Bob Odenkirk Interview: ‘Better Call Saul’

“Not many people get a second chance that they didn’t even ask for,” reflects Bob Odenkirk about his role in “Better Call Saul.” In our exclusive webchat (watch the video above), he explains, “I did comedy for a long time. And here I discovered a different place that I could work. Not many people get an opportunity to redefine themselves to their industry. That’s an interesting thing of refinding yourself, that I also think Jimmy goes through.”

In the AMC series Odenkirk plays the fast talking lawyer Jimmy McGill who will become the criminal lawyer Saul Goodman from the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning “Breaking Bad.” The fourth season of “Better Call Saul,” which aired a few months ago, ends with Jimmy saying he’s going to start practicing law under the new name. Odenkirk says, “I’m not sure that Peter Gould or Vince Gilligan (the creators) feel this way, but I feel in his heart he’s now Saul. He just needs to get the office. I don’t think it’s a long journey to drug dealers and scumbags. They are going to appreciate how fast and loose he plays with the truth.”

As the character enters this phase, Odernkirk has one lingering question: “As he’s working with bad folks trying to con his way through life, has that good-hearted part of him completely disappeared? Or are there moments when it peeks through. Does he help anyone out of any sense of humanity? Is there any of that left in his world?”

Odenkirk has been nominated for the Best Drama Actor at the Golden Globes for all previous three seasons of the series. In that time he has also scored three Emmy nominations as a lead actor and two SAG Awards nominations. In 2014 he won with the Screen Actors Guild as part of “Breaking Bad’s” ensemble.

On how much gas is left in the series tank, he predicts “I feel like maybe two seasons. I respect how good they are at picking things apart and slowing them down. I also like when the story speeds up. I feel like two seasons would be on the outside of that. I’d like to fall short of ‘Breaking Bad.’ That’s my gut but I’m not writing the story.” After four seasons, “Better Call Saul” has 40 episodes, 22 shy of the “Breaking Bad” total of 62.

Odenkirk adds that he feels “the show is about finding your place. The challenge in life is to try and learn the right lessons, it’s just hard to do.”