Tahmoh Penikett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tahmoh Penikett
|
|
|---|---|
Penikett at Phoenix Comicon in 2016
|
|
| Born | May 20, 1975 Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1996–present |
Tahmoh Penikett (born May 20, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He is well-known for playing Karl "Helo" Agathon in the science fiction TV show Battlestar Galactica. You might also recognize him from other popular TV series like Supernatural, Dollhouse, and Continuum. He even voiced a character in the video game Need for Speed: Carbon.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Tahmoh Penikett was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, a territory in Canada. His dad, Tony Penikett, used to be the leader (called a "premier") of Yukon. His mom, Lulla Sierra Johns, is from the White River First Nation in the Yukon. Tahmoh has two twin sisters, Sarah and Stephanie. He went to film school in Victoria, British Columbia, and also studied acting in Vancouver.
Career: Acting Roles and TV Shows
Tahmoh Penikett started acting in the early 2000s. One of his first roles was a small part in the science fiction show Stargate SG-1 in 2002. He also appeared in the Canadian police show Cold Squad and the TV series Smallville.
Battlestar Galactica: Helo's Journey
His most famous role is playing Karl "Helo" Agathon in the TV series Battlestar Galactica. This show was a new version of an older science fiction series from 1978. Tahmoh auditioned and got the part of Helo, an officer in the Colonial Fleet.
The story for Helo was originally supposed to end quickly. He was shown giving up his spot on a spaceship to help someone else, meaning he would be left behind on a dangerous planet. However, the people making the show and the test audiences really liked his character and Tahmoh's acting. So, they decided to keep Helo in the series.
A big part of the first season of Battlestar Galactica involved Helo being kept alive by the Cylons (the show's main antagonists). They wanted him to fall in love with and have a baby with a Cylon. Helo was chosen because his crew partner was secretly a Cylon. Another Cylon, who looked exactly like his partner, was sent to trick him. By the second season, Helo returned to his ship, and because he was the father of the only successful human-Cylon child, his character and his family became very important to the show's main story.
.jpg)
Other Notable TV Roles
In 2009, Penikett was cast as Paul Ballard in another science fiction show called Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon. This show aired on the Fox network. Dollhouse ended after two seasons in 2010.
After Dollhouse, Tahmoh Penikett appeared in many other TV series. In 2012, he played a politician named Jim Martin in the first season of the Canadian show Continuum. He returned for more episodes in the second season.
In 2013, Penikett joined the cast of Supernatural, a very popular show about two brothers who hunt supernatural creatures. He appeared in the ninth season as a fallen angel named Gadreel. He was in several episodes of that season. He also had a recurring role in the drama Star-Crossed in 2014.
Tahmoh Penikett has also guest-starred in other well-known shows like Criminal Minds and Reign. He has also appeared in web series like Riftworld Chronicles and Con Man. More recently, in 2024, he played Ed Finley in the TV film The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story.
Personal Life and Interests
Tahmoh Penikett lives in Vancouver, Canada, with his family. When he was younger, he studied Judo, which is a Japanese martial art. Later, he switched to Muay Thai, a type of boxing from Thailand.
In 2008, Tahmoh Penikett and his Battlestar Galactica co-star Kandyse McClure helped raise money for a friend, Canadian actor Babz Chula, who was battling cancer. They auctioned off a dinner with themselves in Vancouver to support the Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society.
Images for kids
-
Penikett at Phoenix Comicon in 2016
-
Penikett in 2006
-
Penikett in 2014
See also
In Spanish: Tahmoh Penikett para niños
