Brendan 'Hotdog' Constanza

Character bio courtesy of Battlestar Wikipedia

Bodie Olmos

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, an adopted sister, Tamiko.

When he was only seven years old Bodie made his first acting appearance 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.

BJO  has also completed several short film including the UCLA Graduate short film Capped, in which he played the role of Chops. It is a story of two brothers forced into the harsh reality of choosing living life in pain or resting in peace. This serious concept of euthanasia was directed by Nathan Adolfoson. He recently finished another short movie entitled Maneja, directed by Shelly Gant. Maneja has been 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 primetime American episodic drama on PBS in decades. The series ran for two seasons.

"Battlestar Galactica" has presented the younger Mr. Olmos 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. Whether he is shooting the Vipers guns or the one being fired upon, Bodie makes the viewer believe that Hot Dog is truly in the thick of things and that the Colonial Fleet is lucky to have him. 
Bodie is very candid when discussing the help and hindrance it is to have both a father and a grandfather as Hollywood icons. He freely admits that being who he is may get a door more easily opened, but he makes the point that once he is through the door, he is expected to be professional, to be able to carry the role, and, perhaps, to be even a little more knowledgeable than another actor might be. He says that he enjoys and is very comfortable working with his father, even when they disagree on how a character should act or speak. "He's usually right," Bodie says with a laugh although he knows he will continue to argue about a character when he feels it is necessary.

Thanks to MaryAnn T. Beverly, EJO's webmistress

IMDB Profile

Constanza was a Fleet Academy washout, surviving the Cylon Holocaust. He was recruited as a Viper pilot trainee after an accident killed 7 Viper pilots, including Flat Top. Initially washed out from Viper training under Lieutenant kara Thrace, he was reinstated after Commander William Adama ordered his, as well as the seven others that were in his group, return to flight training status. (This order was given due to the discovery that Thrace was deliberately being harsh on them, as she was responsible for the death of Zak Adama, who she passed during flight training -- despite the fact that Zak failed basic flight.)

After being reinstated, Constanza demonstrated an aptitude for being inventive and, at times, seemed to jump the gun. He acts more cocksure than he really is and tries to be top dog. This is demonstrated when a group of 8 Cylon Raiders came upon them. Instead of obeying orders and heading toward the Galactica at full throttle, he went back and assisted his instructor, an act which almost lead to his death at Cylon hands due to his inexperience in a combat situation. (Act of Contrition)

He was subsequently located by Alert 1 (Act of Contrition) and recovered by Boomer and Crashdown. (You Can't Go Home Again)

He has developed a bond with Kat and Chuckles, who were also a part of the same training group. (Act of Contrition)

Hot Dog took part in the attack on a Cylon tylium refinery (The Hand of God), as well as fending off Cylon attack while the Galactica attempted to relocate the Fleet (Scattered). After returning to the Galactica, Hot Dog survived a brief run in with a Cylon Centurion that had boarded the ship. (Valley of Darkness) While flying CAP, Hot Dog was ordered to intercept Apollo's Raptor transporting the escaping President Laura Roslin. After Apollo refused to turn around even after Hot Dog fired a warning shot across his bow, Col. Tigh ordered Hot Dog to stand down rather than shoot Apollo down. (Resistance)

Kat was promoted to Lieutenant after passing through Viper training as a cadet, so presumably Hot Dog has also been promoted to Lieutenant ("Final Cut").