A Mount Lebanon High School student took an assignment farther than a hobo on a freight train when he showed up to school dressed as a ragged, dirty homeless vagrant. He took it so far, in fact, that school officials called the cops on him and suspended him from school for two days.
If the whole debacle seems out-of-character for a 17-year-old teen, it’s because it is, literally. High school senior Michael Bodomov created the homeless man identity as part of a school assignment. A teacher instructed students to create a character and then to play that character at school for an entire day. Bodomov, who is thinking of studying acting in college, decided to do what any young actor would do by hamming it for all it’s worth.
As The Blaze reports, “Bodomov said he created a homeless man named John who had a falling-out with his family after he ran over his younger sister. John was also swayed by a guru to give up all his material possessions.” If there’s one thing worse than a creepy homeless man, it’s a creepy homeless man with a guru.
Apparently, he gave a performance even Daniel Day Lewis would appreciate: When he arrived at the school, his look was so authentic he was denied entry. It wasn’t until police arrived that Bodomov came clean about his dirty appearance.
Unfortunately, the role Bodomov ended up playing for the next few days is “Kid Who Gets in Trouble for Following Class Instructions.” Administrators suspended him for refusing to give his name to a school official. But the real bummer would be if he didn’t get an “A” on his assignment.
His mother agrees with the suspension, citing threats of potentially dangerous people in the aftermath of recent school shootings. And probably also because she realises the consequences of her son wasting thousands of dollars on a theater degree.
But it’s good that he’s learning the benefits of method acting. If he truly wants to follow his dreams, he might want to get into character as a downtown Los Angeles barista. That’s who he’ll likely be playing for most of his 20s.
