Infuze magazine has posted a new, recent interview with Tahmoh by Robin Parrish (conducted Thursday, 1/26/06) to their website. He principally talks about Galactica, but also his current projects, his future plans and how he got into acting.
You have to register to read the full interview, but it's well worth it. They also have an interview with Bear McCreary, BSG's composer (including on set photos).
Warning: There is one spoiler to beware of in answer to this question: "Obviously the pregnancy is central to the storyline right now... " If you avoid Tahmoh's response to that you'll be fine.
Here's one question to pique your interest:
What else are you working on?
Battlestar wrapped this season in December, so after that I went on to do a horror film called Trapped Ashes. It's an anthology of four stories in one. I got to work with an old school director named Monte Hellman, who did some of Jack Nicholson's earliest films. I got to work with another actor I'd heard a lot of good things about named Tygh Runyan. He's really talented. Our story was something of a period piece; he played Stanley Kubrick -- we couldn't use his last name, he's just called "Stanley" in the movie, but Kubrick was the character.
That was a really good experience. Right now, I'm looking at a number of different projects. Hopefully I'll find something interesting enough to do before the third season begins filming.
Read the rest of the interview.
As part of the stellar cast of
Battlestar Galactica, Tahmoh Penikett stars as Karl C. "Helo" Agathon, a soldier whose loyalties lie with humanity, yet whose heart belongs to a Cylon. Through a complex series of events, the woman he knew as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii was revealed to be a Cylon in human form. Complicating the situation as Season Two progresses is the hybrid baby growing in Valerii's womb -- and Helo's the father.
Robin: How did you land the role of Helo?Tahmoh: That's kind of a funny story. I got the audition at the last minute from my agent, and at the time, and at the time, I was working on a film with a friend of mine, which conflicted with the audition date. I asked my agent if she could get me another time; she said she couldn't. So I approached the film's director and said, "Hey, I need an hour to go into town for this audition." He couldn't adjust the schedule then and he needed me on-set that day, so I finally had to say to him, "Look, I'm going to have to leave. I've got to go; you've got to make it happen."
He was a friend of mine, so what it came down to was, he worked around it. I ran over to the studio, and it was a one-audition deal. I went in there, did it, had a really good audition, and I think it was about eight days later that I found out I got the gig.
And I understand you didn't know if you were going to be asked back for the series?Yeah, that's right. The way that my character is left in the miniseries, he could have easily died in the nuclear bomb strikes on the planet. You don't even have to work really hard to come to that conclusion.
After the miniseries aired, I went down to L.A. for pilot season, looking for another job. And I got a call from [series producer] Ron Moore, who said, "I've got this idea on how to keep Helo alive. We can follow him on the planet and kind of keep track of is fight to survive. The Cylons will be there, and Boomer comes back for him..." I thought it was a great idea.
Was it strange to work through the entire first season outside of the rest of the cast?
I get asked that quite often. Yeah, it was pretty strange, but even on the miniseries, when I had the opportunity to work with a few of the other cast members, most of my scenes were with Grace [Park, who plays the Cylon "Sharon"] at that time. But once we got into it, we made it about halfway through the season when I began really noticing some stuff. Grace would be telling me stories about working with everybody else, what it was like working in the studio...
So yeah, it was strange in that way, but Grace and I had a great time together. We enjoyed working together for the season, and we made the best of it.
You got to play shoot-'em-up down on the planet with the Cylons...Yeah, that was fun. The shooting was done all on location -- outdoors, in bombed-out buildings. The locations they chose were exceptional.
How much insight do the writers give you as to what's coming? Did you know that Helo would eventually get back to the Galactica?
No, we never know. I've got to be honest with you -- with this show, there's a general aspect of never knowing where the writers are going to go. And there are often re-writes, so what happened in the last version of the script often changes
so much from the original. You've really got to be open to anything happening.
Last year, the writers came down to the shooting location from L.A., and I was all over them: "What's going to happen to my character over the next couple of episodes? Come on, tell me what's going to happen!" It's funny how the actors want to know almost as much as the fans.
I bet you're sworn to secrecy, huh?
Yeah. But a lot of times, we're in the dark as much as anybody else.
That's something I've noticed about this show: the twists are so good that a lot of the fans don't want to be spoiled.That's just it, man. I frequently feel the same way. I don't know what it is, but I love it when people
want to be surprised, because the show is so engaging. I could tell you what's going to happen three episodes away, but where's the intrigue, where's the mystery in that?
Do fans or friends give you a hard time about your character being in love with a machine?No, they don't give me too hard of a time. I get ragged a little bit, but it's all in good fun. If anything else, they're usually trying to get me to tell them what happens next.
What do you think of the relationship between Helo and Sharon? There's a certain poetry in his love being blind to the fact that she's a machine...That's something that I think is really interesting about Helo that most people don't realize. More than anything, he
loves this woman. This creature, this cyborg, this clone -- whatever she is. He's in love with her, and now he realizes they're going to have this child together. She saved his life, and he's really all that she has.
But, what we have to realize about Helo is that he
is conflicted. There's some doubt in there. It wouldn't be realistic if he didn't have some doubt. And I'd like to see that explored some more. It was explored a little in the second season, but maybe in the third season we'll get to see more of that.
Regardless of all she's done for him, she's manipulated him into conceiving this baby with her, so...Exactly. He's got to be thinking about all of this stuff; he
knows. He's got to deal with the fact that he's in love with a Cylon, one of a species that has eliminated almost all of the human race. All of this stuff is always going through his mind, and it makes the character more believable and interesting.
Obviously the pregnancy is central to the storyline right now... Without spoilers, can you give us any hints as to what's to come before the end of Season 2?I don't think this is a huge spoiler, because it's been mentioned elsewhere, but... the baby will be born. It will be born. Whether it
survives or not...
What else are you working on?
Battlestar wrapped this season in December, so after that I went on to do a horror film called
Trapped Ashes. It's an anthology of four stories in one. I got to work with an old school director named Monte Hellman, who did some of Jack Nicholson's earliest films. I got to work with another actor I'd heard a lot of good things about named Tygh Runyan. He's really talented. Our story was something of a period piece; he played Stanley Kubrick -- we couldn't use his last name, he's just called "Stanley" in the movie, but Kubrick was the character.
That was a really good experience. Right now, I'm looking at a number of different projects. Hopefully I'll find something interesting enough to do before the third season begins filming.
How did you get started as an actor? What drew you to that career?I've always been fascinated by storytellers. My grandmother was an
amazing storyteller; I really think that's one skill that comes with age. It takes a long time to get really good at it. Acting is the same way.
Not only that, but I've appreciated some things from a young age because of my father. He was an actor, as was my grandfather. So I think it runs in my blood somewhat.
Any aspirations for any other sides of that coin -- writing or directing?Just recently, I read a couple of books, one in particular just blew me away. I could see it becoming a film. I don't really have any
immediate aspirations of being involved in producing a project and raising a budget and trying to bring it to film, but that's something I'm looking at right now.
Keep making good tv and we'll keep watching.Yeah, I'm headed straight back to work after this interview. Thanks, man. Be well.
