Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, on the television series
Battlestar Galactica, is played by Aaron Douglas. Raised by parents who were a priest and an Oracle, Tyrol first became a part of the Colonial Fleet when he was only 18 years old. He has dedicated his adult life to serving the military, having served at different battleships including Pegasus, Columbia, Atlantia and Galactica. His knowledge and skills in tactical operations have proven to be vast, consequently earning him the respect of his then commander, William Adama. However, his weaknesses include falling victim to irrational and overprotective behavior (especially whenever one of his subordinates get injured or killed).
Tyrol was once involved with Lieutenant Sharon “Boomer” Valerii, who turned out to be a humanoid Cylon. He and Boomer were unaware of her real identity, but when she was discovered, both of them were thrown in the brig. Despite claiming that he did not love Boomer, her death caused him great pain, and when he came face to face with another Number Eight copy, Sharon “Athena” Agathon, he felt confused and distraught, especially since Athena was pregnant and very much involved with another man, Karl “Helo” Agathon.
After he and Helo were released from the brig for killing Pegasus officer Lieutenant Thorne (they murdered Thorne in the process of saving Athena from being raped), Tyrol began to entertain the idea that he might be a Cylon sleeper agent. After he attacked Specialist Cally upon waking up from a vicious nightmare, he sought the help of Brother Cavil, who assured him that he was not a Cylon. Cavil also helped Tyrol realize Cally’s romantic feelings towards him, but Tyrol later discovered that Cavil was a humanoid Cylon.
Upon settling in New Caprica, Tyrol and Cally got married and produced one son, Nicholas. Cally later apprehended him for not spending any time with Nicholas, but he later renewed his commitment to his family after he had a near death experience caused by a damaged patch in the ship. Despite his great relationship with William Adama (who had been promoted to Admiral), Tyrol headed a strike protesting the poor working conditions after an incident involving the tylium refinery occurred. He was then forced to put an end to the strike when William threatened to shoot Cally.
In an unexpected and ironic twist of fate, Tyrol, who had spent his adult life fighting against the Cylon army, ultimately found out that he was, indeed, a humanoid Cylon. He, along with Saul Tigh, Samuel Anders and Tory Foster, came to the conclusion after hallucinatory music reached only their ears and not the others. However, even after finding out about his true identity, Tyrol still returned and offered his services to the Colonial fleet.
(Photo courtesy of Sci Fi)