Tahmoh Penikett
Encyclopedia
Tahmoh Penikett is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He is best known for his roles as Karl "Helo" Agathon
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...

 on the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

's television series Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...

 and as Paul Ballard in Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

's Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...

'.

Early life

Penikett is the son of former Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

 premier Tony Penikett
Tony Penikett
Antony David John Penikett is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada.-Life and work:An activist with the New Democratic Party , Penikett was campaign manager in 1972 for Wally Firth, the first indigenous northern MP ever elected to the House of Commons...

, who immigrated to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 from England at age 12, and Lulla Sierra Johns, of the White River First Nation
White River First Nation
The White River First Nation is a First Nation in the western Yukon Territory in Canada. Its main population centre is Beaver Creek, Yukon...

 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
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

.

Personal life

Penikett currently lives in Vancouver with his family.

In support of the Babz Chula
Babz Chula
Babz Chula was an American-born actress, permanent resident in Canada.-Life and career:Chula was born as Barbara Ellen Zuckerman in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was raised in Jamaica, New York...

 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
Kandyse McClure
Kandyse McClure is an actress, best known for playing Anastasia Dualla on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica.- Biography :...

 auctioned off the opportunity to have dinner with both of them in Vancouver in April 2008.

He trains in muay thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

 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 choreographed most of his own moves.

Career

In 2002, he had a brief appearance as one of the first Human-Form Replicators in the season 6 episode of Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

, "Unnatural Selection". From 2004-2005, Penikett portrayed Ray Chase, who appeared in eleven episodes of the Canadian police drama, Cold Squad
Cold Squad
Cold Squad is a Canadian police procedural television series first broadcast in 1998 that followed the investigations of a part of the Vancouver Police Department Homicide Division tasked with solving cold cases, the titular Cold Squad, as led by Sergeant Ali McCormick .The cast of Cold Squad was...

. He played a leading role as Noah Hamilton in the 2005 made-for-TV film Hush alongside actress Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling
Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling is an American actress. Spelling became known in the early 1990s for her role as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling then had roles in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?...

. He did a voice acting
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...

 role in the video game Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon, also known as NFS Carbon or NFSC, is an Electronic Arts video game belonging to the Need for Speed series. Released in 2006, it is the tenth installment, preceded by Need for Speed: Most Wanted, succeeded by Need for Speed: ProStreet in release order and succeeded by Need...

, as a street racer named Darius. He also appeared in four episodes of the television series Whistler
Whistler (TV series)
Whistler is a Canadian television drama centring on the aftermath of the mysterious death of a local snowboard legend. The series was created by Kelly Senecal and developed by Patrick Banister, John Barbisan, Mindy Heslin, and Susan James.-Premise:...

 as Elias Noth. Penikett also provided voice talent for antagonist Troy Hammerschmidt on the Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...

 show Titan Maximum
Titan Maximum
Titan Maximum is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, on September 27, 2009. A teaser premiered during the "Robot Chicken on Wheels" tour and at the 2009 San...

. In 2010, Penikett played the lead role of Matt Ellman on Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

's miniseries Riverworld
Riverworld (2010 film)
- Caretakers :The caretakers appear as blue-skinned robe-clad figures who watch over the humans. They were the beings who created Riverworld and are occasionally described as "demons." The caretakers are mostly divided between two separate factions: the Salvationists and the Second Chancers -...

 an adaption of the science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer of the same name
Riverworld
Riverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer . Riverworld is an artificial environment where all humans are reconstructed. The books explore interactions of individuals from many different cultures and time periods...

. He starred in the first two episodes of Warner Brothers' Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Mortal Kombat: Legacy is an American web series anthology that debuted on Machinima.com's YouTube channel on April 11, 2011. The show is an adaptation of the fictional universe of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise...

 as Kurtis Stryker, which debuted in April on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

Among his early acting work were stints on assorted Canadian TV series such as Cold Squad
Cold Squad
Cold Squad is a Canadian police procedural television series first broadcast in 1998 that followed the investigations of a part of the Vancouver Police Department Homicide Division tasked with solving cold cases, the titular Cold Squad, as led by Sergeant Ali McCormick .The cast of Cold Squad was...

