Don’t Buy Into the Age Thing – Dreams Evolve as You Do

Don’t buy into the age thing. Dreams evolve as you do. And… don’t give up five minutes before the miracle.

If you like mysteries (and comedy), I hope you’ll watch my newest TV mystery movie. It’s called One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, and it premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, April 5 on Hallmark Mystery.

I’m so proud of this movie and hope you’ll have as much fun watching it as we did making it. This is the 9th movie in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series (aka Murder She Baked). It has been one of my fave experiences of my career in every way. I play “Delores”, an opinionated, overbearing mother to Alison Sweeney’s “Hannah”, and our fun and chemistry together on and off set is truly a dream come true. 

I still pinch myself that I get to do this crazy acting thing. I’m sure you’ve heard that when you’re an actress, you’re not supposed to be working much past the age of forty. Well, I refused to buy into that. Astonishingly, I’ve been blessed to work more in the last fifteen years than I ever did before! I always tell younger actresses not to believe that message either. Instead, we all need to get busy and out-create it by changing our attitudes, continuing to develop our craft, and learning how to create and morph ourselves into interesting characters. More women than ever are directing, writing, and producing now too. We have stories to tell, and we are finding ways to get them told!

I owe so much of my career success over the past decade to Hallmark and Crown Media – and to the incredible, loyal fans who watch what we create. (Thank you!) I call Hallmark the new “Hollywood studio system” because they keep us actors and actresses busy with various roles and projects throughout the year. I’ve now starred in two Hallmark series (Chesapeake Shores and Cedar Cove), 26 rom-com and Christmas movies, and two murder mystery wheels. Who knew that at this stage in my life, I’d still be having an absolute blast living my acting dream?

I have wanted to be an actress since I was five years old. I remember the exact second my dream started. It was during my kindergarten Christmas show. I remember wearing footie pajamas, holding a teddy bear, and singing “Me and My Teddy Bear” with gusto, offkey. (I still sing with gusto, and I’m still offkey.) But most of all I remember looking out at the audience and getting goosebumps. And you know what? I still literally get goosebumps every time I step on a set and face a camera or an audience. 

Today I am lucky to have been living this crazy dream for over 40 years! The roles have varied throughout the stages of my life. I played glamorous young ingenues when I started out, and as I learned my craft I got offered more and better roles. I even got to play Marilyn Monroe in “The Rat Pack”, which was one of the gifts of my lifetime. Nowadays, I play women who have lived rich, full lives – because, by the time you’re my age, we all have a rich history of loves, losses, tragedies… and wondrous moments too. As actors, we draw from our own personal history to flesh out our characters. Each experience adds a more nuanced layer to our “instrument”, which allows us to bring a richer and fuller symphony to our craft. That sounds complicated, but it’s not. It’s simply that if you haven’t learned any lessons yet, your work is not going to be that interesting.

For me, acting is a kind of therapy. It allows me to try on things and experiment with different sides of myself. Sometimes it feels right to keep and use it in my real life. Sometimes not. But boy, that journey of creating and living through another human being for a while is magical!

I learn something from each character that I play. A part of them stays with me, long after the director yells “Cut” and the movie is finished. Playing Marilyn felt like I had a kinship with her, we share a lot of the same vulnerability. I just wish I could have known her and helped her. I played Megan O’Brien for six seasons of “Chesapeake Shores”, and she taught me how to take responsibility and keep fighting to heal myself and my family. Of course, working with Treat Williams will always be a highlight for me. Our characters Mick and Megan came full circle as a divorced couple, showing it’s never too late to try again.

Without a doubt though, Delores Swensen is one of the most delicious roles I’ve ever played. And she has taught me a lot! Delores is like my alter-ego. She says and does things that most of us would never do in real life, and she does it all with such passion! When she commits to something, she follows through… and she never stops learning. She absolutely leads with her heart and wants the best for her daughters, but she sometimes horrifies them all in the name of love. (Unfortunately, my best friend Sue says there is a lot of Delores in me already. But that makes me cringe, so I hope that I’m not that embarrassing to my daughter Jess!) 

In this newest Hannah Swensen mystery, “One Bad Apple”, Delores decides to open her own business. As usual, she goes at it 1000%. She has watched all the old black-and-white WHODUNNIT movies and incorporates that into the kind of outlandish sleuth that only Delores can be. Yet even though she’s got her way of doing it, she and Hannah discover she’s good at it! 

So… the lesson I am learning from playing Delores is that one is never too old to stop growing and evolving into the next thing. To live life full out, and not be afraid to stand out. That it’s okay to be a little crazy and kooky once in a while. And that, no matter how old you are or where you are in your life, it’s never too late to go after your dream.

One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, April 5 on Hallmark Mystery

Barbara Niven is an actor, author, and speaker. She’s also a fierce advocate for human and animal rights. As a mother and grandmother, she knows there is nothing more important than saving this planet and all the beings that live on it. 

During her four-decade acting career, she has appeared in over 150 TV episodes and films, and over 2500 TV and radio commercials. She also served three years on the National Board of Directors for the Screen Actors Guild.

Niven is currently starring with Alison Sweeney in the popular Hallmark Movies original movie franchise “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” (aka “Murder She Baked”). She starred opposite Treat Williams, Diane Ladd, and Jesse Metcalfe in six seasons of the #1-rated Hallmark Channel prime time series “Chesapeake Shores.” Niven also starred in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original “Crossword Mysteries” series, and with Andie MacDowell in the Hallmark Channel Original Series “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove.” Her performance as Marilyn Monroe in HBO’s “The Rat Pack” continues to garner praise as “one of the Top 3 portrayals of the blonde icon in Film & TV.” 

Niven has also gained international acclaim as Hollywood’s Top Media Trainer and Video Marketing Coach. She created her Unleash Your Star Power! system so she could teach people how to hone their message, overcome fear, and use video and public speaking to dominate their niche. 

Niven is also a popular celebrity speaker and best-selling author. Business and motivational topics include “Unleash Your Star Power!”, “Become a Video Marketing Superstar”, “Live Your Dreams!” and “Eating Disorders & Pressures to be Perfect”. 

Barbara Niven is a huge animal welfare advocate and is a National Ambassador for American Humane. She currently has three rescued dogs named Norma Jean, Brando, and Tinkerbell, two rescued feral cat brothers named George and Henry (named after her father, George Henry), and Reba, an orange tabby named after Reba McIntyre who sang “I am a Survivor”. (Aren’t we all?)

Her motto? “Live your passion, connect to your purpose, make a difference. And don’t give up five minutes before the miracle.” 

Written By: Barbara Niven

For more information visit www.BarbaraNiven.com.

Management:
Michelle Gauvin
Performers Management
(604) 915-6888

Branding:
Sue Melke
Melke Branding
(310) 595-4114

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