Bodie Olmos: Let BSG Continue For Another Decade

But nothing is impossible for the younger Olmos, who turns 32 in August, as he says goodbye to Brendan "Hot Dog" Constanza on "Battlestar Galactica" and hello to his future.

"I do a lot of things that have no association with my father, but then again, you know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Olmos told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman. "Come to think of it, he is a part of every little thing I do. It is something that is innately a part of me. So, in essence, what I do to spread my wings is to first accept that and then I can move on from there."

Olmos has portrayed Hot Dog 26 times since his first appearance as a "nugget" in Starbuck's (Katee Sackhoff) pilot training class in "Act of Contrition" back in Season 1. While there has been some character growth over the past three seasons -- including his ass-kicking at the hands of Starbuck in Season 3's "Unfinished Business" -- it's unlikely that the fourth and final season of the show will allow Hot Dog to finally break out of his cocoon. However, "Battlestar Galactica's" writers have been known to be unpredictable.

"I really don't know where they are going to take him," Olmos said. "I would only ask that it becomes very radical, very quick. I like the unknown, the unexpected, the unchartered. To me, Hot Dog is still very peculiar and mystical. I have had such a wonderful time seeing the 'whereabouts' of his destination within the broader landscape of 'Galatica.'"

That landscape is growing more narrow much more quickly, now that only 22 hours of the show are left. And with that comes, as expected, some bittersweet emotions from Olmos.

"I think, for myself, I really don't want the series to end, and yet, I know all things must come to an end," he said. "If I had my choice, we would be going for another 10 years, and hopefully never find Earth, and everyone becomes Cylons and lives forever. No, but really, what a strange trip it's been."

Cast members of the show have described how shooting has become more of a family affair with parents such as the older Olmos and actress Mary McDonnell, and everyone else the grown and mostly mature children. Sometimes, being a recurring character on a show could make an actor feel like the odd man out in such situations, and Olmos wasn't immune to it.

"I found recurring to be one of the most challenging part of my job," he said. "It becomes very tricky, I find, to be able to come in and be a part of something that you have not necessarily been around all that much, but in a sense, pick up like you have been there all the time."

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