A Better Call Saul and Longmire actor has admitted to cutting off his own arm so that he could pretend to be a war veteran in order to get acting work.
Todd Latourette, an actor based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, revealed the truth to local news outlet KOB4, admitting that he suffers from bipolar disorder and was off his medication when he decided to cut off and cauterize his own arm 17-years ago.
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“I severed my hand with a skill saw,” he said. “The state of my mind was a psychotic episode.”
Following the incident, Latourette said that he disguised his injury as one obtained by war, creating a persona in which he was a wounded war veteran, one that he says earned him sympathy and helped him land a number of roles.
“The film industry obviously took a different angle. That I was different. And so they liked that,” Latourette told the outlet. “I was dishonorable. I’m killing my career by doing this, if anyone thinks this was for personal edification, that’s not the case.”
Now, Latourette, back on his medications, is coming forward with the truth, hoping to rid himself of the guilt he has carried the past 17-years and admitting that living a life that is a lie has become difficult.
“I’m ousting myself from the New Mexico Film Industry. And gladly so, just to say what I’ve said,” he claimed.
While he is not looking for forgiveness or redemption, Latourette is hoping that his story will help others suffering from mental illnesses and says he hopes he can encourage others to continue to take their medications.
“The power is in your hands to take your medication in the morning, or at night. So that, this, this discourse of my life doesn’t need to necessarily be yours. Because, it happens quick… it happens quick,” he said.
Latourette appeared as Skell in Better Call Saul‘s season four, episode five, titled “Quite a Ride,” landing the role after claiming that he lost his arm after being wounded overseas in war. The popular AMC series, a prequel to Breaking Bad, also stars Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill, who eventually dons the persona of Walter White’s attorney Saul Goodman, Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, and Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler.
Latourette has also had minor roles in WGN America’s Manhattan, The CW’s The Messengers, appearing as Ben Fulsom in a 2015 episode, and a 2014 episode of A&E’s Longmire, in which he appeared as a Rockabilly bartender.
