AirLockAlpha.com

Finding your own identity out from under a parent's shadow is the goal of many kids growing up. Unfortunately for Bodie Olmos, however, the shadow his father -- Edward James Olmos -- casts is almost impossible to escape from.

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 Airlock Alpha'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."

But families sometimes have a way of making anyone feel like they belong, and that's exactly what Olmos said he experienced with the BSG family.

"Fortunately, all the crew and cast are so dedicated and make it so welcoming for me and the rest of us who are recurring that it makes it much, much easier to do our work," he said.

Life will continue for Olmos after BSG ends, and the actor says he plans to continue as head of development for Olmos Productions Inc., a production company his father started years ago. The production company most recently aired "Walkout," directed by the older Olmos, that profiled Paula Crisostomo, who in 1968, staged a walkout of five East Los Angeles high schools to protest anti-Mexican bias in the education system. The production company's next film, "Divine Forces" about a military deserter in Iraq, is due out sometime next year.

"It's very important to make your own way as an actor," Olmos said. "Yes, it helps when it comes to 'who you know' in Hollywood. I believe that when it comes down to it, though, you really need to have the training, which means learning the craft. No matter how much help one gets, it is truly up to the individual to carry his own weight and perform at the end of the day."

Olmos said he has had a lot of input into the character of Hot Dog over the past three years, but getting a love interest for the hot-shot pilot is something that has been ignored. However, Olmos admits that it might have something to do with his choice of love interest.

"You have to keep this a secret," he said admitting that his character should end up with the very-much married Cally (Nicki Clyne). "Please don't tell her, and definitely don't let you-know-who find out. He would frakkin' toast me for sure."

"Battlestar Galactica" returns in November with the two-part telemovie "Razor" before starting its fourth and final season in 2008 on SciFi Channel.