Bob Odenkirk, who started his career doing improvisational theater and writing sketches in Chicago's seedy comedy clubs, has an inspiring life story that extends from comedy to drama.
Growing up in a poor family and aiming to make people laugh since his childhood, Bob's life is full of more than one breaking point. Being hired by Del Close at America's legendary comedy club Second City, working as a writer in productions such as Saturday Night Live and Ben Stiller Show, appearing in the TV series How I Met Your Mather, and being called to play the character of Saul Goodman in the TV series Breaking Bad. And finally, meeting Steven Spielberg…
Robert John Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2015–2022). For the latter, he has received six nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. As a producer on Better Call Saul since its premiere, he has also received six nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. He is also known for the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995–1998), which he co-created and co-starred in with fellow comic David Cross. In 2015, he and Cross reunited, along with the rest of the Mr. Show cast, for W/ Bob & David on Netflix.
Bob, who lived in poverty for most of his life, always narrowly missed success, and could not achieve the fame he aimed for in the comedy world, does not give up the struggle even for a moment.
He writes, plays, and improves himself with a determination that would make even Sisyphus jealous.
Son of a father who never wanted children but had 7 children
Odenkirk also remembers those days and criticizes his father...
"He had no interest in children, I don't think he wanted any children, but he had 7 children. I don't know what was going through his mind, but I'm judging him. If you bring children into the world, you should make an effort to spend time with them."
So much so that when his father and mother separated, Bob was very happy about it. When Bob Odenkirk was 22 years old, his father died:
“I spent time with him in the last few months before he died, trying to connect, trying to find out who he was, but I found that this was a gap that could no longer be bridged.”
INHERITANCE FROM THE FATHER
This legacy left to him by his father left a lasting impact on Odenkirk's life:
"That's definitely what made me anti-authoritarian. It turned me into a comedian who does comedy and makes fun of adult life."
Odenkirk devoted himself to comedy in his teenage years. He worked as a writer and actor in various programs. He tried his luck in Hollywood for years and was rejected hundreds of times. Just as he was starting to lose hope, he received a phone call offering him a guest spot on Breaking Bad – a series about the tedium of being a high school chemistry teacher. And that was the moment that changed his life!
August 2022
Heart attack
Bob Odenkirk, Saul Goodman of the TV series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, said that if his colleagues had not performed heart massage when he fell ill on the set, he "probably would have died within minutes".
Odenkirk had a heart attack on the set last year while filming the final season of Better Call Saul. After the crew called an ambulance, Odenkirk's vein was surgically cleaned.
Describing his experience to Radio Times, Odenkirk said, "I got down on one knee and then I fell over. I think I said, 'I don't feel very well.'"
The famous actor then stated that Rhea Seehorn, who plays Kim Wexler, and Patrick Fabian, who plays Howard Hamlin, grabbed their heads and started saying, "Stay in this world."
"I wasn't breathing. If no one had been there and they hadn't done heart massage, I probably would have died within minutes," Odenkirk said.
On the day of his heart attack, Odenkirk was cycling between scenes and then collapsed while watching a baseball game.
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