Despite playing the role of the crafty and cunning Saul Goodman in the iconic Better Call Saul series, even actor Bob Odenkirk is just human at the end of the day. In an episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the star recalled the incident of the time he was robbed at gunpoint during his early career, saying:
It looked like a shi*ty zip gun. You know what a zip gun is? It’s kind of a made-up gun. You build it but it’s not made of plastic. It looks like a f*cked up gun, but it’s a gun-gun. And this guy holds it up and I park the car and get out. He goes, ‘Give me the money.’ I’m like numb and I’m looking at the guy and I’m taking too long.
Thankfully, Odenkirk and his then-girlfriend, who was with him in the car, were not harmed in any manner, but the star definitely got his $300 stolen. This, in and of itself, was an awful thing, as this was the time he almost filed for bankruptcy before Breaking Bad saved him.
Breaking Bad Changed Bob Odenkirk’s Life Forever
It may be hard to imagine now, considering his current net worth is around $16 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), but at one point, Bob Odenkirk was on the brink of filing for Bankruptcy. This was during his early days in the industry, where his performance as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad saved him from financial ruin.
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, the Nobody star talked about how he had invested all his time into directing feature films, which he was passionate about, but the money wasn’t there. But then, his agent called him about a gig in Breaking Bad, which was starting to get its footing in mainstream TV. He talked about how everyone wanted him to do it, saying:
...I still checked it out. I wanted to know what the hell the show was, and I called a friend, someone who I was writing with, Reed Harrison. And he goes ‘That’s the best show on TV, you gotta do that. That’s the best thing there is.’
And that advice couldn’t have been more valuable, as not only did Odenkirk shine in the series, but he also became the lead of his own spin-off show we know as Better Call Saul, which is considered better than the original.
Better Call Saul Was the Perfect Evolution of the Breaking Bad Formula
One way in which Better Call Saul improved upon the character development formula was through deeper emphasis on the internal, moral, professional, and personal evolutions of its characters. In contrast, the original series was a game of transformation of Walter White’s characteristics through moral collapse and how it affected the world around him.
In the transformation of McGill to Goodman, we can also witness the ‘Why?’ question of the character’s change being explored. The environment around Odenkirk’s character is crucial for his change, unlike Walter, who finds what he wants to be in search of an answer to his financial problems.
Lastly, despite it being a prequel, there’s minimal connection of throwback to the original series, which makes it feel like a separate entity, enhancing the narrative on its own. Thus, even when the Emmys snubbed the series of its recognition, fans always revere it as the GOAT.
Here’s more information on Better Call Saul.
Do you prefer Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul? Tell us in the comments below.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are available to stream on Netflix (US).
