For those who actually took their first baby steps after the release of the original 1977 Star Wars movie, the name Nia Peeples
will most likely no more than a blank stare. But for those who were in their teenage or young adult years during the '80s, the
name Nia Peeples will most likely illicit not only recognition but also giddy excitement, and for good reason: Nia Peeples, the
innocent and dreamy Hawaiian girl-next-door in the 1987 surf movie classic North Shore. Nia Peeples, the singing and dancing
machine in that unforgettable '80s series "Fame." Nia Peeples, who just a couple of years ago, was the first woman to kick butt
and do her own stunts as a series regular on Chuck Norris's hit TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger."

Sitting up close next to Peeples, you can't help but notice that her eyes are stunningly translucent; you can almost fall right into
the delicate spirals of her big walnut brown pupils. It's clearly evident that she's retained her youthful looks. In fact, Peeples
looks pretty much like she did about twenty years ago when she first started out in the industry. She also has the endearing
habit of leaning in real close, touching your knee, and letting slip a childlike laugh to punctuate a point. It is the kind of laugh
that is at once innocent and knowing.

These days, Peeples has a lot to laugh about. After appearing in no less than 40 TV specials, series and a handful of feature
films combined in the last two decades, she is once again embarking on a new path in her career. In the recently released
Steven Seagal action flick Half Past Dead, she steals the show as 49er Six, the leather clad member of an elite commando that
literally crash into the maximum security of New Alcatraz. With catlike moves and lightning speed roundhouse kicks, she beats
the living crap out of co-star Ja Rule and everyone whom cross her path. It's a credit to her acting chops that such a venomous
character still manages to have the audience rooting for her.

Peeples exudes smoldering sexuality and pure menace, those translucent eyes shimmering with each bone-crunching kick and
blow. Though Peeples comes off the most natural in Dead, the 49er Six character was originally written for a male. "They
decided to make it a woman and everyone was worried about how that was going to be and I said, 'Can you fax me a sketch of
what this woman's outfit is going to look like?'" she says. "A lot of times when a woman is hired to play a beautiful kick ass
kind of character, that's all they want. And it always comes off as looking silly to me, unless they do it totally camp like Charlie's
Angles. Charlie's Angels was just fun."

After many conversations with director Don Michael Paul (who himself is an actor), she was more than ready to give a standard
bad guy role a much needed overhaul. "The real challenge was putting the character together frame by frame by frame," she
says. "She's in the movie a lot but she doesn't have a lot to say. The challenge for me with her was to create a character that
people liked even though she was hateful. I meanthis woman runs through and she kills everybody, right? But I want the
audience to dig it that she's there. What makes my character tick? And pure and simple it is the challenge. She's a junkie for
that. She is trying to find out what her limit is.

None of this backstory was written in the script. That was something I had to create to figure out what am I going to do to make
this woman believable and interesting." Ironically, Half Past Dead, which already has studio brasses buzzing about an
electrifying new image for Peeples, came at a time when the married mother of two was thinking of slowing down a bit. This
was mostly due to the fact that she had a somewhat miserable time on "Walker, Texas Ranger."

"I was burned out," she recalls. "I didn't have a great experience on that show and I was ready to chill out for a while." What
exactly happened on the TV series? "The most difficult thing for me was that someone on the production did everything he could
to diminish my work and get me fired. I was performing these fabulous stunts and fights that even my doubles couldn't do. But
for some reason this one producer was very intimidated by that. He would call down to the set and have people change and
make my action scenes smaller. He actually went into Chuck's [Norris] trailer and ask permission to fire me! Overall, it was a
great decision for my family, new baby included, but frustrating for my career."

Still, Peeples takes the lessons learned on "Walker" and other highs and lows of her career in stride. "I have never chosen
according to what would be best for my career," she says. "With Half Past Dead, I didn't think it's a Steve Seagal movie so it is
going to make or break me. The bigger concern for me was if it was going to be a good atmosphere to work in. And [Seagal]
was fine."

Peeples grew up in West Covina, California, a small suburb that is now heavily populated by Filipino Americans and Filipino
immigrants. Peeples herself is Filipino, Scottish, Irish, English, Native Indian, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. When
asked what it was the propelled her into the performing arts, Peeples smiles and recalls a significant childhood memory. "Our
family would put up a Christmas show for needy kids at this children's home. We came and performed to them and it meant the
world to them. Even though we weren't curing cancer, I realized that God gives each one of us something special and the
ability to perform brings happiness and joy to people. That was my first thought of maybe this is what I am supposed to be
doing." What makes Peeples unique amongst most Asian American actors is her uncanny ability to disappear in a role. Her
girl-next-door demeanor has matured and transformed into a more captivating persona full of grace, intelligence, and wisdom.
Add to that her flawless complexion and timeless beauty and you have a sort of classical jack-of-all-trades über-performer. In
every role she's played, her screen presence is hypnotic and undeniably real.

She's also not afraid to speak her mind on more sensitive subjects, especially when it comes to the workings of Hollywood
and the casting process. "As the years have gone by and more ethnic roles are coming up, now they want to know are you
really that ethnicity," she says. "And it annoys the snot out of me. Am I Native American?Yes, I am. Am I all Native American?
No. Lately what has happened is they would call me in and they would drill me about what my nationalities are and then they'll
hire the other person who is that nationality. Then it won't work out and they'll end up calling me in to fill in. I do think they
should use every ethnic role and as an opportunity to open the doors to upcoming ethnic people of that background but I don't
think that should be the deciding factor. A lot of times it has to do with my blood and that really disgusts me."

Peeples has another poignant childhood memory she's eager to share. "I remember waking up in the middle of the night," she
says, leaning in close. "I was about five and it was about two or three in the morning. I woke up and I was sitting on the back
porch of the house. It was pouring rain and lightning and my parents had taken all the kids out of bed and they wrapped us up in
blankets and took us all out there so we could watch the lightning storm in the middle of the night. That's the kind of thing my
parents would do for us. It was really magical."

This sense of wonder, amazement, and the hunger to reach for the stars still serve as a life force for Peeples. "For me, the top
of my list would be to work with other directors and actors with a phenomenal script. Throughout my career I have just been
given things and been there for people. I realize now that all those years of doing those things have taken me away from
competing for the things I want. And now I just want to do the things I want to do.