. He also appeared on the TV show Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...

, 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
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...

 episode "Losing It", which coincidentally starred Battlestar Galactica co-star Nicki Clyne
Nicki Clyne
Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Cally Henderson Tyrol on the Sci-Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica.-Early life:...

 in a related storyline.

In 2003, the 1978 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 television series Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...

 was "reimagined" as a three hour miniseries
Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)
Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...

 on the SciFi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Canada, and Penikett, a local actor, auditioned and was cast in the part of Karl "Helo" Agathon
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...

, an officer in the Colonial Fleet. The miniseries proved highly successful, and a Battlestar Galactica series
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...

 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 Cylon
Cylon (reimagining)
Cylons are a race which appear in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series and its prequel Caprica. They have several forms, some of which resemble and even mimic the behavior of humans, while others are mechanical in appearance and function.In the first DVD, one of the show's creators...

s 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 for the portrayal of Paul Ballard in Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 television series Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...

, airing on Fox network Friday nights at 9:00. 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
Echo (Dollhouse)
Echo is a fictional character portrayed by Eliza Dushku in the Fox science fiction series Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon. Within the series' narrative, Echo is an "Active" or a "doll", one of a group of men and women who can be programmed with memories and skills to engage in particular...

 (the main character, portrayed by Eliza Dushku
Eliza Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress known for her television roles, including recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel. She starred in two Fox series, Tru Calling and Dollhouse...

), 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
Miracle Laurie
Miracle Laurie is an American actress best known for portraying Mellie, November and Madeleine on the Joss Whedon drama Dollhouse.-Career:Laurie's first credited TV role was sorority sister Veronica in "Team", a 2004 episode of Medical Investigation...

), 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 perceives 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
Epitaph One
"Epitaph One" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Dollhouse. This episode became available on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 28, 2009...

" from season one and "Epitaph Two: Return
Epitaph Two: Return
"Epitaph Two: Return" is the 13th episode of the second season, the show's 26th episode overall and the series finale of the American science fiction television series Dollhouse. The episode was written by Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Andrew Chambliss, and directed by David Solomon...

" 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". He is killed without warning by a stray bullet in "Epitaph Two", though his personality is uploaded into Echo by the end of the episode.

Dollhouse was cancelled at the end of its second season, and the series finale aired on Friday, January 29, 2010.

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Go-Go Boy (Prelude) Aaron Fitz (Go-Go Boy) Short film
2005 Sandra Goes to Whistler Conrad Short film
2006 Stanley's Girlfriend Stanley Short film
2006 Trapped Ashes Young Leo Segment: "Stanley's Girlfriend"
2007 The Green Chain Brett Hall
2007 Taming Tammy Wilson
2007 Trick 'r Treat
Trick 'r Treat
Trick 'r Treat is a 2007 American horror film written and directed by Michael Dougherty, and based on his short film Season's Greetings. Originally slated for an October 5, 2007 release, it was announced in September 2007 that the film had been pushed back. Warner Bros...

Henry
2010 The Hostage The Figure executive producer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Murder on the Iditarod Trail n/a TV movie
2002 Glory Days
Glory Days (TV series)
Glory Days is an American horror/mystery-based television series broadcast from January to March 2002 on The WB Television Network...

Eric Forester Episode: "No Guts, No Glory"
2002 Dark Angel
Dark Angel (TV series)
Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...

ND Cop Episode: "Freak Nation"
2002 Wildfire 7: The Inferno Sherriff TV movie
2002 Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

Third Episode: "Unnatural Selection"
2003 Under the Cover Jonas TV movie
2003 Just Cause
Just Cause (TV series)
Just Cause is an award-winning Canadian legal drama television series produced by Mind's Eye Entertainment. Filming was done in Vancouver, British Columbia but the series is set in San Francisco, California.-Plot:...

