Tahmoh Penikett

Canadian born Tahmoh Penikett studied at the Victoria Motion Picture School and the Lyric School of Acting before trying his hand at a professional career in show business. He began making minor appearances on Canadian television in the late '90s, and eventually transitioned into acting for American audiences, with appearances on The L Word and Losing It. Then in 2003, Penikett was cast in a four-hour mini-series "reimagining" of the '70s science fiction show Battlestar Galactica, which was being filmed in Vancouver. Penikett was cast in the role of Karl "Helo" Agathon, an officer in a fleet of massive spacecraft that serve as the nomadic home for the human race following the nuclear destruction of planet Earth. The mini-series was a big hit with test audiences and earned surprisingly stunning accolades from critics, who were impressed to see such drama and subtext in a Sci-Fi Network production. A full season was commissioned based on the series, and the show instantly garnered a solid core following, coming back for numerous seasons. Meanwhile, Penikett joined the cast of another sci-fi show in 2009, playing FBI agent Paul Ballard on the Joss Whedon project Dollhouse. - Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide