Lake Highlands native Amy Ackels

Much anticipated Fox’s Marvel X-Men drama will star a face familiar to many former Lake Highlands High School students: 1995 graduate Amy Acker, previously praised for her roles in Person of Interest and the Buffy The Vampire Slayer spinoff, Angel.

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Acker will star as Kate Stewart, a woman who is struggling with her separation from her husband, Reed (True Blood’s Stephen Moyer), and her two increasingly challenging teenage children, The Hollywood Reporter announced. Then these two ordinary parents learn their children possess mutant powers, which X-Men fans understand is not always as cool as it sounds, especially at first. The family is forced on the run from a hostile government after which they join up with an underground network of mutants — together they must fight to survive.

The Hollywood reporter notes that “diehard fanboys are going to love” the casting decision. X-Men fanatic Matt Nix writes the action-adventure project produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Marvel Television, and announcements about the pilot episode are forthcoming.

Amy, the oldest of Judy and Rodney Acker’s four children, went on to SMU where she earned a degree in acting and performed in multiple productions. She also played various roles in the children’s TV series Wishbone, filmed in the Dallas area, the Advocate reported in 2014.

Recently the celebrity was spotted at the women’s march in Los Angeles.