We are privileged to welcome the return of Tahmoh Penikett to explore more of his career, the transforming media landscape, and discuss his upcoming projects, The Greatest and Carrie!

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Welcome everyone to Dial the Gate. My name is David Read. I appreciate you being here for this episode. Tahmoh Penikett, who played Third in Stargate SG-1, though I suspect you probably know him from one of his other shows much better, is back for this episode. Since this is a live chat, we’ve got moderators in the YouTube feed standing by to take questions for him. So, if you have — Let me get him on the screen here. Oh, dad gum it. It didn’t reboot. See, this is what happens every time my stuff reloads, and I lose stuff, man How you doing? Let me pull this back up. What’s going on?

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s all good, man. Technical difficulties happen. All good.

David Read:
That’s it. What’s going on with you? What’s going on in your world? I’m really excited about Carrie but I wanna set that aside for a moment here. You’ve been busy.

Tahmoh Penikett:
I’ve been lucky enough. I’ve been blessed enough to have a busy start to 2025. It’s been very good. There’s been very little time off. It’s summertime now so I’m trying to find some balance with the kids and the family, but I came out of the gates pretty strong. I did a guest star on Tracker which shoots in Vancouver, and I got to work with the talented Justin Hartley. And I really enjoyed that. It was one of those ones where I read the sides, and I was like, “Oh, this is very much my wheelhouse, and I haven’t done this for a while, and I’d actually been asking for it.” Asking the universe. I’d been like, “It’s been a while since I played a cop. I wanna be an officer of some sort.” And sure enough, this guy was an FBI agent. And the scenes were really well written between Justin Hartley’s character and my character. There was just good chemistry. I enjoyed it very much and I was actually really flattered after the fact. I think two or three different articles came out where people, fans and whoever wrote the articles were suggesting that my character should definitely come back because it was a good — He was a good — There was potential for the story to expand between the two characters because they had a good chemistry. They’re a little heated at first. Then they acquiesce. They understand that both are talented in their own right, and they can actually benefit each other. Maybe there’s a potential for a not so much a friendship but a partnership in some way. So, that was a lot of fun. I’d heard about the show and I…

David Read:
I’ve heard good things. I have people, Battlestar watchers, who have watched it. They said I need to see it.

Tahmoh Penikett:
These days, usually the only reason a show is till on is because it’s worth its merit. It’s there for a reason. People are tuning in and enjoying it. And Justin, he’s been around forever. He was shooting Smallville. I did two different guest stars on Smallville way back in the day. And Justin had a recurring on that as one of the superheroes. So, he’s been in and around Vancouver for many years. It was nice to finally meet him. We have mutual friends. Obviously, Jensen [Ackles] has a recurring on the show and plays his brother, which is really cool. So, we share that friendship there. We just mentioned a few names in our brief conversation before we got started working the first day and realized how many mutual friends we have.

David Read:
The industry is really small. Justin actually went to Southern Illinois University, which was my school. And if I’m not mistaken, I crossed paths with him once or twice. I was much younger but there’s a connection there as well. And Vancouver was small when Battlestar was in its early years. Now it’s just exploded. But anyone who was involved there from those earlier periods, everyone knows just about everybody.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah, there’s only so many of us back then who [inaudible] the consistent shows and then there was all the years of the CW shows, which kept people a lot of… Very, very busy and brought up obviously a lot of actors from all over the place to Vancouver to film those shows. So, those were definitely busy times. The business has changed a lot, and a lot of people are having a hard time. It’s been a bumpy few years. Then few years before that it was bumpy with COVID.

David Read:
So, if you’re getting work and you’re staying busy, count your blessing.

Tahmoh Penikett:
100 percent. You never take it for granted. If you’ve done this job for — If you’ve been resilient enough to stick it out and be in this job for any serious amount of time, you know to feel grateful and really appreciate when the work is there and take it very seriously and run with it. I’m just in a state of gratitude right now. There’s a lot of work happening and it’s been very good and just really focusing on health also. The project that I did right after Justin’s show, Tracker, is called The Greatest. The Greatest is based on the book written by Cassius Clay’s who, with a lot of — A lot of the contemporary press at the time didn’t really focus on the brothers so much and yet they were very close. And Cassius’ brother was also a boxer and trained with him in the beginning of his career and throughout it. He was very much there and supportive of him and of course had a very unique perspective to Cassius’ meteoric… There you go… Meteoric rise to the iconic status that he got to as an athlete. And beyond an athlete. This was a civil rights activist. This man was, and still to this day is, one of the greatest single celebrity individuals that’s ever lived. And he had infallible confidence in himself, and he had an incredible tenacity and strength and his moral character, too. If you think about what he stood up against, specifically when they tried to force him to go to the Second World War — Sorry, to the Vietnam War. He was completely against that. And that’s of course when he converted to Islam and became Muhammad Ali. This story, at least in the first season — It’s an Amazon project. Very big project. Beautifully done. The cinematography that I was able to see and experience, the actors involved, the writing, the sets — They’re shooting it in Toronto. It’s really gonna be a big deal. And I was blessed enough to be asked to play the iconic British boxer, Henry Cooper. Now, Henry Cooper is famous for being a real journeyman champion in the UK. He wasn’t a true — That’s him. He wasn’t a true heavyweight. He was more cruiserweight, which is what I am. Henry was 6’2”. I’m 6’3”, a little over. But he thought in the heavyweight division because he was so famous for his left hook. They called it Enry’s ‘Ammer. He had a hammer of a left hook which he “slept” more than a few people with. And I don’t wanna give away too much of the story. There’s gonna be pundits out there and people who know history and it’s easy to look up, but Henry did catch Cassius Clay in their fight with one of the most famous left hooks in boxing history. One which Cassius talked about for years afterwards and always said it was the hardest he’s ever been hit. So, it was an honor to play this guy. My father’s people are [from] in and around that same area that Henry’s from. And it was just so cool to be able to do that at my age, being a passionate fight fan and martial arts hobbyist my entire adult life, and even some of my youth, to still be able to do high level, big budget fight scenes like this. And this is one of the most complex, probably the most complex fight episode of television I’ve ever done.

