Bob Odenkirk opens up about his difficult time working on Saturday Night Live. The 60-year-old who is most popular for his iconic Saul Goodman role on Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul started off his illustrious career on the longest-running sketch-comedy show on television, Saturday Night Live. He was hired in 1987, working as a writer alongside other talented comedians like Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel. In his relatively short time on the show, he contributed to a number of sketches while also appearing in front of the camera a few times.
In a conversation on Don’t Ask Tig with fellow comedian Tig Notaro, Odenkirk reflected on his time on Saturday Night Live, stating that he felt he was too young when he got hired to be on the popular show. He explained that things could have gone completely wrong for him on a number of occasions, and he constantly battled feelings of insecurity while working on the show. Read his full comments below:
“I was unsure of myself. It was hard. It was existentially dangerous. I had feelings of I should erase myself. I was too young when I got hired at ‘SNL,’ That was not a good thing. That could’ve gone wrong. That could’ve gone so wrong. It came this close so many times to going so wrong. You gotta believe me. And it’s hard for kids to believe you when you say, ‘I had no f—ing clue what I was doing and I was scared outta my wits for years.”
Bob Odenkirk Found Success on Television After Saturday Night Live
Today, Bob Odenkirk is most famous for playing Saul Goodman on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, a role that earned him six Emmy nominations. However, before he joined the Breaking Bad franchise, he had already found success on TV, starring in a number of memorable roles. After joining the SNL team back in 1987, Odenkirk would leave in 1991 to pursue his writing and acting career elsewhere. Shortly after exiting SNL, he enjoyed brief stints writing for the classic sitcom Get a Life and later The Dennis Miller Show.
He would later join the cast of The Ben Stiller Show, where he started to distinguish himself not only as a talented writer but also as an exceptional actor. In 1992, he created and starred in the inspired Charles Manson skit titled “Manson Lassie”. This comedy sketch earned him high praise, as he managed to channel the notorious figure into an amusing, incredibly biting, and entertaining shtick. He eventually created his own sketch comedy series titled Mr. Show alongside fellow comedian David Cross. The HBO cult classic ran for four seasons, and it received four Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.
After his time on Mr. Show, Odenkirk went on to work on a plethora of other television shows like Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother, Everybody Loves Raymond, and more. Even though his time on Saturday Night Live was plagued with anxiety and lots of difficulties, Odenkirk went on to show the world that he had the talent and mettle to succeed in the television business, and today his extensive filmography clearly speaks for itself.
