Tonight’s “ripped from the headlines” Lifetime movie, The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story, follows the title character (Teri Hatcher) and her husband, Ed (Tahmoh Penikett), who live a peaceful life in Kansas until it is suddenly upended when Ed suffers a heart attack. As Ed fights for his survival, Ruth starts receiving terrifying threats, convincing her that she will be the next victim of the BTK killer. Ruth is abducted, yet returns shortly after, leaving police confused and trying to find answers. As new evidence surfaces, it becomes apparent that the kidnapper may be someone close to Ruth.

Penikett knew he wanted to be a part of the project as soon as he heard Hatcher was attached, whom he had nothing but praise for. “[Y]ou hear of a veteran, accomplished, respected actor of the caliber of Terry Hatcher…you want to jump on board, and you want to work with them,” the actor told SciFi Vision during a recent interview, adding that he was a fan of her work.

The actor was even more encouraged once he read the script. “I was really excited,” said Penikett. “I love films like this, films that are based on true stories. I think there's a real appetite out there with people in the audience to hear stories like this…[E]ven though a lot of these stories are based in fact and history that we've seen before, people are drawn to them it. It reminds them of something they can relate to a lot more, because oftentimes it's from a real period in their life that they remember and it affected them.”

Penikett also talked about his research and how things were different in the late seventies and early eighties when it takes place. “[T]his is an era where [there were] a lot of conservative values, a lot of minding your own business, making sure that you're an upstanding character within your community,” the actor told the site. “These are the things that were important to a couple like Ruth and Ed Finley…If you had personal issues, if you had problems, you very much kept that to yourself, and you didn't want it to be public.”

“I think Ed was very much of that generation,” he continued. “I would assume that Ed felt some shame about what was transpiring in the beginning, and real fear, though, one thing that was clear to me about Ed was that he was as stoic and loving husband as you could have. His entire mission was to protect his wife, and that's all he was focused on during the course of this incident.”

The actor went on to talk about how stories like this film are important because of the stigma that surrounds mental health, and that it needs to be discussed. “[Y]ou didn't talk openly about mental health, and if you did, it was oftentimes in a in a derogatory way, and people looked down on it. I really celebrate the fact that there's so much discussion about it now, depression and all types of mental health. 

 “…Mental health issues and depression issues are something we need to talk about and we need to address. There's a real crisis…So, any conversations, any projects like this that openly touch on these areas, I would argue that it's really helping open up the discussion on these important issues.”

For more from Penikett, including a standout memory from his time on Battlestar Galactica and much more, watch the full interview below. Be sure to check out The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story on Lifetime.



For more from Penikett, as well as Teri Hatcher, you can also watch the Lifetime Ripped from the Headlines press panel.