Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk Would Have Supported Recasting After Heart Attack
Fans were devastated when news emerged that Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk suffered a heart attack while filming the final season, though were delighted when he recovered and was able to continue bringing the series to life, but had things taken a worse turn or faced longer delays, he would have supported another actor taking on the role. Understandably, fans would have waited indefinitely to see the series come to a close, but the actor admitted that, had the final installments of the series not been released, he would have been disappointed that audiences wouldn't have seen how the series concluded.
"It was a scary day for everybody there. I really went down, I really turned gray," Odenkirk revealed on the Season 6 home video release, per Fandom. "It really seemed over. They would have just stopped the show if I wasn't capable of doing it. They wouldn't have tried to go on, which makes me feel bad! If that'd happened, I would have liked it if they got some actor to play him. Just to tell the story that they had written. It wouldn't have been great, but it would have been better than nothing."
In the wake of the reports about Odenkirk's health emerging, social media was quick to express their love for the performer in various capacities over the decades, with his recovery seeing him regularly expressing his gratitude for his fans. In addition to a personal impact, Odenkirk previously revealed how the experience also changed his approach to acting.
"I came out of it with a strangely fresh energy towards my whole life, like I was born again," Odenkirk revealed to NPR earlier this year. "Like, 'Hey, everybody! Let's go back to work and make stuff!'"
He continued, "It made it easier to be in the moment, which is your job as an actor. That's the weird mind game you play, is getting yourself in the moment of someone else's life, but really feeling on the edge of, 'I don't know what happens next here.' And it was easier for me to do with this kind of weird, newfound POV on the world. I really want to stay in touch with what happened there because it really was a great reconnection to being alive. And so I'd love to ruminate on it every day and try to reconnect."
Luckily, Odenkirk recuperated and continued to earn praise for his work on the TV series.
Would you have wanted the character to be re-cast? Let us know in the comments!