“As a comedian, this one thing stuck with me early on: maybe if you were in a drama, you’d have more of a special energy that could help that drama. Because in that format, it is a good thing to have the character come out and you aren’t sure how you’re supposed to feel about them.”
-Bob Odenkirk, episode 322 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Today, we sit with legendary actor and comedian Bob Odenkirk! At the top, we discuss his new AMC series Lucky Hank (6:10), the parallels between his character Hank Devereaux and Saul Goodman of Better Call Saul (8:15), and how Monty Python shaped his early ideas of comedy (9:40). Then, Odenkirk reflects on his coming of age in Naperville, Illinois (10:43), the influence of cult comedy legend Del Close (19:21), his years writing at SNL (22:56), and performing at The Second City (27:50).
On the back-half, we talk about his singular collaboration with David Cross that created Mr. Show (32:20), a memorable sketch from season 3 (41:30), his entry to Breaking Bad (49:02), becoming a dramatic actor late in life (51:31), and how he hopes to live in years to come (59:23).
-
-
Show-notes:
- Watch new episodes of Lucky Hank on AMC Sundays at 9pm ET.
- See Bob’s previous work on Mr Show, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul.
- Order his memoir Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama.
- Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
- For more conversations, hear our talks with Judd Apatow, Natasha Lyonne, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Bill Hader, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjiani, and Nick Kroll.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
-
Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi. Reference image by Sharon Alagna.
Subscribe, rate, and review: Apple Podcasts and Spotify