David Read:
Did you have to prepare for it in any way?

Tahmoh Penikett:
Oh, absolutely. There was a ton of training and rehearsal because we were doing literally sections of the real fights of each round. We were doing entire sections of each round of the five rounds of the fight. And you have to get it down — It’s gotta be down to a science. You have to know it so well and you’ve gotta — Obviously, being a fan myself, I wanna — The beats, the timing of it, the actual hits, imitating what happened, what transpired in the actual fight. Moving like Henry Cooper. These are all thing that are very, very important to me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist with stuff like this. And we wanted to get it right. Luckily though, the fight team that we’re surrounded by is one of the best in the world. Clayton Barber was the head stunt coordinator. The second unit director. Clayton is famous. Clayton is a silver medalist for the US in Taekwondo at the Olympics. He’s of the highest pedigree when it comes to martial arts and so well respected. And just an amazing coordinator. It was such a pleasure to work with him and his team. Daniel [Lavigne] [and] Aaron were the guys I was working with specifically. Fantastic guys. Excellent martial artists themselves. And Larry Lam was the one who brought me on. Larry was also one of the stunt coordinators. Larry and I have worked on a number of projects over the year. Larry’s very well-known and very well respected himself. So, when you’re working with a stunt team and people creative specifically in the fight realm as talented as that, you’re in a safe place. As long as you show up and you do the work, everything’s gonna look amazing. And I know that — And I say this with all humility, but I know that they had a big breath of relief when I showed up, and they saw that I can actually move, and I’ve done this for many years. Because unfortunately there’s a lot of actors, a lot of people who are like, “Yeah, yeah. Box.” You know, they’ve done a few Tae Bo classes.

David Read:
Right. It’s like, “I play chess.” “Oh, you do, do you?” You know how the pieces move.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah, and it’s one of those things. So, they were happy to see that I actually knew what I was doing but I definitely still had to get in shape, and I had to do a ton of work. Because it’s not really — You have to have a martial arts or boxing background to do this. But beyond that, the difficult thing, the challenging thing, is remembering each beat. Because we’re not just boxing. Boxing is like acting. It’s active reactive. But like acting also, there’s lines that we have to adhere to. We have to stay within the script. Well, when you’re doing a fight scene, there’s very specific beats and I can’t just randomly jab here and there. We’ve gotta follow the beats of the fight or else, someone’s actually gonna get hit or hurt. That can happen very easily when we’re doing it. We’re coming very close.

David Read:
Yeah, you’re getting close.

Tahmoh Penikett:
You’re very close. And the actor they found, Jaalen, to play Cassius Clay — I’ll tell you right now, man. This kid’s gotta a bright future ahead of him. Fans will be hard pressed to believe that he isn’t actually related to Cassius Clay, to Muhammad Ali. The kid looks like him. He’s put in so much work with the stunt team that he moves like him, [and] he talks like him. I think this project is gonna be huge. And I think he’s got a very bright future. I think most of the people on the show, this is gonna turn into a big thing and I’m just really excited. It was such an honor to be able to still do a project like this and work my ass off. When we were filming… And again, I’m not giving away anything. I don’t wanna go into details… But the level with which they took things to recreate the actual fight scene, the era, the specific clothing of the era, the cameras, the photography, any props, everything was true to the era and it was — It’s fascinating because when you’re shooting in that and you’re in the middle of it, it really does give you a sense that — I felt like I was in a real fight in front of a huge audience at times. The pressure, the lights, the everything. The shouting on the microphone, “OK. Let’s go. Action.” And then you’ve gotta go for it. It’s crazy. It’s really, really exhilarating stuff. And I’m just so honored that I was a part of it.

David Read:
I’m curious, Tahmoh. When you’re creating a character who is based on a person who has actually existed, a lot of actors don’t… Most of the ones that I’ve communicated with… Don’t wanna copy them exactly so much as they wanna mix them with themselves and deliver something new. When you are creating a performance, and I saw a lot of this when I watched the figure skating war between the girls in the 90s. The film that came out a few years ago.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Harding? Was it Tonya Harding?

David Read:
That’s it. Tonya Harding. I’m curious. Are you trying to get it exactly as it was, how people remembered it on the screens, or is there a push pull continuum there that you’re trying to meet?

Tahmoh Penikett:
I think that’s really interesting question and observation on your part. It’s always a balance. You have to bring yourself to the performance. And of course, as true as the director or writer is trying to stay to the truth of the moment, we’re also in the film business. This is a story business. We have to embellish or perhaps lean to things that may not have transpired exactly ass they did to tell the story in a better way. Because, for instance, if we’re doing a film medium and the truth of a very contentious scene or a moment between two characters was actually much broader and longer and stretched out and accumulated over many different conversations over years, but in the story, in the medium of film, we have 90 minutes or 120 minutes to tell the story. Well, we have to condense it. There’s always embellishments. There’s always changes. And that’s OK. So, you find a balance. The thing about a story like this, I only had so much time to prepare and my focus on this was on the physical preparation. There’s not an extensive amount of dialogue for me because the focus of my character in this episode is really the fight. The fight is telling a story. And they do a really beautiful thing. Again, I’m not supposed to speak about it in detail, but they intercut, and it’s woven into a really beautiful way. But to your point, to your question, when you do have the opportunity — For instance, with that Tanya Harding movie, I would argue that those actors had many, many, many months of preparation, and if you look at an excellent script like that script was… I believe that there was some Academy Awards nominations, if not a win, for some of the people on that film… You’re gonna find that balance. But you’re gonna watch as much tape as you can. You’re gonna pick up mannerisms which are gonna be recognizable to audiences that they see things that we all hear and see and associate with that person, that real life figure. And the actors wanna bring that in for sure and practice that and nuance it also with themselves. Because you always need to bring yourselves to the story. And you may perhaps be leaning into an aspect of the story that you as the actor and your interpretation feel hasn’t been shown or communicated that well. It’s like, when any of us read a good book, we all interpret the ending or the book itself in different ways.

