Shane West

Character: Michael

Shane West stars in the new high-octane drama Nikita as Michael, who shares a past with Nikita and is a top-ranking leader and overseer of new recruits for Division, the organization Nikita has vowed to bring down.

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, West became passionate for acting at an early age, and has received accolades for his work on both the big and small screens, including the Young Hollywood Award for Superstar of Tomorrow.

West was last seen on television on the long-running hit series ER, starring as the atypical Dr Ray. He is also known for his starring role as Eli on the drama series Once and Again, for which he was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor - Drama.

In his most recent film role, West stars as the legendary Los Angeles punk Darby Crash in the independent film What We Do Is Secret. The biopic follows infamous band The Germs and Crash, the self-destructive lead singer, near the decline of the 1980s punk scene. West won the Philadelphia Film Festival's Rising Star Award for his work in the film.

West also starred opposite Sean Connery in the feature film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as Tom Sawyer, a courageous, clever young street fighter who is determined to stop the super villain, the Fantam. West was awarded a nomination for the Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award for his performance. West also starred opposite Mandy Moore in the feature A Walk to Remember, adapted from the novel by acclaimed author Nicholas Sparks, for which he was awarded a Teen Choice Award. West's other credits include Liberty Heights, A Time for Dancing, Get Over It and Whatever It Takes.

Xander Berkeley

Character: Percy

Xander Berkeley stars in the new high-octane drama Nikita as Percy, the ruthless head of Division, the secret government agency that Nikita has vowed to bring down. Percy will do anything to protect Division, including destroying Nikita.

Berkeley made his screen debut in 1981 in Mommie Dearest, with Faye Dunaway, starring as Christopher Crawford. Now, almost 100 films later, Berkeley still feels like the same kid in a candy shop when it comes to putting on the costume and becoming someone else. Berkeley's skill as a makeup artist has also come in handy; it helped him transform himself to land the role of drug dealer Bower Snax in Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy, starring opposite Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb.

Berkeley's lengthy resume varies from huge blockbusters likeTerminator 2: Judgment Day, Apollo 13 and A Few Good Men to smaller independent films like Safe, opposite Julianne Moore, andCandyman, opposite Virginia Madsen. Select film credits include the recent Kick-Ass, with Nikita co-star Lyndsy Fonseca; Air Force One, with Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close; Amistad, with Anthony Hopkins and Djimon Hounsou; and A Few Good Men, with Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon and Keifer Sutherland.

Berkeley also starred opposite Sutherland on the hit series 24, in which he had the recurring role of George Mason. Other television credits include guest starring roles on The Closer, The Mentalist, Boston Legal, Bones, CSI and Law & Order, among many others.

Berkeley will next be seen in the upcoming films The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, starring Nicolas Cage, and Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton.

Maggie Q

Character: Nikita

Humanitarian, spokesperson and international actress Maggie Q stars as Nikita in the new high-octane drama of the same name. Taught to be an invisible assassin by the ultra-secret government agency Division, Nikita has gone rogue, and vows to destroy the now-corrupt agency that trained her.

Maggie has continuously captivated audiences worldwide by showing her versatility in graceful and seductive roles with immense international appeal, working opposite some of the world's most established actors, including Hugh Jackman inDeception, Bruce Willis in Live Free or Die Hard and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III. She will next be seen in the featurePriest, directed by Scott Stewart. Set in a world ravaged by war between man and vampires, the film follows a priest, played by Paul Bettany, and priestess (Maggie) who work together to track down a murderous band of vampires.

Born in Hawaii to an American father and Vietnamese mother, Maggie spent her childhood competing in swimming and track and field events. At the age of 18, she moved to Hong Kong to pursue a career in modeling. She quickly rose to top-model status in many parts of Asia and has appeared on more than 200 magazine covers throughout the world.

In 2000, Maggie began her acting career in Hong Kong with the television drama House of the Dragon. This quickly led to lead roles in films like Gen-Y Cops, opposite Paul Rudd, andManhattan Midnight, along with cameos in films Rush Hour 2 andAround the World in 80 Days. In 2002, she starred as a femme fatale in the popular action film Naked Weapon, described as a cross between Charlie's Angels and The Matrix because of its extensive stunts and CGI-enhanced special effects. Her earlier experiences in Hong Kong action films helped develop her work ethic and talent for hand-to-hand combat and martial arts, skills she was able to utilize in Mission: Impossible III, her first leading action role in an American film. In 2007, Maggie showed her comedic side starring opposite George Lopez and Christopher Walken in the action comedy Balls of Fury.

In 2008, Maggie starred in the critically acclaimed Chinese feature Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, opposite Andy Lau, for director Daniel Lee. Also in 2008, she accepted the rare opportunity to play the lead role in EA Games' Need for Speed: Undercover, which is one of the most successful franchises in video game history.

