But the truth is, I didnt think it would be done in a sloppy way, without integrity or purpose. Cranston: There was one scene early on in Breaking Bad when we kidnap him. He is also a DEA agent. Gould: When we found out that he was actually going to come back, I think it was a little worrying, because you always worry. Thats been a bigger effect than the actual heart attack. But I had read his book twice. The first episode of Better Call Saul, which aired in February 2015, opens when Breaking Bad leaves off. A lawyer named Saul Goodman? Initially, Odenkirk wasnt convinced it would work. And then I just got in my own way. So I stepped out of the way and just embraced it. For a while, he does. He is part of that ilk of people. And thank God he didnt leave set. "You don't want a criminal lawyer you want a criminal lawyer," Jesse explains to Walt early in their partnership. Saul Goodman is Walt and Jesse's attorney. Odenkirk: Theres a few scenes in Mr. Show I could point to and say I show some chops as an actor, some ability to lose myself and with a degree of modulation and sensitivity, but not much. Jesse Pinkmans doofus buddy has been busted for dealing methand Walter wants to make sure he wont squeal. Odenkirk told The New York Times that it took three defibrillator shocks to bring his heart back into rhythm. "Go with the winner." Im holding a gun on him. Weve got a lot of real estate down below that hasnt been discovered.. I didnt know how heavy it was. It was the most Id been asked to reach inside myself and connect with this person, this other character that I was playing. He drew it from famously loquacious Hollywood producer Robert Evanss memoir, The Kid Stays in the Picture. Peter Gould (Breaking Bad executive producer/Better Call Saul cocreator): Pretty early in Season 2, the idea came up that Walt and Jesse would have to sell drugs themselves. Gould: We just loved writing for this character. And I go, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. The dog was pregnant and out pops eight puppies. Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler): I got the first script and then watched Bob create this Arthur Miller or Glengarry Glen Ross character along with the scripts, obviously. As the final season of Better Call Saul approaches, its clear that Jimmy is the man that Chuck warned hed become. I wanted a door with more texture. And immediately things stop and they bring water down from the trucks. When Saul finds out he unwittingly participated in Brocks poisoning, he tries to end his partnership with Walt. And he looked up at me and he said, They came this way. And we were in his lawyer office, which was iconic. "So not only was it off the grid, it was obscured from the main street farther up. But the key to what makes Jimmy tick is his relationship with his big brother. During the frisk, Saul has Huell lift Jesses ricin cigarette for Walt. I like the scene because its just before were gonna snipe the bad guys and the truck does all the turns and the rolls and that kind of stuff. The actors were all getting sand up their noses, in the back of their throats. David Cross and I have worked together for years. But they grew to like visiting me in Albuquerque. Chuck, a high-powered New Mexico attorney, offers to get him out of trouble under one condition: Jimmy straightens out his life. Well, if he's down there tucked in the corner, how do people find him? Odenkirk: It put me at ease greatly. I got time to read. And I hear in the background Naomi, his wife saying, No, they told you not to read. We looked at him for guidance every week. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. King recalls with a laugh. You could feel the beads of sweat, but when you passed that threshold and you were gifted with being in Saul Goodman's presence, there was a comfort zone there. So thats allowed to be an almost comic-level performance because its self-aware in its bigness. The next star was Jane Kaczmarek and she really didnt want the mantle of leading the cast.

But that went along with the character. Odenkirk has had many other memorable roles in films and TV shows, including agent Stevie Grant in The Larry Sanders Show, ex-porn star Gil Bang in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Artillery Arthur in How I Met Your Mother. I remember we were doing a scene and it was me, Lavell Crawford, an amazing stand-up comedian, and Bob Odenkirk. Odenkirk: You never really know if that was a genuine connection, or if it just felt right that day and its going to be a problem down the line. You know? Odenkirk: What I loved about that scene was the outrageousness of the scenario and how we got to do it so realistically. Saul Goodman was a true original. McKean: The soul of the player, who is essentially what Jimmy is, and the achiever are just two different lives. Hes figured out whats to be done. And I very clearly have a boundary about it, like, Were not discussing cases.. And that was the birth of Better Call Saul, through Bobs ability to carve out his piece of the pie.. Fixer Mike Ehrmantraut andeventuallydrug lord Gus Fring both appear.