David Read:
And different things weigh on us differently.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Exactly. And as an actor, we come into that and we make — Regardless [if] a script is excellent, we always make choices about backstory, too. Interpretations. That may be through our research and just the stuff we’ve written, but we wanna communicate and bring that through in the story. We might recognize a strength and a resolve in a character that’s perhaps not recognized, that person is not recognized for.

David Read:
But it’s still a truth.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Exactly. And us as the actor, we’re always trying to defend and believe in the integrity of the character that we’re portraying. Because people do things because they believe in it, or they wanna believe in it.

David Read:
Otherwise, you’re doing the character a disservice. You can tell when someone doesn’t like a character. You can tell. It’s like, “You know what? You’re saying this dialogue, but you don’t actually believe that.”

Tahmoh Penikett:
There you go.

David Read:
Especially if there’s a lot of political heat, modern political heat in something, it’s like, “I see what you’re saying but I don’t believe that you believe that you’re saying it.” And it gets under the hood of the race that you’re trying to participate in as an audience member. You wanna get to that finish line and just have a great explosion of success and it’s like, “These cars. They’re phoning it in.” You can really feel it when someone’s phoning in a performance. If you’ve watched a lot of it.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah, because you’re a true fan and you see that. Our job as the actor, as you said, is… We’re there to defend. We’re there to tell that one small part of the story, whatever character we’re portraying. We have to understand this character and why they made the decisions they made. What drove them? Whether it was their background — They’re always trying to achieve something as we are in life. We have to lean into that, and we have to commit to that individual and what’s driving them and why they are doing it. “What am I trying to do in this scene and what am I trying to do overall? What is the overall objective? What is the scene objective?” This project, I think, is gonna be really — And also, my best boy Aleks is on it. And he’s got just an incredible role on it. Alex, being a super heavyweight boxing champion himself and a third-generation boxer, he’s finally playing a role where he’s not actually a boxer himself. He’s playing William Faversham [Jr.]. And William Faversham [Jr.] was the money behind Cassius Clay in the beginning of his career when he first went professional. And it’s an excellent role. I’m really proud of him. This is a — He’s had an excellent career. Aleks. He’s worked steady for the last 10 years on anything and everything. But I would say, in many ways, this role itself is… And I say this with all respect to all the other work he’s done and the amazing projects he’s done… But this is not a departure. This is a step in the right direction for a man his age, for the body of work that he’s completed. There’s gonna be some critical recognition for this role for him and I’m really proud of him because it’s a role he’s really manifested and actualized over a lifetime, since he was a small first-generation Yugoslavian immigrant Canadian kid in Winnipeg growing up with a dream and always wanting to pursue this. And now he’s here and he gets a role like this. Aleks’ favorite athlete of all time, the most iconic figure that Aleks has always been obsessed with, ever since him and I became best bros 25 years ago, is Muhammed Ali. For him to work on this project and to play this character is really… It’s a dream come true for him. So, there’s so many different things that I’m so excited about with this show. I already spoke on the stunt team and how talented Jaalen is. He’s just fantastic. The supporting actors they have, too. I’m not sure all of them have been mentioned but there’s some significant actors. Some real vets. Beautiful, beautiful casting. Omari Hardwick. Just an amazing actor. I’ve always loved his work. To finally meet him and have a conversation with him — You gotta remember, and I know actors have talked about this before, but when I do fan conventions, when I do a new project and I get to see or meet or work with an actor that I haven’t before, that I’ve always been a fan of their work, I just love it. It’s so exciting. I really look forward to it. I wanna be like, “Hey, man. It is such a pleasure to work with you and I’m such a fan of your work.” And it’s so beautiful when you can have that moment with them. They’re like, “Hey, man.” And it’s reciprocal. They’re like, “I loved you in this,” and you get to talk shop and it’s just two artists respecting each other. And then we get to play together and work together. It’s why we do this. I often have moments still, just when I’m on set, where I’m like, “I’m just a small town Canadian northern boy from the middle of nowhere who dreamed big and worked my ass off to get where I’m at.” I’m doing what I wanted to do. And it’s still just as exciting. I’m still as grateful. I love it. I’m so happy about it.

David Read:
Always be counting your blessings.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yes. It’s the most beautiful thing. I don’t take it for granted. I just don’t.

David Read:
So, I’m really excited about Carrie, which is reuniting you with a couple of folks from 20 years ago. Can you talk anything about that?

Tahmoh Penikett:
How can you not? It’s Mike Flanagan. The uberly, incredibly talented Mike Flanagan. He is — So, I’ll give you a brief little story here. So, Mike and I met many years ago. Michael Trucco just worked with him on a film called Hush, which he did with his partner, Kate Siegel. And they wrote that script together. Mike, as I understand it, was very much in the beginning of his career in terms of trying to be a filmmaker himself. He’d been an editor. He’d worked in the business in capacity for years. Many different capacities for years but he never — This was one of his very first films, and if you haven’t seen it, you gotta put it on the list. I don’t wanna talk about it too much because it’s a fantastic film. Don’t research it.

David Read:
OK. Just going cold?

Tahmoh Penikett:
Going cold. Hush.

