Dollhouse

Back into the Dollhouse with Tahmoh Penikett

The man behind Paul Ballard talks Season 2 and Battlestar cast reunions.

US, September 22, 2009 - With Dollhouse returning for its second season this Friday, I recently spoke to one of the show’s stars, Tahmoh Penikett, to learn more about what his character, Paul Ballard, is up to as the season begins . The Season 2 premiere, "Vows", finds Penikett reunited with one of his former Battlestar Galactica castmates, as Jamie Bamber guest stars as a man Echo (Eliza Dushku) marries, as part of her Dollhouse assignment. Penikett discussed getting to work with Bamber again, along with another upcoming guest star from BSG - Michael Hogan.

Those wary of any and all Spoilers should be aware Penikett does talk about some details of Bamber’s character, though these elements are specific only to the first episode of the season and not as important to the overreaching story arc of the series.

IGN TV: Season 1 ended with some big changes for your character and also some questions about why he made such a big leap.

Tahmoh Penikett: Well, going into Season 2, I don’t think I’m giving anything away, but obviously the main reason he did what he did going to work for the Dollhouse was to ensure that they released November. And he succeeded, but I think there’s also an opportunity for Paul. You’ll see in the first episode that he’s actually using the Dollhouse technology for his own benefit too. He’s actually trying to take down and correct some wrongs from his past. There’s a character played by Jamie Bamber and he’s a gun runner and he’s someone that Paul tried to unsuccessfully take down when he was an FBI agent. And he now goes at him again with the Dollhouse and with Echo particularly. So we see at the beginning of the season that Paul is actually using the Dollhouse for his own good. But the fact is, by doing that, he is putting Echo in harm’s way. And how long can he do that? That’s obviously his agenda, but is there more to it? Does he have a game plan? Is he okay working for the Dollhouse? Probably not...

IGN: Last season, he had that personal crisis after he found out Mellie was a doll. This looks like another way to explore moral compromise and how much is it okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason. Is that a theme that’s been interesting for you to explore with Paul?

Penikett: Oh, very much so. And that’s just it. Paul, when we leave him last season, he’s got nothing. When we meet Paul Ballard, he’s recently divorced. It’s not really clear that he has any friends or anyone close to him or any significant family. His life is very much his job. Then he finds out that this woman he’s fallen in love with is not real. She was really a doll. He’s kind of a man who is quite lost at the end of the season, which helps with understanding him seizing this opportunity to do something good by ensuring the release of November – while signing his life away to the devil.

IGN: Joss has said we will see November again. What might that be like for Paul?

Penikett: It’ll be really strange for him, because she’s who she really is before she became a doll and she doesn’t know him, obviously.

IGN: Joss has not been shy about casting Battlestar alumni this year.

Penikett: I love it! Strong choices!

IGN: What was it like working with Jamie and playing such a different scenario with him?

Penikett: Well, I’ll tell you this. I came down for the gallery shoot on July 16th. And Joss came in and casually said, "I’ve got Jamie for the first episode." I’m like, "Yeah, sure you do." He’s like, "Oh, no, he’s going to pistol whip you! He’ll probably beat you up!" I’m like, "Yeah, that’s funny Joss!" He’s like, "No, Tahmoh, I’m serious!" I couldn’t believe it. I laughed. I just thought it was awesome. When Jamie came to the set, it was so great. It was great to welcome a good friend of mine and a castmate of mine for five years to my new show and have him come and play. And I loved seeing Jamie play a bad guy! Everyone on set kept saying, "I can’t believe he’s got that accent!" And it’s great, Jamie playing this nemesis of mine – this evil gunrunner. He did a really good job and I think he had a lot of fun.

IGN: What about Michael Hogan?

Penikett:Oh, Michael Hogan… I’m one of his biggest fans. Michael Hogan is such a kick ass actor. He’s the Canadian Gene Hackman. I only got to work with him a little [on Dollhouse], but he was so good.

IGN: "Epitaph One" had these very interesting glimpses at the future. Have you asked Joss what occurs in-between?

Penikett: I personally haven’t asked him, but it is interesting. It gives us something to work towards. And you know, that’s quite the time jump too. I think the most interesting thing about that is it almost – even though it hints at the future, we’re jumping ahead and showing what could happen possibly with this technology, and it almost makes it scarier. It’s not fear of the unknown. You know and it’s still just as scary as you watch the progression through this season, because the consequences of this technology and what happens if it becomes public or gets in the wrong hands… which is already seems to be in!

IGN: Going into Season 1, you had all eyes on you with the show, and Joss’s fandom seemed to also attract a lot more attention to growing pains the show was enduring. With critical support on the upswing in the second half of Season 1, does it feel more comfortable now making the show?

Penikett: Absolutely. Anyone who says it wasn’t a little unsettling would be lying. It was difficult for all of us, but I think that’s the case with most new series. But even more so with us, because of Joss, because of his reputation, because there was so much hype about the show. And it was a rough start. It was a little bumpy, and the show was trying to find its way. This season is so significantly different and is very much like the last half of the season. I think ever since "Man on the Street", the show really sort of found its way and showed what it could be potentially. This season, I gotta tell you man… Three of the episodes, of the five we’ve done, are already some of our best ones, hands down, over anything last season. They’re exceptional. There’s some really, really strong episodes. We’re five episodes in and they’re all extremely strong, so I’m really optimistic and excited actually. I can’t wait to see what the critics say, because starting off like this, we’re setting a precedent with these five episodes and I think the rest will just follow suit. I think the show has found its way and everyone knows it – everyone is feeling it.

IGN: And I’m sure you’re happy this season to get to actually work with your costars.

Penikett: Yeah! That’s a great thing for me. Obviously, as an actor, I always look forward to that. That’s part of the reason I do this job. I really look forward to working with talented artists. That’s one of the perks of being in episodic is you get that opportunity all the time, to work with a lot of different actors and it’s great. Olivia [Williams] is so talented, Harry [Lennix] is so talented… They’re all so talented on the show. It’s just really neat to finally be able to share some significant, big scenes with them.

IGN: What was it like wrapping up Battlestar?

Penikett: It’s so funny… It was a big deal, man. It was very sad. But I’m an optimist and I think it was a fitting end to an incredible series. I had trust in Ron [Moore] and him making that decision, because if anybody could and should, it would be him. I admired the fact that he ended on a high point and didn’t do the norm in television, which is to go on two more seasons, three more seasons than you should have. I think we left with our integrity. And if anything, something that I’m proud of too is that it almost seems like the show is still growing. People are still discovering it.

I’m so close to the cast. We’ve gotten together numerous times since. It’s neat for me to be back in LA, because I don’t have to see them at different times – we get together. We lost our line producer, Harvey Frand. He was a very important part of the family. And we just had his memorial a couple of weeks ago. We all had a big dinner and reminisced. It was great. It was great to see them. I think we’re bonded for life, really.

I’m looking forward to watching it again. I’m going to save Battlestar, and even the ending I’m going to savor… I’m just going to know. There’s going to be a time when I’ll have some time off, after working the grind for a long time, and I’ll sit back and go through those episodes again, from the beginning. I haven’t seen the miniseries since I first watched it when it first aired at the Director’s Guild down here, six months after we shot it. So I’m looking forward to seeing that again.

Dollhouse: Season 2 premieres Friday, Sept 25th at 9:00pm on FOX.