And if youre going to listen to me talk for five pages, Ive got to be doing something interesting, saying something interesting, but also working it, working that material.

In the early 90s, a heinous pranklook up Chicago Sunroof if you darenearly lands Jimmy in prison. So I saw there was a void and I thought, Well, someone has to do this. So I stepped in and kind of led the cast on cast meetings and issues that we dealt with. Odenkirk: Its a complete blank for me. And my God, look where we are now. And so I sat with him. We asked King to walk us through the design of Saul's office, from the faux columns to the inflatable Statue of Liberty. A mangy dog. I said it sounded very interesting, I did a little research on it and learned it was a real thing, and that I had to treat it like a real thing, no matter what happened down the line. And thats how youre ready when you get on set. Dont say no. We spent 14 hours a day together, maybe more. Gould: We would get kind of stop-and-go signals. Late in the first season, Jimmy figures out that its Chuck, not Chucks partner Howard, that kept him from being hired at their firm. I suggest you embrace it.. And Im walking by and I can hear them, and Im trying to listen. Bob Odenkirk didnt think he was right for the role. Aside from the occasional glimpse into the future, the series mostly focuses on the years before Saul Goodman is fully formed. Such is Saul, who operates out of a strip mall office and runs late night TV ads advising potential clients they'd "Better Call Saul" when in trouble with the law. Mostly its sketch comedy. Odenkirk: I think the impact on my family and my crew and castmates was so big that it has affected me in retrospect, in like a weird kind of bounce back. I dont think the comedy on either show would stand by itself as comedy, but the comedy certainly makes the drama more dramatic. Odenkirk: Here I was going in to being the lead. The show's original production designer and a veteran of films like _Rush Hour _and Rudy, King worked with creator Vince Gilligan to establish Saul's world. The kind of guy who "knows a guy who knows a guy," Saul finds Walt and Jesse a drug distributor, arranges for Walt to launder drug money through Walter, Jr.'s website (SaveWalterWhite.com), and dispatches a Cleaner to Jesse's apartment to attend to Jesse and dispose of any incriminating evidence after his girlfriend Jane overdoses. I think maybe, hopefully, I got something from that. And what happens when one of them gets caught? Well, you call a lawyer. And so it started off very much as a piece of story-problem solving. And it wasnt a character part, it wasnt a small part. Interviews have been edited and condensed. Odenkirk and Cranstons first scene together takes place in Sauls office. I was like, Is this guy really asking me about my process? Because I was just like, Theres nothing in my act that can touch what youre doing., McKean: I think that he really liked being in a hit, and we all do and we all did, but I think there was something about, Oh, it not only works, but other people think it does too, and we got a good one here., Seehorn: And there was one point where the late, incredibly great, David Carr came to do his last media piece that he did, on Better Call Saul. Hector "Tio" Salamanca is a high-ranking Cartel member and Tuco's uncle. "I wanted to make it small, where you were smelling people, you know what I mean? And there was singing. Ad Choices, Before Better Call Saul, Take a Guided Tour Through Goodman's Breaking Bad Law Offices, Jordan Peele and Keke Palmer Look to the Sky, 14 Summer Shirts Under $100 That'll Make You the Life of Every Party. He and Walt scuffle after Walt discovers that Saul had the White house bugged, and for awhile Saul only assists Jesse. They have a whole different skill set than I do. My wife got them for me at the shoe department, and ended up telling me how he had been concerned. Id listened to his book on tape twice all the way through. When he was added to the Breaking Bad ensemble, Saul Goodman wasnt intended to be a spinoff character. So once that door opened, and youyou!were allowed into Saul Goodman's office, your world changed." says King. Born with cerebral palsy, Walter White, Jr. is Walter and Skyler's teenage son. Cranston: For all of us to really be able to embrace him and say, Im glad youre OK. You dodged a bullet and by extension, so did we.. Bobby took that dogthis is my affection for Bobbyhe took that dog home. Odenkirk: Vince and Peter were after something different from Breaking Bad, but working in the same area. Then seriously. I couldnt believe I was sitting there. Ed Begley Jr. (Clifford Main): He was a good captain whenever we needed him to be, or he needed to be, but he was very much an ensemble player, too. Odenkirk: I hadnt seen much of Breaking Bad before I acted in it, only a few minutes on the plane. It was all about just tuning into Bryan, which might tell you a little something about my own approach to acting, which