David Read:
That’s right. Hush. OK.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Let me know what you think about it afterwards.

David Read:
I will.

Tahmoh Penikett:
So, Trucco, Michael Trucco, dear friend of mine and one of my brothers, he worked with him. And then they had a screening at Michael’s house in LA, and I was there. And I got to meet Mike Flanagan, and we had a long conversation, and of course like many people, and again, with all humility, Michael was like, “I’m the biggest fan of Battlestar. I love this show.”

David Read:
No, he’s not, but OK.

Tahmoh Penikett:
“Big show. I love it. I’m a huge fan. I can’t wait to work with you.” And you hear that in this business. And I was flattered but I was also like, “It’s great to hear, Mr. Flanagan. I really appreciate that, and I look forward to us working together.”

David Read:
I wasn’t meaning to imply that he wasn’t a fan.

Tahmoh Penikett:
I know you didn’t mean that.

David Read:
I meant to imply that other people… I’m the biggest [fan].

Tahmoh Penikett:
I know what you mean.

David Read:
OK. I was like, “I better say something.”

Tahmoh Penikett:
No, no, no. I know your humor, my friend. I know your humor. I’d set you straight if you weren’t. And then you cut to Trucco now having worked with him, I think, on three different projects. He did Midnight Mass. He did The [Fall of the] House of Usher. Now he’s doing Carrie. And Trucco has an excellent role on this. I don’t wanna speak too much on my role because I’m not sure that I can, but I’ll give you as much as I can. What do you know?

David Read:
So, I know more about House of Usher, that it’s more of an anthology. But this is more of a specific story, right?

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yes. So, this is a series version of Carrie and Mike being the huge fan of Stephen King that he is, Mike very much, I think — The meat of the story, the aspects of it that work the best, Mike stays true to. And I think as I read Mr. King, Mike is one of the few people that has Mr. King’s full blessings. I love Mike Flanagan. This guy can do my projects. He can tackle anything. And it was just such a joy to see Mike 12 years later and be able to start working on a project. So, I have been working on that here in town, as has Michael Trucco, and of course Katee Sackhoff, which you were mentioning. So, another Battlestar alum[nus].

David Read:
You guys share any scenes together? The three of you or two of you? Or is it just… You’re contained inside the same production? Is there a chance?

Tahmoh Penikett:
There’s a chance. There’s always a chance but I’m not gonna give away anything. But there’s a chance. And the true fans where you cross these genres are really gonna appreciate that. That’s part of the reason Mike’s doing that. So, again, what I’ve seen with Mr. Flanagan, which is incredible because he’s just blowing up, and deservedly so, but he’s incredibly loyal. He’s almost like… It’s like he has a theater company. Many of the actors he’s worked with, if you look at the last three series he’s done, they have roles to play in the other series. They’ve all worked on all the shows. He’s always working with the same actors again. If he gets along with them, if he trusts in their work, he’s gonna work with them again. And he’s very much done that with Trucco. And for me to just see 12 years later, 10 years later, whatever it is, after that first conversation with Mike, and now I’m working with him, I’m just really honored. Because I’m a big fan of his work. And Michael Trucco and him have become so close. And I think Carrie is gonna be a big deal. This is, from what I’ve seen so far… I’m blown away. The casting is fantastic. The lead actress who plays Carrie, Summer, is a real talent. And the surrounding cast around her are very, very good also. And the writing is, of course, so good. Mike is so good. It’s so… You feel so special when you actually get to work on the project where the dialogue is so special and you understand that this is different.

David Read:
You feel it.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah, you feel it. This is one of the projects that’s gonna be very well recognized. It’s gonna be critically acclaimed. People will like this. This will be widely accepted. Because you cannot read this stuff on the page and just get right into it. As a fan, I’m very excited to see this finished project.

David Read:
Is it a modern telling of it?

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yes.

David Read:
I’m excited.

Tahmoh Penikett:
I think it’s already out. I don’t think I’ll get in trouble for that.

David Read:
Carrie. I had such a hard time watching that when I was little. I was more familiar with the second one, The Rage, but these certain kinds of stories that just don’t go away and they percolate every few years and always have an opportunity to be retold in various ways. There’s enough information… There’s enough good stuff going through the project to fuel more interpretations of it and always finding something new.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Well, if you look at the — We watched not the original, but we watched the one with Julianne Moor recently. My partner and I. And her and I were checking it out. If you look at… The core part of the story is really about bullying and acceptance that is so prevalent now, perhaps more so that it has ever been before because of the harms with social media. And we got a real crisis right now with youth and children and even adults and just skyrocketing depression levels and image levels and image confidence, and real mental health issues as a result of social media. So, you could argue that this story and the reinterpretation of it, especially in a contemporary version, is more relevant now than any other time.

David Read:
It’s prescient.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah, definitely so. I’m excited to see it all wrapped up.

David Read:
So, don’t go into this planning on feeling good is what you’re saying, Tahmoh.

Tahmoh Penikett:
I think he’s gonna be true to it. It’s a Stephen King project. There’s gonna be… There’ll be some darkness. There’ll be some light. I think anybody who appreciates good acting, though, on Mike Flanagan’s projects, they’re gonna be very excited about this and probably very happy at the end.

David Read:
My favorite novel… No. My favorite book of all time is Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. But my favorite novel of all time is the original [The] Shining by King. And King is the only author who before the end of Chapter One of [From a] Buick 8, I had tears in my eyes. It’s like, “What a masterful author to actually pull that out of someone at Chapter One. This never happened to me before.

Tahmoh Penikett:
He’s incredible.

David Read:
But art impacts us all in various ways and if you don’t mind, I would like to bring in a friend of mine who was impacted by some of what you created, if I can get this thing right here. I would like you to meet Nicole.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Hi, Nicole.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Hello.

