Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk says he and a few other cast members share a house in Albuquerque when they’re on set. The AMC legal drama is a prequel to Breaking Bad which recounts the origin of ABQ’s premier “criminal” lawyer, Saul Goodman. Con-artist-turned-mediocre-lawyer Jimmy McGill (Odenkirk) consistently fails to be the honest man his girlfriend Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), a fast-rising attorney, knows he can be. Jimmy falls back into his old ways and gets mixed up with the likes of cartel grunt Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) and hitman Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), a fellow Breaking Bad veteran.
Though matching the quality of one of the most esteemed television series of all time is a lofty goal, Better Call Saul hits the mark. Some even believe it has surpassed its predecessor. Much of the praise is due to an excellent cast, new and returning to the world of Breaking Bad. Odenkirk started out as a beloved but sparingly featured side character in the original series. Saul Goodman had a great effect on the plot but like any good lawyer, he kept his distance – the less he knew the better. Becoming the main character in Better Call Saul was a big leap, and working on the first season took a toll on Odenkirk as a result, but outstanding performances from him and the cast, as well as the brilliance behind the scenes, has been a recipe for success.
Speaking on the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Odenkirk offered a sneak peek into the inner workings of the show. To get the performances we see, he and the cast do a lot of rehearsals, made possible by the fact that they live together. Odenkirk, Seehorn, Patrick Fabian (who plays holier-than-thou attorney Howard Hamlin), and a few others when they’re in town such as Josh Fadem (a college-aged videographer roped into Jimmy’s schemes) live in a house that Odenkirk and his wife bought. Originally, Odenkirk, Seehorn, and Fabian had been renting a place together. He went on to describe the lively dynamic, and the other benefits of living with a few roommates you get along with. He said:
It’s better than being alone out there. I think we all feel that way. I think we’re pretty great at leaving each other alone, too. We’re not in every scene together, and I leave and I come home as much as possible. And you know, actually, I love getting home and somebody, Patrick especially, will make dinner for everybody. Or if you’re like, “I’m going hiking, let’s go, we’re going in the morning.”
“An actor prepares” is an old adage in the business, and it seems all the preparation afforded to the cast by living together paid off. Being able to live with the people you work with and not get sick of them is a blessing in any job. As production on season 6 (hopefully) approaches, Better Call Saul will be wrapping up. No doubt the tradition will continue, but now it seems as though the cast was prescient.
As major productions inch towards reopening the shuttered industry, a vanguard of big-budget projects have carefully tried to set a precedent. Cast and crew have generally decided to isolate themselves together in order to keep any potential infection within the group and shut down production if need be without causing a super-spreader event. Tom Cruise just recently caused controversy on the set of Mission: Impossible 7, threatening to fire crew members who did not obey coronavirus protocol. With everyone looking to move in for the duration of production on Better Call Saul, Odenkirk’s going to need a bigger house.
Source: Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum via YouTube
Originally from https://screenrant.com/better-call-saul-cast-live-together-filming/