Nika King: In Hollywood, man, you can lose yourself so easily. I would veer to the left and God would bring me back. And now I’m 100% committed to walking in alignment with the Most High.

Stories of Faith Meet the Silver Screen: Nika King and Chris Wall – Episode #441

Narrator: Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. This week, we talk with two highly creative individuals who have been able to bring positive, uplifting, and spiritually striking stories to the world through the mediums of television, film, and animation. 

Nika King is an actor and producer who is best known for her comedic abilities and her breakout role as Leslie on the HBO series Euphoria. King honestly shares about her early life watching family members battle addiction, and how they ultimately overcame through faith and determination—which had a great impact on the direction Nika’s life would take as an actress. She also lets us in behind the scenes to her newest film role in Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.

Chris Wall is the executive producer and showrunner on The Wingfeather Saga animated series, and co-founder of Shining Isle Productions. Chris shares his early love of storytelling and how he chased his dreams through animated children’s stories, including directing shows for the popular children’s animated series VeggieTales. 

We’ll begin with Nika’s story.

Nika King: Hi, my name is Nika King. I am an actress. I am a producer. I am an entrepreneur, and I am a lover of the Most High God. 

I grew up in Miami, Florida. I am one of six kids, and my childhood was very colorful. My environment wasn’t the best, but it was definitely an introduction to being determined and having perseverance throughout life. I think that really shaped and molded me. 

My mom is a warrior. She is one of the strongest women I know. I’m so honored to be a witness to that, because it wasn’t easy. Her journey to sobriety has just been powerful, and to see her beat cancer and beat addiction and domestic violence, receive a degree, and open up a restaurant and just keep pushing—I’m in awe of this woman. I really am. 

I can just remember as a small child thinking, This is my life, this will never get better. This is how it’s going to be, and I just have to kind of deal with it. And then as I’ve gotten older and I just deepened my relationship with the Most High, I realize that sometimes we can’t see or understand what’s happening because God is operating on His timing, and sometimes things aren’t unfolding the way you want them. And you’re like, Man, He’s forgotten about me. You feel frustrated, you feel lost and disappointed.  

But that’s the great thing about our Savior Christ. As you start putting things in perspective, I just realized that God was always directing my life. The Holy Spirit was always guiding me, preparing me for something greater. And I’ve always been protected.  

“I just realized that God was always directing my life. The Holy Spirit was always guiding me, preparing me for something greater.” – Nika King

Every day that I wake up, I thank God because this life is a vapor. It’s in the waiting, in the setbacks, that faith is tested and refined. And trust in God is all I have.  

Nika’s Early Love for Acting

I always knew I had an innate ability to make people laugh, to be outgoing, to not shy away from performing for my family, my friends. And very early, I started reciting poetry because my elementary school teachers saw that gift. And so that was an introduction to the arts. Ms. Anderson, my drama teacher, was very, very instrumental in my love of acting and the arts. 

And then when I went to college, I was majoring in physical therapy because I had done my research and that was a profession that was going to make some good money. To me, that was an ideal career. And then I took an acting for non-majors class, and I was back to loving this craft all over again. So I dropped everything. I switched my major to theater performance. 

And then after college, I just kept going. I moved to L.A. and I’ve been in L.A. for over twenty years now.

Nika Learns the Art of Vulnerability in Her Craft

I’ve always been silly. I’ve always been goofy. I’ve always had this natural ability to just make people laugh and not be afraid to be the silly one that everyone’s just cracking up at.  

For me, comedy is my safe place. It’s my natural self. Every joke is not going to be laugh-out-loud hysterical. But I think the overall performance or the overall set can definitely bring a reaction from people.

And if I had to compare that to drama, drama to me is hard because I don’t like to cry in front of people. For me, being on Euphoria really opened the floodgates to not only my emotional reservoir to bring this character to life, but also my ability to just go there. Because as a comedian, yes, you’re being vulnerable on stage and you’re putting yourself out there. But I think when you’re doing drama, it does require you to show a part of yourself that you may not feel comfortable showing, at least that was the case for me. I’ve always wanted to be great at what I do. But I think when I’m performing a role that requires me to kind of immerse myself and forget about all of the obstacles and blocks, for me to really pour myself out and allow this character to live, it’s been challenging. But I’m glad I was able to accomplish that role and bring it to life. 

Once I was able to unlock that fear of people judging me and looking weak, then I realized that’s my strength. When I am performing, I have to go there because that’s what the human experience is, right? It’s allowing oneself to be vulnerable, but also know that that’s not a weakness.  