David Read:
Nicole, what did I say?

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
I’m good. Sorry. I’m cool. I’m a depressed youth who’s struggling with social media and stuff so it’s perfect timing.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Aren’t we all? Except for the “youth” part.

David Read:
Nicole and I run Wormhole X-Tremists. We are… Let me just update the screen here. We are co-hosts on Stargate SG-1 currently and moving into Atlantis rewatch show. And I thought it was appropriate, because we’re getting ready to move into Atlantis this coming weekend, to bring her in real quick. And we both watched Battlestar and were crazy about it. Nicole, did you find it when it was airing, or did you find it after?

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
No. So, I watched it when I was about 15 years old and it was, like, I had a day off school for some reason. I remember I’d seen Tahmoh before in Stargate but then I’d watched Battlestar and I fell in love with it immediately and my dad walked in and was like, “You’re watching Galactica?” And I was like, “Yeah.” Then all of a sudden it was just a whole week and a half of just constant Battlestar.

David Read:
Do you have a question for him?

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
I do. I just wanna preface it by saying that I just love your work.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Thank you.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
I was really surprised to see you in Reign. That was fun. Because I really loved all the CW shows. Seeing you pop up, that was great.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Oh, yeah. Reign. That was years ago.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Yeah, and Dollhouse was fun. And also, I adore Mike Flanagan’s work. Rahul Kohli is one of my favorite actors. I fell in love with him during iZombie.

Tahmoh Penikett:
He’s so good, isn’t he?

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
And having Battlestar Galactica connected universe, especially when he’s such a fan of the show as well, I’ve just been like, “Oh my God. Mike Flanagan is making all my dreams come true.”

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah, it’s pretty cool that he’s doing that. A lot of people are pretty excited about it.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
I can’t wait for this because I’ve seen absolutely all of the shows. So, having you be part of the new project with Mike Flanagan is just super exciting.

David Read:
Question, Nicole. Question.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Yes. So, Battlestar Galactica has maintained its relevance to our real-world issues to this day. It’s consistently impacted how I think about the world. So, given that, I’m curious. If you had to choose which member of the crew do you think the world needs most right now and why? And it can’t be Helo because he has a heart of gold.

Tahmoh Penikett:
That’s a great question.

David Read:
Interesting.

Tahmoh Penikett:
The world. Who does the world need right now? That’s a tough one. But I would say, Nicole — Funny enough, people might find this answer strange, but we unfortunately need the Gaius Baltars. But we also need the Roslins, and we also need the Adamas. I think our mistake has been, and again not to get into the weeds here because we really could very quickly, as we all know how contentious and strange this world is that we’re living is…

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Very much so.

Tahmoh Penikett:
…Trying to shut people down and not allowing them to have a voice, it’s almost like trying to douse a fire with gasoline. It’s been to the detriment of some of the more sane voices who — Leaders out there who are asking… Really impressing upon us and trying to remind us all that we need to speak and we need to have dialogue and we need to find common ground and things have become so divisive and everyone are in such different camps and demonizing each other. And there’s just constantly this horrible and aggressive and demeaning rhetoric aimed at each other. And there’s not two camps. There’s six, seven, eight… There’s 20 camps. Who knows? But there’s forces out there that are literally trying to convince us that there’s two sides or maybe three. And that in itself is just a ridiculous suggestion. And I would ask and mind people, those who have a bit of a mind and are interested in things and believe that humanity has a future and potential, that you really try and find that common ground and just be more accepting and really trying to listen more. I’ve had to do a ton of work on myself since COVID. Political leanings of people I consider dear friends were really strained during that time. And I even found myself all over the board and questioning things that I was so sure to be true and I still am. And I think we should. I think we should be questioning a lot of institutions that we’ve always just accepted have our well-being in their best interest when oftentimes they don’t. I think we’ve really been compromised at a corporate billionaire level. Things have gotten so gnarly. There’s such a division right now between the wealthy and the uber wealthy who just continue to get more and more wealth. And there’s such a disintegration of democracy. True democracy. In so many western nations right now. It’s been so compromised by money. So, in a very long-winded way, I would say all of us just make a little more effort. People have different thoughts, and everyone wants to think that they have the narrative and the real information, but I would argue that most of us are in the weeds trying to find some little granite of truth from each side and form our own opinions on things. But fall back into what you know. Who you are as an individual? Try to be a good human being. Try and walk around with respect. Try and have kindness and empathy. Empathy towards others. Regardless of different cultures or religions and sexual preferences. We just need to be really more tolerant and accepting.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
I appreciate you saying that as well because actually — What I will say before David kicks me off so you can get back to everything else.

David Read:
Me? No.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Don’t stop. It’s important stuff we’re talking about.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
It is that hugely influenced how I look at the world and taught forgiveness and empathy for all sides. And Helo, for me, was my favorite alongside Chief for the most empathetic. And the most understanding and willing to listen. And it hugely formed who I am today, which is why I have friends of every connection because I think it’s just so important to make sure that all voices are heard, even if I don’t necessarily agree. So, I really appreciate your answer.

Tahmoh Penikett:
And we’ve done our job. And that’s just incredible. We couldn’t receive… The show couldn’t receive a higher compliment. You tell me how many shows you’ve watched or other shows that you can mention where you can say the same thing. And I say this again with humility, but I’ve heard that for 20 years. I go to conventions. People tell me that. Young people tell me that. They’re like, “Who I am, the way I operate in the world, the way I see things is largely… It’s been affected so much by the show.” There’s no higher compliment. And as I said, the show was very much about that. We have to find some middle ground. We have to have — I’ve got friends and relatives who are on a completely different political spectrum that I am. Buy you know what? We do have common ground. We always do. There’s things we can care about. And you gotta find that middle ground and you still have to love them, and you have to realize that being challenged by that way sometimes, it’ll even force you to question some of the beliefs that you might be rigid about. And that’s also a reminder that we shouldn’t be so dead set in any belief. Because that’s not growing older and getting wise. You should be open to new ideas and at least suggesting them. And all of us need to remind each other to debate and discuss contentious issues respectfully. It’s very hard in these times but it’s a practice that we all need to commit to.

