When the making of Better Call Saul.
The book reveals that Saul almost never existed. AMC wanted to cut the Saul character from Breaking Bad, and the writers only gave Walt and Jesse a lawyer because scheduling conflicts with another cast member forced them to rework their plans. There was even a slim chance that Saul wouldn’t be played by Bob Odenkirk, the comedian-turned-thespian who made the character so beloved that he earned his own show, and the alternative casting would’ve changed everything.
Bob Odenkirk Was Always Breaking Bad's Top Choice For Saul Goodman, But Michael McKean Was Also Considered For The Role
Jimmy Could've Been Played By Chuck
In Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill, Better Call Saul’s co-creator and co-showrunner Peter Gould explains that when they were casting the role of Saul in Breaking Bad, Odenkirk was at the top of everyone’s list. But several other actors were considered for the part. Gould doesn’t most of the other candidates, because he was a huge Mr. Show fan and was hoping that Odenkirk would get cast. There’s only one other candidate he does : Michael McKean.
McKean was so great at playing Jimmy’s mortal enemy that it’s tough to imagine him as Jimmy himself.
McKean would, of course, go on to play Jimmy McGill’s brother Chuck in the spinoff. In many ways, Chuck is Jimmy’s exact opposite: he takes himself very seriously, he does things steadfastly by the book, and he thinks that his brother’s practices make a mockery of the law. McKean was so great at playing Jimmy’s mortal enemy that it’s tough to imagine him as Jimmy himself. Saul would’ve undoubtedly been a very different character if McKean had landed the part.
Saul Would've Been A Very Different Character If McKean Had Played Him
McKean Probably Would've Played A Much Drier Saul
Much like Odenkirk, McKean was a legendary comedic performer before the Breaking Bad franchise introduced the world to his dramatic abilities. McKean starred in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley and the classic comedy This is Spinal Tap, and he appeared as a cast member on Saturday Night Live for a couple of seasons. But McKean’s portrayal of Saul would’ve been very different from Odenkirk’s. Odenkirk played Saul as a Robert Evans-esque motormouth, whereas McKean probably would’ve played him a lot drier, which would’ve drastically changed Breaking Bad — and, by extension, Better Call Saul.
Source: Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill: The Complete Critical Companion to Better Call Saul by Alan Sepinwall
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
- 2008 - 2013-00-00
- Network
- AMC
- Showrunner
- Vince Gilligan
Cast
Walter White
Jesse Pinkman
WHERE TO WATCH
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
- Writers
- Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Vince Gilligan, George Mastras, Moira Walley-Beckett, Sam Catlin, Thomas Schnauz
- Seasons
- 5
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