Bob Odenkirk has freely admitted that he could be challenging on the set of Saturday Night Live. This is what contributed to his complicated relationship with creator Lorne Michaels. But by the time he got to playing Saul Goodman on AMC's Breaking Bad, his life had changed drastically. For one, he was transitioning to drama after an extremely successful career in comedy. Secondly, he was being treated like a real actor.
Because he was such a success on Breaking Bad, co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould thought he'd be perfect as the star of his very own spin-off. Becoming the lead in a big-budget drama can bring out the worst in any actor. But did it make Bob into a diva? Here's what his colleagues on Better Call Saul have said about what it was like to work with him...
6 Bob Odenkirk Initially Seemed "Nervous" And "Aloof"
In an exclusive oral history of Better Call Saul by The Ringer prior to its final season, numerous cast and crew members shed light on what Bob was like behind the scenes. According to Jonathan Banks, who played Mike Ehrmantraut in both series, Bob didn't seem entirely comfortable when he first started acting with them on Breaking Bad. In fact, he said Bob appeared "nervous".
On Better Call Saul, Bob also had some apparent reservations at the start of things.
"He seemed a bit aloof for a second," Rhea Seehorn, who played Kim Wexler, said. "But we were then told to go ahead and rehearse, just me and Bob, that everyone would leave the room and we’ll come back, 'Why don’t you guys go through the scene a couple times just to feel comfortable with each other?' And when they left, I realized Bob was staring at his shoe. And one part of your brain wants to go like, 'OK, clearly he doesn’t like me and this is going to go terribly. And this is going to be the worst chemistry read of my whole life.' But another part of me was like, 'Or the only fact present right now is that Bob is looking at his shoe. So let’s start there.' I said, 'Hey, did your shoes come without the laces? Or did you take them out?' Because he had those Vans that don’t have laces on them, or maybe they were Sperry Top-Siders, I’m not sure. But there was no laces in them. And he looked up at me and he said, 'They came this way. My wife got them for me at the shoe department,' and ended up telling me how he had been concerned."
It turned out that Bob was legitimately concerned about the whole situation.
"He had never been the person that people have to do a chemistry read against, where their job and their hopes and dreams are pinned on reading with him and he’s precast," Rhea explained. "It was this wonderful moment where he was so honest. But it took me being honest instead of in my head about what I thought he was thinking for us to get there. And then that’s where we started from, to read the scene, and it was great. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll ever duplicate it for the rest of my whole life."
5 Bob Odenkirk Was The Natural Leader Of The Cast
Bob presented himself as a true leader whether he was fully aware of it or not. The fact he was so concerned about ruining his chemistry read with Rhea proves this. But one of his other co-stars, Ed Bedgley Jr., who played Clifford Main, echoed the same sentiment.
"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. He could carry it easily on the broad shoulders of his talent," Ed stated to The Ringer. "We looked at him for guidance every week."
4 Bob Odenkirk Refused To Use A Trailer
When Bob met with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould about doing the prequel/sequel to Breaking Bad, he told them that he didn't want a trailer. The reason for this was that he wanted to be like the rest of his cast members. No special privileges whatsoever.
On top of this, Bob knew that adding more trailers to the set would cause longer days due to company moves. This meant that his colleagues would be away from their families for longer than necessary.
3 Not Using A Trailer Saved Bob's Life
Fans on Twitter were praying for Bob after they found out that he collapsed on set in 2021. He had suffered a heart attack and he required three defibrillator shocks to bring him back. Afterward, he was taken to a hospital in Albuquerque and underwent an operation to clear plaque from his heart. Bob lost most of his memories of this horrendous event, according to an interview he did with Howard Stern. But given that he could've lost his life, this was a small price to pay.
In his interview with The Ringer and with Stern, Bob credits not having a trailer on the set of Better Call Saul for saving his life. Instead of going back to his trailer to relax after filming a scene in the final season, he stayed with everyone. So he was able to get swift attention when he collapsed.
"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 [Fabian] and I," Rhea Seehorn explained. "Thank God".
2 Was Bob Odenkirk A Diva To New Actors?
According to Peter Gould, Bob went out of his way to befriend all newcomers to the set of Better Call Saul.
"He immediately made it his business to befriend and open the door to actors who are only there for a day or for a week, or for a small role," Peter said.
1 Bob Was A Hard Worker Even After He Almost Died
Despite almost dying, Bob was eager to get back to work. This was nerve-wracking for Peter Gould as he wanted his star to fully recover. But Bob was determined to get back to work. His love for the show was undeniable and not even a near-death experience would stop him from finishing Better Call Saul.
