Russian "sleeper" spies Richard and Elizabeth Grant (Richard Jenkins, l. and Caroline Kava, 2nd from l.) take a suspenseful ride on the Tijuana Trolley with international agent Scuba (Richard Lynch, 2nd from r.) and FBI man Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier, r.) in Columbia Pictures' taut drama of espionage and family honor, "LITTLE NIKITA." Also starring River Phoenix, the film was produced by Harry Gittes and directed by Richard Benjamin from a screenplay by John Hill and Bo Goldman, based on a story by Tom Musca & Terry Schwartz.

RICHARD BRADFORD, who plays the experienced KGB agent in "Little Nikita," recently won plaudits as Kris Kristofferson's older brother in the ABC mini-series "Amerika." This followed a string of top-notch film roles in "The Untouchables," "Wildfire," "The Trip to Bountiful," "The Mean Season," "The Legend of Billie Jean" and as the brash CIA operative in "Missing." Upcoming, he will be seen in "The Milagro Beanfield War."

Bradford's TV credits include such films as "Badge of the Assassins," "Under Suspicion" and "Her Revenge."

RICHARD JENKINS plays the troubled father of River Phoenix in "Little Nikita." The film marks his most important screen role following his recent appearance in the Jack Nicholson-starrer "The Witches of Eastwick."

Jenkins, a noted New York actor who commuted between Hollywood and his home in Rhode Island for his role in "Little Nikita," has also been seen on the screen in "Hannah and Her Sisters," "The Manhattan Project," "Silverado" and PBS' "Valentine's Day."

His extensive theater background in New York and elsewhere ranges from the role of Teach in David Mamet's "American Buffalo" to the part of Stephano in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." He has both acted and directed for the Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory in Rhode Island.

CAROLINE KAVA plays River Phoenix's anguished mother. Her previous film credits include "Year of the Dragon" and "Heaven's Gate" for director Michael Cimino and an appearance in the HBO presentation "Act of Vengeance."

With impressive stage experience in regional and off-Broadway theater, she advanced to Broadway as Polly in "The Threepenny Opera" and as Linda/Jill in "Stages."

Her TV credits include CBS telefeatures "Ivan the Terrible" and "Nobody's Child," and the PBS drama "The Scarlet Letter." She wrote the play "The Early Girl" for Circle-in-the-Square and is writing the screenplay for the film version of her play.

RICHARD LYNCH, who plays the role of Scuba, is hunted by both the FBI and KGB in "Little Nikita." He has a long list of credits that include film, TV and stage, with many a villainous performance along the way. Lynch's films include "The Barbarians," "Night Fighters," "Invasion, U.S.A.," "Escape From Beyond," "The Formula," "The Ninth Configuration," "Scarecrow," "The Seven-Ups" and "The Sword and the Sorcerer."

Among numerous TV guest appearances, he had running roles in such series as "The Phoenix" and "Galactica 1980," and he won the Best Supporting Actor Mercury Award in 1982 from the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

He has also appeared in many plays on and off Broadway.

LORETTA DEVINE plays Verna in "Little Nikita," a young lady who has a special relationship with the FBI agent played by Sidney Poitier. Following her successful Broadway career, Devine makes her screen debut as the school counselor who also finds time for a romantic interlude with Poitier.

Signed for her role in "Little Nikita" while still winning raves on Broadway in Joseph Papp's "The Colored Museum," Devine's other stage credits include the original Lorell in "Dreamgirls," "Gotta Gettaway," "Broadway Musical," "Coming Uptown" and the revival of "Hair."

LUCY DEAKINS, a vivacious teenage actress who was 17 in December, plays Barbara, the screen girlfriends of Phoenix in "Little Nikita." She had to study to be a drum majorette who leads an Armed Forces Day Parade in the film's opening sequence.

Deakins came to "Little Nikita" fresh from a 10-month stint on TV's soap opera "As the World Turns." She recently co-starred with Jay Underwood in "The Boy Who Could Fly."

A senior at New York City's Stuyvesant High School and the daughter of college professors, Deakins says, "I was really shy until I took a drama class." However, the actress admits to being discreet about her personal life. Her school studies, by the way, are not limited to acting -- she is studying to be a marine biologist.

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