is to read the room as best I can. You know? But it just became this whole other thing that was beautiful to watch. He could explain to Walt anything we needed explained to Walt. Jimmy moves to Albuquerque. I wanted to hear if there was any clue or trick. Skinny Pete is one of Jesse's stoner friends and a street dealer. And I was concerned that if we went for the half hour, wed be compared to the really funny half hours. The worst thing it would be is a failed experiment. Of course, I knew that if it was a failed experiment, thered be a certain amount of people who, in retrospectin relation to Breaking Badwould consider it a big bomb. Cranston: You felt what Bob was able to bring to it in Breaking Bad. (Watch Ron Bell's actual infomercial next to Saul's fictional one, below.) Theres plenty of crossover from the world of Breaking Bad. Im fine. And you wait to hear, good or bad, whats gonna go on. And I just needed to hear from Bryan something that sounded like work that I could do. At the start, Saul is just Jimmy McGill, a reformed small-time Chicago con man whos now a small-time Albuquerque lawyer. And one of the things that you see is that Bob has this incredible energy and focus thats unlike anything Ive seen from anybody else. I dont entirely grasp why. That, Oh, this idea is too silly. And she comes up and she gets under the bush with us in the shade. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. McKean: They talked to me about the character and generally about his affliction. Gould: Once he was committed, we were thrilled. That's where Robb Wilson King came in. He also cares for his brother, who believes himself to have electromagnetic sensitivity. Make things in life as difficult as possible, put me in physically uncomfortable positions.. And so I got this outpouring of love and I had to ask, I dont deserve thishave they got the wrong Bob Odenkirk yet again?. In July, on the set of Better Call Saul, he collapsed. The Head of Logistics at Madrigal Electromotive, Lydia was Gus Fring's methylamine supplier. Man, were out here freezing our asses off but this is how we make a living. And Im thinking, Can we believe it? And he was really excited about embracing the difficulty of it. But to fully get into character, Odenkirk needed a bit of inspiration. That was definitely Saul. Bryan Cranston (Walter White): This dubious, fast-talking, slick, unctuous kind of character. Those real comedy writers are a breed apart. Or did you take them out? Because he had those Vans that dont have laces on them, or maybe they were Sperry Top-Siders, Im not sure. I think I can be in a two-banger. And, by dint of an example, hes not taking all his privileges. And I dont know what to do except to try to live up to it. Seehorn: If he had gone to his trailer, we would have a different outcome, but he chose to stay on set and was hanging with Patrick and I. Thank God. Much to Saul's chagrin, Walt's wife Skyler soon becomes more involved in Walt's business and spars with Saul over strategy. He's here to serve you, this environment is warm, and you're okay. Early in the design process, King actually scheduled a meeting with Ron Bellwho made a memorable first impression. And Vince and I were both huge fans of Bobs from Mr. Show, especially. I mean, I dont know if Ill ever duplicate it for the rest of my whole life. The momentary uncomfortableness is accepted because the long-term gift of being storytellers for a living always prevails. And you can be pretty goddamn broad in sketch comedy. Clients' first impression of Saul would also be influenced by those high, windows. He started to have a whole Willy Loman characteristic to him. Tuco is a meth distributor known for extreme violence. Gould: All we knew was that she was a lawyer who clearly had a connection with Jimmy. He's the quintessential shady lawyer. I had watched sketch comedy my whole life and I never saw one sketch lead into another sketch. Badger is one of Jesse's stoner friends and a street dealer. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Its warranted, worrying about Kim, Seehorn says. Thats always really good for an actor to feel confident in being able to connect thoughts. How loved he was, and what he means to people, that was just great for him to see. With Better Call Saul entering its sixth and final season this month, its time to tell its namesakes unlikely origin story. Odenkirk: What surprised me is that they gave me the part because of Mr. Show. Fearing for his life, Ted attempts to flee -- and gravely injures himself in the process. "On a billboard, Ron Bell looks like the biggest movie star in the world. When Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan called to offer it to him back in 2009, he almost said no. McKean: Maybe its just me, but once the initial crisis had passed, I knew he was going to be better than ever, and just hes one of those guys. Will Kim Wexler be OK? He abandons Jesse when Walt decides to strike a deal with Gus. It may not work, but youd have to give it some credit, I thought. I just remember thinking that it was such a good thing to be exposed to, the bar being that high. Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill): The way that went down was my agent called and said, Theyre going to offer you a role on Breaking Bad. And what was wonderful was to see that he was absolutely himself. He had all his energy, he had all his goodwill. Banks: I love it when Bobby plays the bewildered, put-upon, I dont know what ever Im gonna do! What does he offer up?" By the time Breaking Bad premiered in January 2008, Odenkirk had long since established himself as a legendary comedy writer and performer. But it did feel right that day. The amount of dialogue that was loaded on him. Theres no way to even short-change what a gift that feels like, for sure. The star of the show, Frankie Muniz, was a boy. Yet there was much more to Saul than that. Copyright 2010-2022 AMC Network Entertainment LLC. Odenkirk: He really helped me just know the show, just by sitting with him. You had the coolness of the outside and the uncomfortableness of sitting in that waiting room. Because, the drama makes the comedy funnier. An ambulance brought him to an Albuquerque hospital, where he had a procedure to clear plaque in his heart. And one part of your brain wants to go like, OK, clearly he doesnt like me and this is going to go terribly. And then the kindness that I got from people on social media and just from strangers and fans, thats inexplicable to me. Odenkirk: I think we all were in the same place of like, Were going to make an honest effort. In the interest of creating a "set" for Saul, King designed the half-octagonal area behind his desk, with its Roman columns and Declaration of Independence wallpaper. Gould: We came up with a list, my wife put at the top of the list, Bob Odenkirk. And you know who else put the name at the top of their list was Bialy/Thomas, our casting folks. Its like I fell through a time hole and came up about a week and a half later kind of groggy, but pretty much myself, with no memory of any of it and a strange, chipper attitude that was like, Lets go back to work. Chemistry teacher Walter White learns he has cancer and becomes a meth manufacturer. And he was very concerned about making sure he looked respectful, but not overdressed, but not too casual. First as a bit. I remember especially when Jesse Pinkman introduces me to him outside his cheesy office. Saul Goodman didn't show up until halfway through Breaking Bad's second season, but he may be the last man standing. McKean: When two siblings are that far apart and one of them is a big-deal achiever. Gould: When we found out that he was going to be OK, that was a glorious day. He spent a week recovering from the event; an event he doesnt remember. You are left in the dust more than you can imagine. After all, hes a cockroach who can talk his way out of almost anything. And, we always say that its a little bit like peanut butter and chocolate. You cant sit and read scripts. All of us in the writers room loved the character. ", "So then there was the matter of, what does Saul do? And I feel like Breaking Bad was at the forefront. Look, I hadnt gone to acting school. Todd is Walt's former lab assistant whose uncle's prison connections prove invaluable. And you trust Saul, even though on first sight, you wouldn't buy a car from him. Originally, Saul Goodman was only guaranteed to stick around Breaking Bad long enough to get wannabe meth kingpin Walter White and his partner Jesse Pinkman out of a legal jam. Youre doing a scene, youre both exhausted, youre both sweating, and it really is hot. Odenkirk: We all felt close to each other, after six years of making this show. The show that we thought was a comedy about a goofy lawyer helping crazy clients turned out to be kind of a heartbreaking love story. He co-created and starred in Mr. Show with Bob and David, which ran on HBO for four years and has been called the American Monty Python. But really, I just wanted to hear something that sounded like hard work and just the meat of doing the job. We were in the middle of the night. And Bobby Odenkirk is smart. There was a sense of history of a broken person. Walter White may not have survived Breaking Bads five-season run, but Saul Goodman did. Obviously, Odenkirk's performance is largely responsible for the character's appeal, but before the comedian shot a single scenebefore, even, the costume designer picked out those godawful tiesSaul needed an office. I think what Vince and Peter felt is that, I think we have an iceberg situation and weve just tipped it. That role was really perfect for him. