A Few Good Men
At first, Reiner made Bodison his location manager for A Few Good Men (1992). However, Reiner had trouble casting for the role of Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson, a young Marine on trial for the murder of a private.
"We were talking, and he said, 'Wolf, have you ever acted?'" Bodison said. "I said, 'No, man.' He said, 'Ever thought about it?' 'No.' He said, 'Well, I'm trying to cast the movie, and I haven't found anyone for Dawson who fits my vision. Why don't you read for it?'" Since Bodison had never acted before, he hired Julie Ariola, an acting coach. "He's a very creative kid and very intelligent," Ariola said. "He was like a sponge. He took every suggestion."
In August 1991, shortly after Bodison's audition, he was called back to read again. Three days later: "I stopped at a pay phone, called Rob, and he said, 'Wolf, welcome to the movie business.'" Bodison said. "Man, I damn near dropped the phone. Then I went home and sat down in front of my window. I thought, 'What in the hell is going on?'"
"I wasn't the least bit surprised he got the job," said Ariola on Bodison getting what became his most well known role. "Destiny. That's what it was."
On her review of the film, The Washington Post film critic Rita Kempley described Bodison as an "impressive non-actor". On his review, Hartford Courant film critic Malcolm Johnson described him as "fierce" and "devoted". Writing for the Los Angeles Times, David Gritten wrote that Bodison "played it from the heart and gut. I've never seen anyone express contempt with just one look the way he does. He was enormously good at conveying complicated emotions without a word. You knew exactly how he felt." Film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Bodison, a new young actor whose performance as the more prominent defendant gives the film its melancholy shock value."