“When I am performing, that’s what the human experience is. It’s allowing oneself to be vulnerable, but also know that that’s not a weakness.” – Nika King  

Being in Hollywood, man, you can lose yourself so easily. I would veer to the left and God would bring me back. And now I’m 100% committed to walking in alignment with the Most High. I’m like, “Okay, Hollywood, I’m ready. Let’s go. Let’s do this.” I know it’s not going to be easy. I know that any time you take a stand for Christ that the trials will come. But the Bible says, “No weapon formed against Me shall prosper.” So I have to lean on that and know that I’m 100% covered.  

Sound of Hope

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot is an amazing film, a true film, about this powerful woman of God, First Lady Donna Martin, and her amazing husband, Bishop W.S. Martin. They go on this roller coaster ride of adopting some kids from the foster care community, and they bring their family and their church in their community along for the ride. And what happens is a complete transformation not only of this woman—I feel like that was a call from the Most High God—but also from a community that was really struggling to survive, but decided that these kids needed a safe home and a place where they would be given unconditional love.  

I’m so happy that it made it to the big screen, because these are the stories I want to see. A story of hope. A story of freedom. A story of redemption. And really focusing on this family and this community that decided not to turn and look the other way. It’s changed my life in so many ways. Despite coming from limited resources and hardships, they used what they had. They had the love of Christ in their heart. This is what’s missing in the world. We’ve turned away from the vulnerable kids and the orphans and the widows. And the Most High has called us to be advocates for this marginalized group of people, because if we don’t do it—meaning we the church, the community—then it’s not going to get done. I’m able to see the parallel and see that God is always with us, the Most High is always fighting for us in the spiritual realm.  

Hope For a Hurting World

The world is hurting right now. We have to show them that God is still on the throne and He’s still moving. No matter what you’re going through in life, it’s going to get better. 

“The world is hurting right now. We have to show them that God is still on the throne and He’s still moving. No matter what you’re going through in life, it’s going to get better.” – Nika King  

I’ve just been awakened to really use everything that has happened to me and everything that I had to overcome to show people that, yes, I was fostered as well as a child. My mom, when she was becoming sober, we were in and out of different foster homes. And I didn’t know what that meant until I did this movie. And now I’m realizing that God has positioned me to be a light in the world and to show people that it doesn’t matter where you came from. It matters what you do with the pain. Right?

It’s always my goal to give God the first fruits of my morning, and just thank God for another day to show up in the world and be intentional. Connecting to Him is essential because it provides a sense of purpose, guidance, and peace in this chaotic and unpredictable world. And so tapping into that source of strength, it really transcends human limitations. It’s about, for me, just needing to hear God’s voice, needing to sometimes wait and receive an answer that I’m praying for, and having faith rather than fear. And so that’s my thing. Every day, I’m finding ways to connect with God and pray.  

Jesus Listens, October 5th:

Compassionate Savior,

Your Word teaches that You care for me—You are taking care of me! 

But when conditions that are troubling me get worse instead of better, it’s easy for me to feel as if You’re letting me down—as if You don’t really care about all that I’m going through. I know You could easily change my circumstances, yet You don’t.

Please help me calm down and stop striving to control things. I really want to give up my futile efforts to think my way through my problems. I long to be still in Your Presence and just fall back into Your strong arms with a sigh of trust. Even though there are so many things I don’t understand, I can enjoy Your Presence and rest in Your unfailing Love.

Lord, Your ways are mysterious and unfathomable; Your Love is wonderful and never-ending. I will watch in hope for You, because You are God my Savior—the God who hears me.

In Your saving Name, Jesus, 

Amen

Narrator: To keep up with Nika and her upcoming work, please visit www.nikaking.com, and be sure to follow her on social media. 

Stay tuned to Chris Wall’s story after a brief message.

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Jesus Listens 

If your days feel overwhelming, or life has you anxious and stressed, you can find peace and hope with Jesus Listens. Written by bestselling author Sarah Young, Jesus Listens contains 365 heartfelt prayers based on scripture. Whether it serves as your only prayer for the day or simply to jumpstart your own prayers, Jesus Listens empowers you to connect daily with God. It’s such a blessing to know that Jesus hears every one of our prayers.

Gift Jesus Listens to anyone struggling to feel God’s presence, or use it to establish your own consistent prayer practice. Let Sarah’s words and her Bible verse references enrich your life and your relationship with God. To learn more about Jesus Listens and download a free sample, please visit www.jesuscalling.com/jesuslistens. 

