'Better Call Saul' Star Bob Odenkirk Teases Saul Goodman's 'Problems' Ahead of Series Finale (Exclusive)
After six seasons, Better Call Saul is coming to an end this April, and series star Bob Odenkirk reveals fans of the Breaking Bad spinoff will be quite pleased with its last episodes. In an exclusive with PopCulture.com while in promotion of his Audible Original series Summer in Argyle with son Nate, Odenkirk revealed his thoughts about the finale, saying audiences will be "very happy" upon its anticipated conclusion even if his character will face some major difficulties.
"I think the fans of Better Call Saul are going to be very happy with how we wrap up this series. I was really pleased with it. It's got character growth, and change, and consequences, and pain and I can't say anymore," Odenkirk told PopCulture of his series, which follows the transformation of Jimmy McGill, a former con artist trying to become a respectable lawyer, but descending into the personality of the flamboyant criminal lawyer Saul Goodman over a six-year period prior to the events of Breaking Bad.
The 59-year-old goes on to share what he has learned about himself by playing the role of Saul Goodman — also known currently as Gene Takavic, the manager of a Cinnabon in Nebraska hiding from the law. "I think I have a propensity for playing drama. I've certainly learned a lot about the craft of acting because I didn't have a lot of skills to draw on when I started," he said. "I mean, I had my moxie, which I couldn't believe how much of it I had left after Mr. Show. But outside of that, I had a lot to learn about being a person."
Odenkirk adds how he feels "badly" for the character of Jimmy due to the fact that he is "driven by resentment" and "needy" of other people's affections — a trait that will create many problems for his character ahead. "I think we all are somewhat like him in that way, and it really can be a poisonous and dangerous thing — and I have that in me too. So, I guess I learned, or maybe didn't learn — but contemplated a lot — the ways in which you make choices based on resentment, which I don't, I think; and the ways in which you want other people's love and approval, which can be very dangerous," he said. "It's really important to try to be satisfied with yourself and your own efforts and not need certain other people's approval. You really have to find your own reason for doing what you're doing and your own value in it for a lot of reasons. But Jimmy is a guy who can't do that, at least not as far as you've seen him so far and that creates problems for them."
Better Call Saul premieres its sixth and final season on Monday, April 18 with two back-to-back episodes starting at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+. For more on Bob Odenkirk and all his projects, stick to PopCulture.com for the latest in entertainment news and TV updates.