| Tahmoh Penikett | |
|---|---|
 Penikett at Gatecon |
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| Born | May 20, 1975
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada |
Tahmoh Penikett (pronounced [ˈtaʔmo ˈpɛnɨkɨt];[1] born May 20, 1975 in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada) is a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Karl "Helo" Agathon on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica and as Paul Ballard in Joss Whedon's series Dollhouse on the Fox network.
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Penikett is the son of former Yukon premier Tony Penikett, who is of British ancestry, and Lulla Sierra Johns, of the White River First Nation in the Yukon. He has two siblings, twin sisters Sarah and Stephanie. He graduated from the Victoria Motion Picture School and studied at the Lyric School of Acting in Vancouver.
Among his early acting work were stints on assorted Canadian TV series such as Cold Squad. He also appeared on the TV show Smallville, in the episode "Resurrection" in Season 3, and in the Season 6 episodes "Nemesis" and "Prototype". He portrayed a police officer for a predominantly gay neighborhood in the 2004 The L Word episode "Losing It", which coincidentally starred Battlestar Galactica co-star Nicki Clyne in a related storyline.
In 2003, the 1978 science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica was "reimagined" as a three hour miniseries on the SciFi Channel. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver, Canada, and Penikett, a local actor, auditioned and was cast in the part of Karl "Helo" Agathon, an officer in the Colonial Fleet. The miniseries proved highly successful, and a Battlestar Galactica series was commissioned.
The role was not based on a character in the original series, and was meant to be confined only to the miniseries; in the miniseries Helo is shown giving up a spot on a spaceship fleeing the doomed planet of Caprica, with the implication that he was left to die. However, both the producers and test audiences were sufficiently impressed with the character, and Penikett's performance, that the decision was made to make Helo a recurring character on the show. A plot that took place over much of the show's first season was that the Cylons on Caprica kept Helo alive in order to have him fall in love with, and impregnate, a Cylon (Helo was chosen because his crew partner, Sharon Valerii, was in fact a Cylon, and another copy of the same model was sent to pretend to be her). By the second season, his character had returned to the Galactica; as the father of the only successful human-Cylon hybrid; this character and his family became central to the show's mythology.
In 2009, Penikett was cast as the regular cast member Paul Ballard on Joss Whedon's sci-fi drama Dollhouse, airing on Fox network Friday nights at 9:00.[2 ][3 ] During the first season, Ballard was the purported "good guy" cop who was trying to bring the Dollhouse down; however, an unhealthy fixation on Echo (the main character, portrayed by Eliza Dushku), as well as other factors, led to his expulsion from the FBI. In an attempt to both save Echo and himself, and in exchange for releasing former lover November (Miracle Laurie), Ballard joined the Dollhouse as Echo's handler during the second season, and worked insidiously from the inside in an attempt to set the dolls free from what he percieves as slavery and to bring not just the Dollhouse but the power-hungry Rossum Corporation behind it down.
During the post-apocalyptic future world shown in the "Epitaph" episodes ("Epitaph One" from season one and "Epitaph Two: The Return" from season two), Ballard is displayed as having joined Echo as a freedom fighter working to restore order to the world and build a place referred to by the other free characters as "Safe Haven."
Dollhouse was cancelled at the end of its second season, and the series finale will reportedly air on Friday, January 22, 2010.[4]
He appeared in the video game Need for Speed: Carbon, as a street racer named Darius.
He played a leading role as Noah Hamilton in the 2005 made-for-TV film Hush alongside actress Tori Spelling.
Penikett portrayed Ray Chase, who appeared in eleven episodes of the Canadian police drama, Cold Squad.
He also appeared in four episodes of the television series Whistler as "difficult artist" Elias Noth.
He had a brief appearance as one of the first Human-Form Replicators in the season 6 episode of Stargate SG-1, "Unnatural Selection".
Additionally, Penikett has been featured in three episodes of Smallville. He starred as Wes Keenan in two season six episodes, "Nemesis" and "Prototype," and also in the third season episode, "Resurrection," as a different character.
Penikett is also currently providing voice talent for antagonist Troy Hammerschmidt on the Adult Swim show Titan Maximum.
Penikett has been cast on Sci Fi's four-hour TV adaptation of Riverworld in the lead role of Matt Ellman.[5]
Penikett currently lives in Vancouver, as do his father and sisters.
In support of the Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society, which is raising money for their friend and fellow Canadian actor Chula's cancer treatment, Penikett and his Battlestar Galactica colleague Kandyse McClure auctioned off the opportunity to have dinner with both of them in Vancouver in April 2008.
He trains in muay thai[6] and has showcased his ability in various roles, including in Battlestar Galactica and most notably as Agent Ballard in the fight sequences in Dollhouse, where he choreographs most of his own moves[7].
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| | Tahmoh Penikett interview - Tahmoh Penikett GALACTICA.TV interview | Battlestar Galactica |
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