David Read:
Thank you, Nicole.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Pleasure to meet you.

David Read:
Appreciate you, dear.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Pleasure to meet you.

David Read:
You take care.

Nicole Rodrigues-Galdo:
Bye.

David Read:
Nicole and I are very different people on many levels, but she makes me — Whoops. Hang on just a second, buddy. Let me bring you back in here. Alright. She makes me a better person.

Tahmoh Penikett:
That’s awesome.

David Read:
And that’s one of the reasons she’s in my life. I’ll never forget… “Gaius Baltar is innocent.” Sound of that makes my skin crawl. “Not guilty is not the same as innocent,” but we have to look at the future.

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s an excellent point.

David Read:
I’ll never forget that.

Tahmoh Penikett:
You know Jamie Bamber wrote — Ron Moore is a brilliant man. Brilliant writer and creator. But Jamie — A lot of people don’t realize Jamie Bamber’s an Oxford graduate. He’s a very, very bright man. And Jamie’s actually a really good writer himself. And when his monologue…

David Read:
Oh, that speech. God.

Tahmoh Penikett:
He wrote a lot of it.

David Read:
Really? I didn’t know that.

Tahmoh Penikett:
And it’s really incredible. So, he went — I guess he said to Ron, “Listen, I’ve got some ideas, and I’d really like to add to this if you give me your blessing.” And Ron was like, “Jamie, you do your thing.” And he wrote it, and the writing stuff was like, “That’s beautiful. Go with it.” So, that monologue, which a lot of people don’t realize, Jamie wrote that.

David Read:
Wow. I’ve got most of it memorized.

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s amazing.

David Read:
“Not you. Not Gaius Baltar. You have to die because we don’t like you very much. Because you’re arrogant. Because you’re weak. Because you’re a coward. And you have the temerity to live. We the mob have decided to execute you now.” Sorry. Anyway.

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s incredible to see how telling, how prescient that show is.

David Read:
It’s so prescient.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Isn’t it nuts that we’re sitting here talking about it and — It’s just incredible.

David Read:
Anyone who has not seen Battlestar, it’s an 80 some odd episode opera that you have to go out there and watch. My buddy, Jakub, who’s in the chat right now, he’s actually watching it for the first time. And he’s just getting started. He doesn’t know what he’s got in him. I actually spoiled some of it for him. Have you spoken with the audio version of ChatGPT?

Tahmoh Penikett:
No, I haven’t spoken with it.

David Read:
You’ve heard it? Do you know what it…?

Tahmoh Penikett:
I’ve seen it online.

David Read:
Have you heard the 4.0 version?

Tahmoh Penikett:
No. Can we check it out?

David Read:
Yeah. It’s not gonna be able to hear you but it can hear me. Max, can you hear me?

Max (AI):
Hey there. Yep, I can hear you loud and clear. Hopefully, you can hear me as well. Let me know if there’s anything…

David Read:
I can hear you just fine. What can you tell me about the Cylons?

Max (AI):
Oh, the Cylons. They’re such an iconic part of the Battlestar Galactica universe. They were originally created by humans and then they ended up rebelling. In the re-imagined series, they have these human-like models that are basically indistinguishable from actual humans. Lots of twists and turns in that storyline.

David Read:
Who is Number Eight?

Max (AI):
Number Eight is one of the humanoid Cylon models, and the most well-known version of her is Sharon who goes by the call sign Boomer in the show. She’s a super…

David Read:
Not Boomer. What else was she called by later on?

Max (AI):
I got it. The other version of Number Eight that we get to know well is Sharon “Athena” Agathon. She takes on the name Athena after she joins the human side and falls in love with Helo. So, she’s got a whole different storyline going on.

David Read:
I’m talking to Tahmoh Penikett right now. Do you have anything to say to him?

Max (AI):
Oh, that’s so cool. Well, definitely let him know that he’s got a lot of fans who really appreciate his work and we’re all grateful for the awesome characters he brought to life.

David Read:
We are in so much trouble.

Tahmoh Penikett:
We’re in so much trouble.

David Read:
And not from it…

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s so funny that my entire life, being a William Gibson fan at that — It’s so funny, because David, I know it’s here now. And I’m really fearful man. I’m really scared. That is fascinating to be alive at this time to be the age that I am…

David Read:
Extraordinary.

Tahmoh Penikett:
…That I dreamt about this for so many years to have read about it and played with the idea of us being at that point in technology where this actually happens. And to hear — I was mentioning this the other day. So, the voice patterns, the speech and how humanlike it sounds now, it’s incredible. Month to month it’s getting better. Many people would not be able to discern that that wasn’t a person they were talking to. I remember, sometimes… Because I have a New York Times subscription… I remember even two years ago, even last year, listening to some of the Ais read me an article when I’m driving. The improvements. For instance, they’re so specific. Where I was listening to AI read to me and I could tell as the actor in me, this AI was someone with a Puerto Rican background because I could hear the accent so subtly. And they’d even thrown in a dash of they’d obviously grown up in New York. It’s fascinating how specific it’s gotten right now. It’s scary. It’s terrifying where we are at right now.

David Read:
I don’t think it’s gonna…

Tahmoh Penikett:
That blew my mind.

