Better Call Saul: Bob Odenkirk Says Cast & Crew "Traumatized" After His On-Set Heart Attack
Better Call Saul is finally returning this month and the journey to the sixth and final season of the Breaking Bad prequel saw some unexpected challenges. Bob Odenkirk, who plays the titular role, suffered a heart attack on set during production in New Mexico. The actor collapsed on the set of the series, and confirmed soon after that he had "a small heart attack" but was "going to be ok." This week, Odenkirk attended the premiere of Better Call Saul's sixth season and spoke to People about his health scare.
"I would say that the cast and crew were more traumatized than me, because I have a blank space where I had this heart attack," Odenkirk explained. "I don't remember the day it happened or the next week and a half. They all were standing right there. And they watched me go down, and they watched them use the defibrillator three times on me, and they watched the professionals around look at each other and say he's not coming back."
"They all went through that, and I didn't. But I did go through it afterward when they shared the stories with me and they did, and I asked them to," he recalled. "Because I wanted to understand what happened. And so they were very moved and I was thankful, and it meant a lot to me, and all the wonderful things people said on social media... We run down social media and a lot of it is justified, but holy s--- was that beautiful, to me. It can be good," he said.
As for Better Call Saul, the 13-episode finale season is expected to be the last time Odenkirk plays "Slippin'" Jimmy McGill, completing his transformation into the Saul Goodman fans met in Breaking Bad.
"[It sunk in Saul was ending] a few weeks ago," Odenkirk told Variety about filming the series wrap on the AMC drama in February. "It hasn't hit me yet. I have to watch the end. I really feel like when I watch the finale is when it will hit me."
"It's weird, but we've been planning it and writing it, [Gilligan and Gould] have been writing it for years, and we always take breaks between seasons — we even had a big, long break because of Covid — so my brain is kind of like, 'When are we going back?'" Odenkirk explained. "I think the truth is when I see it, even though I've played it already, even though I did it, when I see it I think it will have great closure."
Better Call Saul Season 6 premieres with two back-to-back episodes on Monday, April 18th at 9:00 PM ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.