Biography
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 Moctesuma 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.
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.
