Wor d s of
Wisdom
You spent nearly 30 years as a cult-favourite comedy actor and writ-
er before getting dramatic roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
How surprising was that turn of events?
I’m surprised at the opportunity I got. I really am. I’ll read a
Better Call Saul script and think, “Are they really trusting me with
this?” Breaking Bad came out of nowhere. I thought I’d show up
and they’d say, “Go home. You’re not the Bob Odenkirk we’re think-
ing of. It’s the other one, from the Royal Shakespeare Company.”
I did have a gut feeling, years ago, that in a dramatic context I
could be really impactful. It’s natural for me to get earnest
and honest. I have comedy friends who congenitally
can’t do that, but I can. In fact, if there’s a part of
comedy I love, it’s that it’s a transmission device
for honesty – sometimes brutal honesty.
What was your favourite book growing up, and
what does it say about you?
Probably On the Road. It says I was a kid in
Naperville, Illinois, with a desperate desire to
see the world and be near interesting people and
fringe-y scenarios. Kerouac was Catholic too,
and there are Catholic feelings there I relate to.
How did being raised Catholic rub off on you?
I have normal biceps, but my conscience muscle
is a fucking hammer that can crush me or anyone
around me at any time. I can experience guilt, shame
and a critical, even damning, point of view of myself
and everyone around me.
There were times over the years when you
couldn’t get projects off the ground as a writ-
er and director. Did that get under your skin?
There’s a kind of frustration that anybody
who spends time in showbiz gets to experi-
ence, outside of maybe Tom Cruise. There’s
an element of uncertainty and luck that
runs through all we do. I had one pilot I
wrote at NBC, and an executive called to
say it was literally the best pilot he’d read.
The same call was to tell me the pilot was
not going forward. And he meant every
word! You’ve gotta try not to get bitter. But
yes, I’ve been bitter – and I will be again.
In the movie Nebraska, your relationship with Bruce
Dern’s character seemed to mirror your relationship
with your father, an alcoholic who left your family when
you were 12. True?
It mirrored it exactly. The things I got to say
in Nebraska are the things I felt about my
dad. Which is... fuck this guy. He wasn’t
there for us, and he doesn’t get to be for-
given by me. He died when I was 22, but
even if he was alive today I would still feel
that way. It’s not like I don’t think that peo-
ple should be forgiven. But you can’t get it
from everybody.
What music moves you the most?
There’s no question it’s the Replacements. I
still play them all the time. I play it for my kids!
Their music has got a lot of anger in it. A pissed-off, teenage or
youthful anger. Also, there’s a lot of pain. It’s interesting that Bob
[Stinson, the band’s guitarist] was the one with the most aggrieved
background, but Paul [Westerberg] wrote those lyrics that are re-
ally heartbreaking. “Go” is a great song, from Stink, that is full of
alienation and sadness that I still find easy to access and probably
always will.
What did you learn writing for SNL in the Eighties and early Nineties?
I was surrounded by amazing sketch writers, Robert Smigel,
Jim Downey and Jack Handey in particular. Just observing
them got me thinking about what a sketch is and what it
can be. ButSNLwas a frustrating experience for me. The
show has its own needs, and I always wanted my own
show. I envied the first cast and first writers – like,
you guys got to have your own show! And nobody else
after you gets to have that.
Who are your heroes?
Notalotofheroes. Pretty much only the White
Rose folks, the German college students and pro-
fessor who wrote resistance pamphlets against the
Nazis in 1942. Most of them got put to death. Sorry
to get serious on you, but the times call for it.
Who’s the funniest person you ever saw
perform?
Chris Farley was crack funny. Somebody
explained to me how freebase felt, and
that’s what it was like to watch him. It
was pure, unarguable, unquestionable.
It wasn’t about cleverness. There was
a lot of pain in Chris, but it was an
expression of joy and humanity,
and it was powerful.
You had a hand in his Matt Foley
motivational-speaker character,
right?
One night we did an improv [at
Second City], and he did a coach-type
character. It was the [Foley] voice – “You
kids, get it together!” I went home and
wrote that sketch as you’ve seen it. The
catchphrase, the story behind the char-
acter – that was me. It was the perfect
marriage of performer and concept and
writing.
What’s it like going out in public now as
opposed to before Breaking Bad?
Mr. Show [Odenkirk’s 1990s sketch series]
had a great and special audience that was
also limited. I could be in public and tell which
people knew who I was by how many piercings
and tattoos they had. The best thing about this
bitoffameIhave now is everyone smiles at you.
You walk into a coffee shop and you’re in your own
head and you see a person smiling. “Is that for
me? It is!” I wish everyone could experience
that. Everyone in the world.
INTERVIEW BY CHRISTIAN HOARDBob Odenkirk
The ‘Better Call Saul’ star on growing up Catholic,
loving the Replacements, and late-breaking fame34 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com Illustration by Mark Summers
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