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. We both loved the character. Has his law shingle up when he is 23 years old. Odenkirk, his costars, and the writers enjoyed fleshing out Jimmys backstory. In a really clever, slightly unpredictable way. Later, he helps her funnel money to Ted Beneke to pay off an IRS debt, sending his bodyguard Huell and his operative Kuby to Ted's house to ensure the money goes where it's intended. Theyre like, Rhea roll a chair up, roll a chair up.. And especially hair.. In fact, the first time we talked to AMC and Sony about it, we did say, Its a half hour. I never felt completely comfortable making it a half hour for one simple reason, which is that true comedy writing is an art and a craft of its own. But it took me being honest instead of in my head about what I thought he was thinking for us to get there. No, no, no. What I didnt realize is that I was spending a lot of energy denying that position from outside sources that wanted to place that title onto me. "I really love the portholes behind him, because that gave us shafts of light coming over him, through him," King notes. Gould: Wed go for a walk through Burbank and often ended up getting a couple of beers and wed just talk about what this thing could be. After Gus death, Saul helps Walt, Mike, and Jesse find a venue for a new meth lab, hooking them up with Vamonos Pest so that Walt and Jesse can cook inside the tented houses that Vamonos fumigates. We become very, very close in the crucible of making a show like Better Call Saul. I dont know if it was single digits but it was close to it. Banks: What I saw was this is a guy who is committed. Saul Goodman? I said, Yeah, just so you know Im not Jewish. Hes never looking to one-up somebody. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul led to more juicy dramatic roles for Odenkirk, who in 2021 starred in his first action movie: Nobody.

He is currently writing and executive producing a new sketch show with the young comedy group The Birthday Boys, which will premiere on IFC in fall 2013. Saul also agrees to tip off the DEA about a plot to kill Hank in an effort to shore up Hanks safety. And homes are found for all of them. I dont have those feelings towards my siblings. Pretty soon the idea of the bus benches and all the different things that he gets into started materializing, but they were all in service of the Walter White story. "As a designer, those moments inspire me. And nobody talked about it that I knew. And Michael, like Bob, hes never looking for a place to do a bit. But the truth is Peter wrote the first episode that featured Saul. "We built that door. And then tell me how much you wish you could get home in time to get enough sleep. And I was like, Oh, thats so good.. Harrison: Bob is unique in the way that he is funny. This was really happening to me. And it was freezing that night and the wind was whipping and the cold wind just cuts under. Mike worked for Gus and is Saul's go-to guy when his clients get in sticky situations. His costars, Patrick Fabian and Rhea Seehorn, watched him fall and called for a medic. Saul Goodman was inspired by an actual attorney named Ron Bell, whose advertisements are plastered all over Albuquerque's bus stations and television networks. It serves me well because then all I have to do is stand over him and say, If you ever do that again, Im gonna break your kneecaps. It makes my job easier. And that his wife, Naomi, whos amazing and lovely, had helped him. Once they saw Bob and this character that he was bringing to it, they opened up to it and said, Oh, theres more. Listen to this oral history on The Prestige TV Podcast. But my God did he rise to the occasion. I said, No, I think we like this guy, Gould says. And I think it really worked. They settled on a "gray, weird, funky strip mall," tucked behind a hill. Hank is Walter's macho brother-in-law. I dont think Ive been the kindest, most generous person. Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut): My first impressions of Bobby? Visit BetterCallSaul.com , Bob Odenkirk has won two Emmy Awards for comedy writing on Saturday Night Live and The Ben Stiller Show. And up comes a dog out of nowhere. Walter, whos trying to keep a low profile by wearing aviator sunglasses and an Albuquerque Isotopes cap, is posing as the concerned uncle of Badger. Gould: We could see pretty early on how Bobs character got under Michael McKeans characters skin. I mean, it was a loud commercial. And every time you add another trailer, add 15 minutes to a company move. Saul Goodman had a toupee. I reached the level of mediocrity in my quest. Cranston: There were things, little hooks, little connector lines that he was able to add to trapeze himself from one line to the next line to the next. Gus Fring is the owner of a fast food chicken restaurant and a major meth distributor. Odenkirk: It was one of the best production scenarios Ive ever been a part of that wasnt all cheated and faked and shorthanded, but actually played out, with this grand and very real feeling. We werent on some green screen. Gould: The question was whether he was willing to do it, because Bob, hes made no secret of the fact that he felt torn between his responsibilities as a father, and hes a super, super involved father.