jennifer Riker) has maintained a dastardly position during her time on the show. While she has worked with Dr. Lynn Pierce (Christine Adams), Dr. Jace has kept her evil acts a little secretive. Dr. Jace recently teamed up with Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III) - Black Lightning’s nemesis. Express.co.uk recently caught up with Jennifer about her role as Dr. Jace and what fans can expect from her character in the future. On the final episode, Jennifer announced: “I’d say that [Dr. Jace] is making her way forward now that she’s aligned herself with Tobias and Cutter. “I mean I can assure you it’s going to be grand finale.” She went on: “I do believe [Dr. Jace] has a different arc coming - because the Markovians are coming.” Jennifer went on to hint the Markovia arc would be a huge next step for the show - and may even head towards her character’s death. Black Lightning season 2: Dr Jace has made some big moves in the last few episodes (Image: NETFLIX) “I can assure you it’s going to be grand finale” Jennifer Riker The actor continued: “With the whole Markovia thing - I think you can imagine - it will take a right turn in that direction. “Anything is possible in TV and I suppose Helga can die at any moment and just get blown up!” However she went on to add: “But, you know a lot of these characters can return when they die! It’s anyone’s guess.” On the final episode of the season, she went on to say: “I think the fans are going to be incredibly satisfied. I’ll leave it at that.” Previously Jennifer spoke about taking on the role of the evil doctor. Black Lightning season 2: Jefferson is sure to see a number of battles come his way (Image: NETFLIX) Black Lightning season 2: Dr Jace and Tobias have recently teamed up - but will it last? (Image: NETFLIX) She explained to prepare for the role she was told Dr. Jace was similar to Hannibal Lecter. To this, she was ecstatic: “That movie is my absolute favourite, so I was absolutely overjoyed to hear that! “For an actor, that is kind of a dream role to sink your teeth in to. I got to explore a different psychology and different behaviour.” Jennifer concluded: “I’m ashamed to say it’s quite easy - and I love it!” Black Lightning is available on Netflix. https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1101450/black-lightning-season-2-cast-dr-helga-jace- jennifer-riker-flash-netflix-dc-finale ### 'Black Lightning' Season 2: Jennifer Riker channels Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter for her role as Dr Helga Jace Jennifer Riker will be showing off her dark side in The CW's hit series 'Black Lightning' as Dr. Helga Jace, the series' newest villain By Rachel Windsor March 18, 2019 Tom Fahey Jennifer Riker has featured in prominent series like 'The Walking Dead', 'House of Cards', 'Castle' and in movies like 'The Purge.' Now the talented actress will be showing off her dark side in The CW's hit series 'Black Lightning' as Dr. Helga Jace, the series' newest villain. Riker's character, Dr. Jace is potentially a sociopath scientist who appeared previously in the Batman comics in 1983. Apart from that, Dr. Jace also appeared in the Outsiders comic as an ally to the Outsiders, but she shows no mercy in the second season of "Black Lightning." Tom Fahey In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Riker revealed how she prepared for her character and how familiar she is with the Black Lightning comics, especially her character. Dr. Jace is one of our favorite characters on the series, and one can't help but love to hate her. Talking to us about how she embodied her character and what her approach was, Riker said: "When I learned I got the role, it was very much sold to me as a Hannibal Lecter type. I should preface this by stating that my absolute favorite film ever is 'Silence of the Lambs.' I had studied Sir Anthony in that role for so many years that I instinctively understood what was being asked of me. You can imagine my enthusiasm and sheer delight on the other end of the phone as my agent told me the news. Someone like Dr. Jace truly believes she is advancing science for the benefit of the world. She even says that she is one of only three in the world who can do what she does. So, self- confidence, fastidiousness, a non-emotional/'just-the-facts' attitude and a love of the work, are what I aimed to focus on rather than how others perceive her. Her passion is palpable to me. An actor must identify on some level and empathize with the character they portray so there is no judgment on the part of the actor. The fans see Dr. Jace as having been responsible for death, with no remorse, and I see it through her lens as 'I saved lives, and because of my acumen and intelligence we have even more data!'" Tom Fahey Dr. Jace has done some despicable things over the years, so we asked Riker if she tries to justify her actions in order to make her relatable or does she embrace her evilness as it is, to which she replied: "Yes, I embrace her spirit and point of view. She is delicious to portray, not gonna lie." We also asked Riker how familiar she was with the Black Lightning comics, especially her character Dr. Jace before she joined the show. And how much research was involved in making her come to life, or if she just tried and focus only on the script? "I was unfamiliar with the entire genre and DC Universe. I barely watched cartoons as a child nor did I read comic books, so this was all very new to me. Luckily, there are some super fans on the crew and one, in particular, educated me quickly and even brought in the magazine where Dr. Jace was featured on the cover in the ’80s and he explained to me about The Outsiders and Masters of Disaster and taught me words like meta-human, pods, Markovia, etc.