Bodie Olmos
| Sci-Fi/Fantasy | |
| IMDB.com |
Bodie J. Olmos
is talented at a
lot of things. Luckily for his fans, his decision to go into acting
as a career has proven to be a wise one. This young man was in his
first movie when he was only seven years old and performed in Robert
M. Young's 1982 masterpiece, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.
His second role, in 1988, was that of the younger son of Jaime
Escalante in the critically acclaimed movie Stand and Deliver.
Bodie James Olmos
was born in Los Angeles, California on August 27, 1975. He is the
younger son of actor/director/activist Edward James Olmos and artist
Kaija Keel and the grandson of the late actor Howard Keel. (Bodie
was named after a ghost town in California where his mother had
visited as a girl). He has an older brother, Mico, two adopted
brothers, Michael and Brandon, and two adopted sisters, Tamiko and
Daniella.
After high
school, Bodie attended and graduated in 2000 from UCLA School of
Theatre in Los Angeles. His first leading role at UCLA was in"When
the Purple Settles." He took additional courses in acting and
received a degree from the Sanford-Meisner Center where he was
taught by Martin Barter. He enjoys live theatre and has performed in
a revival of the Luis Valdez play Zoot Suit (the play which
launched his father's career) as the character of Tommy Roberts. He
also performed in War at the Latino Theatre Company in the
Los Angeles Theatre Center.
In 1998 Bodie was
in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, and in 2004 he portrayed a
forensic scientist in Splinter, a movie directed by his
brother Michael. His most recent movie was Walkout. Bodie
assumed the challenging role of Montezuma Esparza, the film's
producer and an actual participant in the events of the story about
a protest by Latino students in late 1960s Los Angeles.
Bodie
also completed several short films including the UCLA Graduate short
film Capped, in which he played the role of Chops. He
finished another short movie entitled Manejar, directed by
Shelly Gant. It stars Stephanie Little and co-stars Pepe Serna.
Manejar was
accepted for competition by the 9th annual Los Angeles Latino
International Film Festival in October 2005.
"Battlestar Galactica" is not Bodie's first TV
series. In 2001 he joined the cast of "American Family" in the role
of the young Jess Gonzales. "American Family" was the first drama
series ever to air on broadcast television featuring a Latino cast,
and it was the first original prime-time American episodic drama on
PBS in decades. The series ran for two seasons.
"Battlestar Galactica" has presented
Bodie with new challenges. Only a small percentage of his scenes are
filmed with other actors. Much of the time, this Viper pilot finds
himself alone in a cockpit in front of a green screen. At these
times, every reaction, facial expression, and tone of voice "Hot
Dog" expresses must come solely from within Bodie. It is a more
cerebral type of acting because there are no other actors with whom
to speak or react. Bodie recently finished shooting the fourth and
final season of "BSG."
Once a triathlon athlete (swimming,
biking, running) and cross country runner, Bodie still runs, but
surfing has remained his favorite sport for nearly twenty years. He
is also musically inclined and is an accomplished drummer. He and
his brothers Mico and Brandon enjoy getting together to jam and
sing. Bodie likes to play traditional blues but says that his
listening enjoyment is more diverse. He stresses the importance of
following one's dream whatever they may be and in enjoying the
diversity of mankind.