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Our next guest is Chris Wall, executive producer and showrunner on The Wingfeather Saga animated series, and co-founder of Shining Isle Productions. Chris has spent his career creating positive, faith-forward entertainment, including many years directing shows for the popular children’s animated series VeggieTales. Chris shares how his love for storytelling and his deep faith continue to propel him toward a mission of sharing meaningful messages to the world. 

Chris Wall: I’m Chris Wall. I have the privilege of being the executive producer and showrunner on The Wingfeather Saga animated series, and get to lead a crew of wonderful artists and animators in making these really cool animated episodes. 

An Early Love of Storytelling

I had the awesome opportunity to grow up on the eastern plains of Colorado, outside Colorado Springs in the little town of Calhan, the oldest of seven kids. 

My dad is from the middle of Texas, down near Waco and Temple, Texas. And they met, married, and moved to Colorado Springs. My mom is a Southern California rebel. And so in 1982, she said, “Hey, Chris, we think we’re going to homeschool you. It’s mostly legal but you’re going to need to stay in the house until 3:00 PM with truancy officers being what they are. We’re going to go after this.” A little bit into that journey, mom said, “My boys, they need more space, Byron. We need a farm.” And he’s like, “Really?” And so my mom kept looking in the classifieds. I remember she’d pick up these little real estate classifieds at the grocery stores.

And so when I was eleven, we moved to a farm. My dad worked for Cray supercomputers. So [it was an] interesting life of being in this high tech industry while living in this farm world, homeschooling, just kind of a lot of interesting inputs. I grew up in a family that loved to read, so regularly in the evenings, my dad would come home and read to us. [I have] favorite memories of reading through Little House on the Prairie. And I remember even coming home when I was like sixteen, seventeen, and Dad would be reading to the kids and I’d hop in and sit down and have a listen. And so stories, early on, really shaped me. 

I grew up in a certain era in which digital things were happening. There was the advent of VHS and the ability to record television at home, and then camcorders that came along with that and Hi8 cameras, little smaller ones, right? And so my dad got us one of those, and it was one of the early experiences of being able to film something and then edit, and I was able to edit from the camera to the VHS recorder, you know? And it was like, Oh, my. And I could add music. I figured out how to add music to it at the same time. And so early ideas of being able to kind of create my own stories. Very limited, mind you.

But I remember vividly falling in love with the visual medium with two things: one was Raiders of the Lost Ark, of course. And my dad took me on a dad/son date. We went and saw it and was like, Oh my gosh. The spectacle was so big and in front of me. And then it was The Little Mermaid. We had a VHS cassette of that, and I was just so taken with this combination because I had not experienced this kind of Broadway musical. And that was my first taste of that kind of thing, and it just sold me.

Early Days of Working in Animation and Landing at VeggieTales

I was working for our local church in Colorado Springs and was doing some editing and AV stuff and hadn’t intended to go to college, and then really felt God just impressed on me that I was supposed to go to college. I went to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa and was a film and television major there, and got connected with a production company, Impact Productions.

I started working there editorially, and they landed a bunch of Max Lucado short stories, and one of those that they wanted to develop into something animated was called You Are Special. I got drafted in to edit on that project and then started voicing the main character in scratch. And everyone really loved the performance. And so I got cast as the main character circa 1999, I think is when that came out.

That definitely sparked interest that opened up to all the things I’ve gotten to do since. I got a cold call early one morning in 2004 that Big Idea, VeggieTales, was moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Franklin, specifically. And would I be interested in joining them there? 

So we visited Franklin and Nashville, and it was the south, and it was hot and it was muggy. And I was like, What is happening? But wow, it’s beautiful. And so we stepped in and moved to Franklin in 2004 and met this wonderful team making VeggieTales. 

“The Search for Samson’s Hairbrush” was my first VeggieTales production to edit. I then helped produce all the kind of behind the scenes and DVD features and cool interactive stuff. And then just a couple years into that, I got moved into the head of the studio, which was a crazy opportunity. 

And so in the eleven years I got to be a part of VeggieTales, I produced sixteen movies. And that journey really expanded my understanding of the executive parts, the machine it takes to make animated productions, and finding all the levers and dials and things it takes to pull projects together.

For my time with Veggietales in particular, there was definitely [a moment of], Oh, this is a season that is completed. It was astonishing. It was amazing. I certainly wished it could go on, but recognized it was time to see what was next. And then you have to face the unknown. What’s next? Will there be another creative idea ever? Will I ever get to be involved in something like this ever again? It’s all the same, right? And just kind of sitting back and saying, “All right, God, you have led this journey. What’s next?” 