Most recently, Maggie appeared in New York, I Love You, directed by Yvan Attal, and the Chinese epic Warrior and the Wolf, directed by award-winning director Zhuangzhuang Tian. Maggie received the Maverick Award for Warrior and the Wolf at the 2009 Hawaiian International Film Festival. Other recent film credits include King of Fighters, based on the popular video game of the same title, and the action comedy Operation: Endgame, opposite Ellen Barkin, Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry and Ving Rhames.

As a humanitarian, Maggie gives much of her time and effort to animal rights. She lends her voice to Animals Asia Foundation's various campaigns, and also works with Human Rights Action Center and Best Friends Animal Society. Her public service announcement (PSA) to rescue China's moon bears is currently airing throughout Asia, and she is also working on another PSA campaign for Best Friends. Additionally, Maggie produced the 2007 documentary Earthlings, which took a startling look at the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, which rely entirely on animals for profit.

When not filming on location or traveling the world to speak out for her charitable causes, Maggie resides in Los Angeles, where she lives with several rescue dogs.

Aaron Stanford

Character: Birkhoff

An actor who consistently brings intensity and intelligence to his work, Stanford received critical acclaim for his feature film debut in Tadpole, opposite Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth. Since this breakout performance, he has continued to tackle a variety of roles in films, including a starring role in Winter Solstice, opposite Anthony LaPaglia and Allison Janney, for which he received the Rising Star of Tomorrow Award at the Hamptons Film Festival, and supporting roles in David Mamet's Spartan, Woody Allen's Hollywood Endings and Spike Lee's 25th Hour.

Stanford starred opposite Kristen Stewart in the independent filmCake Eaters, which was also the directorial debut of Mary Stuart Masterson and premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Stanford's other film credits include X-Men 2, X-Men: The Last Stand, the remake of Wes Craven's thriller The Hills Have Eyes, Flakes, opposite Zooey Deschanel, and Live Free or Die opposite Paul Schneider and Michael Rapaport. (Note: This film has a similar title to Live Free or Die Hard, which Maggie Q starred in, but is quite different.) Stanford also produced and starred inRunaway, opposite Robin Tunney, which was an official selection at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival.

Stanford's television credits include a starring role in the seriesTraveler, a recurring role in Third Watchand guest appearances in Mad Men, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Numb3rs.

Stanford began his career with an intense focus in stage performance, beginning with local theatre in his Massachusetts hometown and continuing with work at the London Academy of Theatre. He returned to the stage in 2004 to star in the Vineyard Theatre's off-Broadway production of Where Do We Live, for which he received rave reviews.

A graduate of Rutgers University in New Jersey, Stanford currently resides in Los Angeles.

Lyndsy Fonseca

Character: Alex

A stunning and talented young actress, Fonseca has consistently grabbed attention as one of Hollywood's vibrant talents. She was recently seen starring in two of the year's most talked-about films: the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, opposite John Cusack, Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover, and the action-comedy Kick-Ass, with Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nikitaco-star Xander Berkeley. Fonseca will be reprising her role of Katie Deauxma in Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall, set to be released in 2012.

Fonseca recently wrapped production on the John Carpenter thriller The Ward, which depicts a young woman terrorized by a ghost, opposite Amber Heard and Mamie Gummer, as well as the drama Fort McCoy, opposite Eric Stoltz and Brendan Fehr, which tells the story of a family in Wisconsin who live next to a Nazi POW camp during World War II.

No stranger to television, Fonseca starred on the hit seriesDesperate Housewives, opposite Dana Delaney and Nathan Fillion, and has had recurring roles on Big Love and top-rated comedy How I Met Your Mother. Other television credits includeBoston Public, CSI, House and Heroes. Fonseca began her career on the daytime drama The Young and the Restless, in which she starred for three years.

Born in northern California, Fonseca began acting at the age of 13 and hasn't looked back since.

Melinda Clarke

Character: Amanda

Melinda Clarke stars in the new high-octane drama Nikita as Amanda, Division's gorgeous master manipulator who can turn any ugly duckling into a swan and harden any bleeding heart into that of a killer.

Clarke is most well-known for her role as the materialistic and conniving Julie Cooper in the smash series The O.C. She also recently appeared in a recurring role on hit series The Vampire Diaries and guest starred on Entourage and Chuck.

Clarke has spent a career playing out-of-the-norm characters, including the recurring role of Lady Heather on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and gaining cult status around the world for the roles of Velasca on Xena: Warrior Princess and Jessica Priest in the feature Spawn.

Other feature credits include Mulholland Falls, Young Goodman Brown, Cold Sweat, Murder.com, Critic's Choice, Return of the Living Dead, Hot Under the Collar and The Killer Tongue.