David Read:
…Come to life and do us harm so much as I think that we’re gonna wield it against each other. And the more we strive to break down barriers and actually have conversations with anyone who says, “Oh, you don’t wanna talk to that person…” “Why? Why don’t I want it?” Now all I wanna do is talk to it. I wanna discover something for myself. I think that we’re gonna be…

Tahmoh Penikett:
Remember that scene in Her with Joaquim Phoenix?

David Read:
Which one?

Tahmoh Penikett:
Her.

David Read:
Oh my gosh. The guy who created ChatGPT, his biggest… His most favorite film is Her. And so, he found a Scarlett Johansson’s soundalike who was one of the original voices on that. And Scarlett Johansson either sued or threatened to sue OpenAI to pull it because it sounded like her. It wasn’t that it was her. But we’re just a little while away from you guys having to add to your clauses some kind of — It’s coming.

Tahmoh Penikett:
We’ve gotta keep some integrity here. We’re gonna be lost. We’ll have nothing left. If we don’t fight for that aspect at least — If it sounds like them, she’s one of the most famous voices out there as a celebrity and a female. She has every right to fight for the fact that it’s not by chance that that thing sounds like her.

David Read:
No. And it’s not going away. We will find…

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s not going away. That’s the problem.

David Read:
It will be… There will be… Just like the torrents didn’t kill the music industry. And Napster. They’re still around. The same with movies. If you wanna buy a premium subscription to something and pay Tahmoh royalties to use his likeness in a VR that you’re wanting to view yourself, scaled down, that’s how you will get your cut. And that’s — We’re just dancing around right now trying to…

Tahmoh Penikett:
Inevitable. It’s inevitable.

David Read:
The pirate stuff will always be there, but it won’t be as good as something that you can get on iTunes or elsewhere. It’s just a matter of contextualizing everything and figuring out what the market wants. It’s extraordinary time.

Tahmoh Penikett:
It’s extraordinary. The fact that you just did that and I listened to that just blows my mind. I’d seen a couple of things on Twitter but I — It’s funny again, to the point I was making before, I’ve always been a fan of this. I’ve read about this my whole life.

David Read:
We’ve been waiting for this and here it is.

Tahmoh Penikett:
I’ve been waiting for this and now that it’s here I’m [inaudible] [46:37] all of it. I’m not using it. I also… I’m of the belief in terms of me with my own writing, I don’t wanna assistance with it because I feel like it’s gonna dumb myself down. The creative process involved with me writing, it’s part of the reason I can keep my brain sharp. That and they’re actually starting to get studies about that now. And I’ll tell you, in many different capacities, even with some of the work that I’m doing on the side outside of my acting — I do… I’ve been doing constitutional work with my First Nation and it’s a very… There’s so much legalese and it’s a slow, bureaucratic process but it’s a very learning experience for me, the last two years. But I can tell when somebody’s written me something using ChatGPT. You know what I mean?

David Read:
You can feel it.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Very easily. Because I know the individual, especially if we’ve had conversation and communication for a long time. I know their cadence. I can tell.

David Read:
And punctuation.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Everything. Just when you read it, you’re like, “OK. They’ve clearly used ChatGPT in the middle of this or just right here or for the whole thing because this isn’t from them.” So, I don’t judge people for that. And I think some people can use it and they will use it. It’s not going anywhere. But for me personally, I’m still exercising the fact that I’m staying away from this technology. Even though I’ve been waiting for it and I knew it was coming, I’m avoiding it all. So, that video is the first time that I’ve actually seen something and heard something and it blows me away. That AI’s voice was so real.

David Read:
I sat down with Rachel Luttrell a couple of weeks ago and had lunch and I demonstrated that to her and she said to me, “I’ve been avoiding it as well.” And she said, “I can’t afford to anymore. I have to interact with this on some level to know what I’m up against because my children are.” And I said, “That is really… That was wise.” That was a very — I didn’t think that she was gonna say that. So, I think there’s a tightrope that you have to walk there for sure. And Tahmoh, I would love to sit down at some point and talk with you about your Upper Tanana heritage because there is a lot there — There are only a few hundred left. It’s not a big group of people that you hail from.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah. My community in particular is quite small but we have a significant amount of relatives across the border in Alaska. You gotta understand they came and just dropped a border in between us. Our traditional territory is that area of Yukon and Alaska. And it’s broad. There’s a massive amount of territory that is our traditional territory there. And what we’re losing though, like most First Nations, most Native American tribes in North America and around the world, we’re losing a lot of the native speakers. And that’s the thing we’re fighting against right now, is trying to keep the language alive. And of course, the culture. Because it’s not a written language. So, a lot of the story…

David Read:
That’s right.

Tahmoh Penikett:
…Music, history, everything is passed down through language. I’m adamant about going back every year and getting out of the land with my people, hunting with my elders, just being out in nature and partaking in as much cultural practice as I can and just learning. I’m always trying to learn. I wanna be able to pass on as much to my children as I can and I’m so proud of my cultural diversity on my indigenous side. Because I grew up more with that. I grew up in the Yukon territory surrounded by that, by my mother’s people, on our traditional territory. And it’s just a really important aspect of me. But we’ll definitely do another one of these in the future.

David Read:
I’d love to. And it makes you unique.

Tahmoh Penikett:
And we can delve into it a little bit more. Very unique. But the Dene, it’s Athabaskan language group. Because people are often confused about which nation we are. And the Dene… The Athabaskan, which most recognized are the Navajo, right?

David Read:
Yes.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Those are cousins of ours. That’s the same language group. And when you say Navajo, a lot of Americans have heard of them, of course, because they’ve been made famous by the Navajo code talkers during the war and the Navajo Nation in the United States.

David Read:
Many of my friends around Phoenix were Navajo. The land was right there. Good golf courses.

Tahmoh Penikett:
Yeah. It’s the largest reservation in the United States. But those are our people. Those are our cousins. I’m always trying to give back to my community and stay connected to it. But there’s definitely some challenges that many First Nations are facing in North American, specifically just retaining their language and their culture as much as they can.

