Tahmoh Penikett

Tahmoh Penikett is a Canadian actor best known for his roles on Battlestar Galactica, Cold Squad, and Dollhouse.

Biography
Penikett was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, on May 20, 1975, to former Yukon premier Tony Penikett and Lulla Sierra Johns. He has two siblings, Sarah and Stephanie, both of whom are twins. He attended and later graduated from the Victoria Motion Picture School and then studied at the Lyric School of Acting in Vancouver. In 2002, he started an acting career, landing a brief appearance as one of the first Human-Form Replicators in a sixth-season episode of Stargate SG-1. He also appeared on the TV show Smallville, first in a third-season episode as Vince Davis, and then in two sixth-season episodes as Sergeant Wes Keenan. He portrayed a police officer for a predominantly gay neighborhood in a 2004 The L Word episode, which starred Battlestar Galactica costar Nicki Clyne in a related story-line. From 2004 to 2005, Penikett portrayed Ray Chase, who appeared in eleven episodes of the Canadian police-procedural drama Cold Squad. He also played a leading role as Noah Hamilton in the 2005 made-for-TV film Hush, and a voice-acting role in the video game Need for Speed: Carbon as a street racer named Darius. Penikett also appeared in four episodes of the TV series Whistler, starring as Elias Noth. Penikett also provided his voice for Troy Hammerschmidt on the Adult Swim show Titan Maximum. In 2010, Penikett played the lead role of Matt Ellman on the Syfy-produced miniseries Riverworld, which is an adaptation of the sci-fi books written by Philip José Farmer. He also starred in the first two episodes of the Warner Bros. web-series Mortal Kombat: Legacy as Kurtis Stryker, which debuted in April on YouTube; he was replaced by Eric Jacobus for its second season.

In 2003, Penikett starred in a three-hour miniseries that was a re-imagining of the 1978 sci-fi TV series Battlestar Galactica; it aired 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 to be highly successful, and a new Battlestar Galactica series was commissioned. His role was not based on a character that appeared in the original series, and it was meant to be confined only to the miniseries; in fact, his character was implied to have died at the end of the miniseries. However, both the producers and test audiences were sufficiently impressed with the character, as well as Penikett's performance, that the decision was made to make Helo a recurring character on the show. The role of Helo soon became one of Penikett's best-known roles during his entire acting career.

In 2009, Penikett was cast as Paul Ballard in the sci-fi drama Dollhouse, which aired on the FOX network. 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, 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 down not just the Dollhouse but the power-hungry Rossum Corporation behind it. During the post-apocalyptic future world shown in a two-part episode, 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 the second part of the episode, although his personality is uploaded into Echo by the end of the episode. Despite Penikett's success in the role, Dollhouse was canceled at the end of its second season, and the series finale aired on January 29, 2010. In 2013, Penikett was cast on the CW-produced TV series Supernatural as a fallen angel named Gadreel, who appears in the show's ninth-season premiere. He later reprises the role in the season's tenth episode.

In his personal life, Penikett currently lives in Vancouver with his family. In support of the Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society, which is raising money for their friend and fellow Canadian actor Chula's treatment for cancer, Penikett and Battlestar Galactica costar Kandyse McClure allowed him to have the opportunity of having dinner with the both of them in Vancouver, on April 2008. He trains in muay thai and has showcased this ability in various roles, including in Battlestar Galactica and most notably in the fight sequences in Dollhouse, where he choreographed most of his own moves.

On Criminal Minds
Penikett will portray Michael Hastings in 200.

Filmography

 * Criminal Minds - 200 (2014) TV episode - Michael Hastings
 * Supernatural (2013-2014) as Gadreel/Ezekiel (2 episodes)
 * Down River (2013) as Chris
 * Continuum (2012-2013) as Jim Martin (4 episodes)
 * Man of Steel (2013) as Jed Eubanks
 * Bomb Girls (2013) as Clifford Perry (5 episodes)
 * Arrow (2012) as Nick Salvati
 * Castle (2012) as Cole Maddox (2 episodes)
 * The Killing (2011-2012) as Greg Linden (2 episodes)
 * Fairly Legal (2012) as Mark Ellison
 * Big Time Movie (2012) as Agent A
 * Innocent (2011) as Jimmy Brand
 * Haven (2011) as Simon Crocker
 * Jabberwock (2011) as Francis
 * Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011) as Lt. Kurtis Stryker (2 episodes)
 * The Hostage (2010) as The Figure (short)
 * Human Target (2010) as Pete
 * Riverworld (2010) as Matt Ellman
 * Dollhouse (2009-2010) as Paul Ballard (26 episodes)
 * Titan Maximum (2009) as Troy Hammerschmiddtt (4 episodes, voice)
 * Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009) as Captain Karl "Helo" Agathon (64 episodes)
 * Whistler (2007) as Elias Noth (4 episodes)
 * Trick 'r Treat (2007) as Henry
 * Taming Tammy (2007) as Wilson
 * Robot Chicken (2007) as Karl C. Agathon/Scott Trakker/Armpit (voice)
 * The Green Chain (2007) as The Firefighter/Brett Hall
 * Smallville (2004-2007) as Wes Keenan/Vince Davis (3 episodes)
 * Need for Speed: Carbon (2006) as Darius (video game, voice)
 * Trapped Ashes (2006) as Young Leo (segment "Stanley"s Girlfriend")
 * Stanley's Girlfriend (2006) as Stanley (short)
 * Lesser Evil (2006) as Greg
 * Sandra Goes to Whistler (2005) as Conrad (short)
 * Hush (2005) as Noah Hamilton
 * Cold Squad (2004-2005) as Constable Ray Chase (13 episodes)
 * The L Word (2004) as Sheriff
 * Battlestar Galactica (2003) as Lt. Karl Agathon (TV miniseries, 2 episodes)
 * Just Cause (2003) as Principal Joe Decker
 * Under the Cover (2003) as Jonas
 * Stargate SG-1 (2002) as Third
 * Wildfire 7: The Inferno (2002) as Sheriff
 * Dark Angel (2002) as ND Cop (credited as Tahmon Penhikett)
 * Glory Days (2002) as Eric Forester

PRODUCER

 * The Hostage (2010) - Executive Producer (short)

LINKS
For an up-to-date filmography, see here.