Principal Joe Decker Episode: "Blackboard Jungle"
2003 Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)
Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...

Lt. Karl Agathon
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...

Episodes:
"Episode 1.1"
"Episode 1.2"
2004–2007 Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...

Vince Davis/Wes Keenan Episodes:
"Resurrection"
"Nemesis"
"Prototype"
2004–2009 Battlestar Galactica Lt./Capt. Karl Agathon
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...

Series regular
2004 The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...

Sheriff Episode: "Losing It"
2004–2005 Cold Squad
Cold Squad
Cold Squad is a Canadian police procedural television series first broadcast in 1998 that followed the investigations of a part of the Vancouver Police Department Homicide Division tasked with solving cold cases, the titular Cold Squad, as led by Sergeant Ali McCormick .The cast of Cold Squad was...

Det. Ray Chase 11 episodes
2006 Hush
Hush (2005 film)
Hush is a 2005 made for television movie that stars Tori Spelling and Tahmoh Penikett as a married couple who move back to his hometown to work as a doctor, and are desperate to have a baby. Victoria Pratt also stars as the doctor's former high school girlfriend who will do anything to win him back...

Noah Hamilton TV movie
2006 Lesser Evil Greg TV movie
2007 Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...

Armpit/Karl C. Agathon/Scott Trakker Episode: "Rabbits on a Roller Coaster"
2007 Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Battlestar Galactica: Razor is a television film of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. It premiered in the United States on Sci Fi Channel, in Canada on the Space channel and in the United Kingdom on Sky One.-Production:...

Lt. Karl 'Helo' Agathon credit only
2007 Whistler
Whistler (TV series)
Whistler is a Canadian television drama centring on the aftermath of the mysterious death of a local snowboard legend. The series was created by Kelly Senecal and developed by Patrick Banister, John Barbisan, Mindy Heslin, and Susan James.-Premise:...

Elias Noth Episodes:
"Passion Plays"
"Always a Bridesmaid"
"Crossroads"
"Last Run"
2009 Titan Maximum
Titan Maximum
Titan Maximum is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, on September 27, 2009. A teaser premiered during the "Robot Chicken on Wheels" tour and at the 2009 San...

Troy Hammerschmiddtt (voice) Episodes:
"Went to Party, Got Crabs"
"To Eris, Human"
"Megamum Overdrive"
"Mercury Falling"
2009–2010 Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...

Paul Ballard Series regular
2010 Riverworld
Riverworld (2010 film)
- Caretakers :The caretakers appear as blue-skinned robe-clad figures who watch over the humans. They were the beings who created Riverworld and are occasionally described as "demons." The caretakers are mostly divided between two separate factions: the Salvationists and the Second Chancers -...

Matt Ellman TV movie
2010 Human Target Pete Episode: "Ilsa Pucci"
2011 Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Mortal Kombat: Legacy is an American web series anthology that debuted on Machinima.com's YouTube channel on April 11, 2011. The show is an adaptation of the fictional universe of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise...

Lt. Kurtis Stryker Episodes:
"Jax, Sonya and Kano: Part 1"
"Jax, Sonya and Kano: Part 2"
2011 The Killing Greg Linden Episode: "Beau Soleil"
2011 Jabberwock Francis TV movie
2011 Haven
Haven (TV series)
Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, is an American/Canadian co-production. The one-hour drama premiered on July 9, 2010, on Syfy...

Simon Crocker (Duke's father) Episode : Sins of the Fathers (2x12)

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon, also known as NFS Carbon or NFSC, is an Electronic Arts video game belonging to the Need for Speed series. Released in 2006, it is the tenth installment, preceded by Need for Speed: Most Wanted, succeeded by Need for Speed: ProStreet in release order and succeeded by Need...

Darius voice

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK