Bob Odenkirk has been playing Saul Goodman for nearly 13 years at this point, from the second season of Breaking Bad, through the entire run of spin-off series Better Call Saul. And now, he’s finally saying goodbye to the character who kicked his career into a more dramatic mode – the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul is due to begin airing in April, wrapping up the tale of Saul (or, Slippin’ Jimmy McGill) before we met him, and after we left him, in Breaking Bad.
When he spoke to Empire for a major new interview in the Moon Knight issue, Odenkirk was two weeks away from finishing shooting on Saul in Albuquerque – and had plenty of praise for the final episodes of the show. “I’m just trying not to get Covid, and show up and do a fucking great job with this awesome show, and this amazing ending,” he said, describing the climax as “this powerful, surprising, subtle, kind of low-key piece that’s been written with the greatest integrity by [co-creator] Peter Gould and the team of writers”.
The final season faces not just the challenge of delivering a satisfying conclusion – but of joining up the wisecracking Saul Goodman fans loved in Breaking Bad, and the soulful Slippin’ Jimmy McGill who’s been the real focus of Better Call Saul. “I mean, people ask me if I like Saul Goodman. The answer is no,” Odenkirk explains. “I like Jimmy McGill. Saul Goodman is the kind of person I would avoid, pretty much at all costs, for a million reasons. Not the least is fashion sense. Keeping those two people in the same body, and having them matter and connect up, can be a challenge for the writers and for me, but it’s been a great, great effort to try to make it work. I can’t wait for people to see this final season. There’s so many different places it goes, and there’s so much happening. It’s amazing.” Get ready for a bittersweet goodbye.
Read Empire’s full Bob Odenkirk interview in the Moon Knight issue – talking his tumultuous year, his desire to make a Nobody sequel, the final season of Saul and much more. Find a copy on newsstands from Thursday 17 February, or order online here.