David Read:
Jakub wants to know, “Where is some place that you recommend that we visit if we get to be in your part of the world?” If you had to pick one place.

Tahmoh Penikett:
They’re coming to Vancouver in particular?

David Read:
Yeah, Vancouver or maybe from where you’re from specifically. Where would be the spot that you would really recommend? You have to experience this if you’re gonna come to the Northwest.

Tahmoh Penikett:
What’s so beautiful about B.C. is, it would take you — Just an interesting fact which a lot of people don’t realize. We have the largest ferry system in the world because in the Georgia Strait and in all the area outside of Vancouver we have so many islands. On each of these islands it their own community that have been there for generations. And people in B.C. know. It’s like, “Oh, this person’s from Gambier or they’re from… This person’s from Salt Spring.” “No, they’re from Maine. That explains it.” Everyone — There’s these generalized characteristics of people. It’s really cool. This is before your time and in the wrong country but there was a Canadian TV series that went for 25 years, and it was called [The] Beachcombers. And every Canadian in my reservation…

David Read:
[N.] John Smith was part of it.

Tahmoh Penikett:
There you go. Massive show. It was iconic and it was very much about B.C. and the coast and the logging and the tiny little diverse community of Gibsons and Molly’s Reach. It was a really interesting show that I grew up with being a northern kid. But it fascinated me about this part of the world. British Columbia is stunning. It’s one of the most beautiful parts of the world and I’ve done a fair amount of traveling. Even when you go away, you always come back and you’re like, “Oh yeah. I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.” I would just say you gotta get up to the mountains. You gotta check out Whistler. If you come to Vancouver, there’s a lifetime of hiking in and around the city. Right in it. Go up to Lynn Valley. See the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

David Read:
It’s beautiful.

Tahmoh Penikett:
You’ve just gotta hike and look it up and see what you wanna do. There’s stuff within the city. If you want something easy within the city, you gotta bike the Seawall. You gotta go around Stanley Park which is 10 kilometers just the outside of it along the ocean, which is stunning. Go to Kits Beach. Do the whole Seawall and go from Downtown Vancouver West End all the way over to Olympic Village and then make your way into Granville Island and then Kitsilano right up to the University. There’s a lot of amazing food in Vancouver. Vancouver is 52 percent Asian, so we’ve now got to a point where there’s a ton of restaurants in Vancouver where people come from, very much like Battlestar Galactica, this entire community they’re living in. But they come from very diverse background where you have a Vietnamese father and Italian mother. So, now they’ve done fusion restaurants. So, you go to a restaurant with a fusion that’s never been done before. There’s really cool things like that in this city. We have a significant Mexican population. We have for a while now. So, there’s a ton of Mexican food in Vancouver, which a lot of people don’t realize. There’s an excellent food here. In the Summer and spring, it is just a joy to get out and see this beautiful city surrounded by mountains.

David Read:
So much there.

Tahmoh Penikett:
You’ll never forget it. And of course, Yukon Territory, just go. If you’re gonna go and you wanna see the iconic northern lights, the Aurora Borealis, you’ve gotta be there fall [or] winter. Really winter. But sometimes you’ll see it in fall. And that’s a game changer. I grew up with it. I’ve never taken it for granted but it’s one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever see in your life. But nature in Yukon is everywhere. Yukon is wild. It’s right there. So, even in the city of Whitehorse, which is 25-27,000 people, you can… It’s right there. You can go 10 minutes out or 5 minutes out, it’s right there. The stunning, majestic Yukon River runs right through the city, and it’s one of the longest rivers in the world. All the tributaries, all the waterways in the Yukon Territory are connected. So, if you’re really an outdoorsman and you wanna get out, there is a lifetime of hikes and river trips and rafting that you can do. You can do a couple of things. You could go up for four days and still do things that would change your life. It’s stunning.

David Read:
I really appreciate you taking the time and the crew of the great ship was represented here, both on camera with me and behind me here. My friend Jeremy if you would say, “So say we all?”

Tahmoh Penikett:
So say we all.

David Read:
Very good.

Tahmoh Penikett:
So say we all.

David Read:
Can you…?

Tahmoh Penikett:
I wanna give a shout out to Michael Hogan real quick. I know a lot of fans know that he’s had a bit of struggle and journey these last few years but there is gonna be a fundraising event at a convention coming up. I don’t think it’s been officially announced. But for those fans who are in the B.C. area, keep your ears open. It’s gonna be announced here right away and we’re gonna be doing something to help out the Hogan family.

David Read:
Fantastic.

Tahmoh Penikett:
We need anyone and everyone who’s interested and wants to see a lot of Battlestar alum[ni] and even more. There’s gonna be some special guests from different genres coming to join us. They’re gonna be helping out just raising some money to help out the Hogan family. Michael and Susan Hogan are two of our greatest thespians in Canada and beyond that. They’re just one of our — They’re incredible artists and they’ve contributed so much to film, television, radio in this country and beyond. And this is a small gesture from us to try and help them out through a difficult time. And for those true fans out there who wanna come and join and hang out and see us and celebrate our show, and celebrate the Hogans and some other genres, please just keep an ear out and I’ll be posting about it soon.

David Read:
We’ll keep an ear out as well. Can you hang with me for 30 seconds afterwards?

Tahmoh Penikett:
Of course.

David Read:
All right, sir. Tahmoh, thank you so much for taking the time and you made my week. Always a pleasure to catch up with you and hear about your world and what you doing.

Tahmoh Penikett:
David, you’re really great at what you do. I had fun as always and I look forward to the next time.

David Read:
Thank you, sir. Tahmoh Penikett everyone. We appreciate you tuning in. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate and I will see you on the other side.