“You have to face the unknown. What’s next? Will there be another creative idea ever? Will I ever get to be involved in something like this ever again? And just kind of sitting back and saying, ‘All right, God, you have led this journey. What’s next?’” – Chris Wall 

The Birth of The Wingfeather Saga 

When it came time to finish with VeggieTales, I spent a few weeks just in prayer like, “Hey, God, what’s next?” And The Wingfeather Saga was one of the things that Heather and I were praying about and felt like that was the next thing. 

Andrew Peterson, the singer/songwriter, said, “Hey, what if you and I partnered together?” So we set out and started a company, Shining Isle Productions, we went downtown and got an LLC and got to work and began our overnight journey. Six years later, we turned it into an animated series. 

I think that The Wingfeather Saga is one of those once-in-a-lifetime stories. It was The Chronicles of Narnia that just kind of captured imaginations. And I think The Wingfeather Saga has done that very similarly for a lot of families, like, Oh, it’s a little fantasy story. This is fun. Whoa. That was a really deep truth. Well, that was another really deep truth. And it kind of surprises you, right? And I think when you have those kinds of emotional connections, especially as a family… it’s one thing as a reader to have that. But when a family’s doing this, sharing that story together, it creates this really special relationship that has absolutely been I think what has catapulted The Wingfeather Saga forward. It’s not just whimsical or charming or funny or clever, it’s meaningful, and deeply meaningful in ways that are authentic. 

It has such a resounding response from families saying, “Yes, go make this,” making us the number one crowdfunded animated family project in U.S. history. We have over 10,000 investors, raised over $12 million, for season one and two and now into season three. It’s just been astonishing and humbling because it’s nothing that I could do myself, and nothing that Andrew could do himself. 

The Deeper Meaning in Our Stories

I think the deeper meaning in stories… you know, one of the stories that just wrecked our family last year was the Barbie movie because it was wrestling with some really true experiences of girls and womanhood. And as a dad of three daughters, of course, I made my boys go to the movie. “Hey, you need to understand how masculinity feels. And you probably can’t understand it because you’re a dude. But let me get you in a context of what it actually feels like.” And there was a truth in that story that I just couldn’t believe. I was so taken with the questions, you know, as Billie Eilish says, “What was I made for?” That’s a great question. 

I don’t know what the answer is going to lead you to. I believe that Jesus is that answer. But go on that journey. I find that I’m most excited about stories that are doing that, that are saying, “Ask the hard questions.”

C.S. Lewis talks about this a lot, that stories and music can do something to us where it awakens this sense of something else, something deeper, something further, something that we can’t quite get at—those eternal things. That restlessness, when we encounter that, can lead to all kinds of discovery, can lead to all kinds of awakening. The Holy Spirit can do work in those moments. And that is the kind of story that I get excited about. 

I think that endless discovery, curiosity, is something that I believe God and His Holy Spirit does in us if we’re willing to patiently listen. I think when we’re patient to listen to His leading, it can go to places that are really beautiful and change the world. I believe stories can really do that.

“I think that endless discovery, curiosity, is something that I believe God and His Holy Spirit does in us if we’re willing to patiently listen. I think when we’re patient to listen to His leading, it can go to places that are really beautiful and change the world. I believe stories can really do that.” – Chris Wall 

I’d love to read a little prayer from Jesus Listens. This is from July 2nd:

Glorious Savior, 

I’m grateful that You are in my midst and You are mighty. Just as the sun is at the center of the solar system, You are at the center of my entire being—physical, emotional, and spiritual. You, the Mighty One who created the universe, live in me! I want to take time to absorb this amazing truth—letting it reverberate in my mind and soak into my innermost being.

As I think about Your powerful Presence, I realize I don’t need to worry about my lack of strength. Moreover, I’m comforted to know that Your Power is completed and shows itself most effectively in my weakness. 

I ask that my awareness of Your indwelling Presence may drive out discouragement and fill me with Joy. I’m so thankful that Your Life flows into me continually, strengthening me with Your divine might.

In Your mighty Name, Jesus, 

Amen 

Narrator: To learn more about Chris and his work, please visit www.shiningisleproductions.com, as well as www.wingfeathersaga.com. 

If you’d like to hear more stories about putting positive stories into the world, check out our interview with Stephanie Quayle.

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Next week: The Chosen 

Next time on the Jesus Calling Podcast, we’ll hear from the creator and producer of the historical drama television series The Chosen, as well as the cast who portrays beloved characters from the Bible—including Jonathan Roumie, who plays the role of Jesus.

Jonathan Roumie: I spend a lot of time in prayer, considering each and every scene. I work really hard to make sure that I’m honoring Jesus at every step of the way in this story.