Better Call Saul Season 5: Bob Odenkirk talks with news.com.au about the latest series

If Donald Trump is handing out pardons, Saul Goodman could perhaps use one for safe-keeping, as news.com.au spoke with Better Call Saul actor Bob Odenkirk ahead of the new series.

Make no mistake.

If Saul Goodman lived in 2020, he would well and truly be on the Trump train.

As Better Call Saul gears up for its fifth and penultimate series launch on Stan Australia this coming Monday, its star Bob Odenkirk - who portrays Saul - was confident.

“(Saul) would do wonderfully well (in 2020),” Odenkirk told news.com.au assuredly.

“He would definitely support Trump, for sure. He’d do great. He’d make a lot of money.

“He might go to jail,” Odenkirk added.

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Fans of the critically-acclaimed drama will be pleased to see the cast back in action on their screens this Monday and it’s a truly humble Odenkirk who is riding the series’ wave of success.

“I got incredibly lucky to be invited in to work with (creators) Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould - who are the best in the business, as you and everyone knows,” Odenkirk said.

He credits his ongoing success in the series “from the work that they challenge me to do.”

“I am also surrounded by pros too,” he laughed, “but I’ve had a wonderful experience.”

Who wouldn't want Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene/Producer (played by Bob Odenkirk) representing them? Picture: Stan.

But in the early days, did he ever think Better Call Saul would fail?

“No, no. no,” Odenkirk countered. “Look, my daughter, before I said ‘yes’ to doing the show, my daughter, who’s a very smart young lady, she was 13 at the time and I was actually talking about the show with her and the possibility of the show - this was before we did it and she said to me, ‘If it’s bad, how bad could it be?’

“And I said to her, ‘It won’t be bad because these writers are too good and they work too hard. The worst thing it will be is a failed experiment.’

“And I really believed that that was about the worst it could have ever been because Vince doesn’t write lazy stuff, or simple stuff. Nothing he works on is easily dismissed, so I thought the worst would be just like, y’know, that was an interesting try, and nobody knew where it was going - they found it as they went along,” Odenkirk said.

With so many subtle character changes, timelines, split universes and cut scenes with which to wrestle, I asked Odenkirk did he ever lose track of where - and who - he was in the series.

“No,” he replied after a brief pause. “In a general way or meaningful way, I feel more confident in my performance than in knowing the character - and I think that I can speak for my fellow actors in the show - we talk about this, everybody feels the same way. That after five years, we’ve really gotten to know these people and it’s a good feeling to have some confidence in playing them and knowing their different speeds.”

Mike Ehrmantraut (played by Jonathan Banks - no relation) is the man for the job. Picture: Stan.

“Having said that, there are times when what you’re pointing out happens to me, which is I get a little bit lost. All these different iterations of the character, and so the writers are there to help me and I’m never too proud to ask for clarification,” Odenkirk said.

And which of his characters does Odenkirk relate to the most?

“I’m more like Jimmy, but I find him a fairly immature person, but at least he’s good-hearted and he still believes that the ends do not justify the means,” Odenkirk said.

“Whereas Saul absolutely believes in transactional ethics. That’s Saul, yeah.”

Saul is about to do something to Kim Wexler (played by Rhea Seehorn) this series to leave her feeling like this in corridors. Picture: Stan

The chemistry between Odenkirk’s character Jimmy and Kim (Rhea Seehorn) is engaging and real and it’s clear to see why.

“Rhea is like your best friend, who’s also a professional actor, who’s better than you,” Odenkirk laughed.

“So, I have a great time, y’know? We can talk very honestly about our concerns and what we’re doing and there’s no embarrassment - it’s amazing how much we trust each other. You would almost think we were a couple, but we’re not. We both have partners in life. It’s really amazing.”

Odenkirk continued: “Honestly, we just work together great. We can talk about any approach or scene, we can get deep into the weeds in complex moments and we both feel safe to just ask any questions to each other, to look stupid, to re-enact intimate interactions, it’s just a great working relationship - it couldn’t be better.

“And there’s a stroke of luck in that, because we had one audition together - they call it a ‘chemistry read’ - and I’ll tell you that it was going in all the way and it’s turned out better than I could ever have hoped,” he said.

When pressed on Jimmy’s most difficult decision he’s had to make in the series, Odenkirk thought long and hard.

“What he did to Kim,” Odenkirk replied after a long pause.

“He does something to Kim in the season that we just shot (season 5) and it’s from a pretty bold betrayal. On the other hand it does not backfire. Because what Jimmy does actually works, so it’s a very weird thing because it feels like the worst thing that he’s done, because he does it so consciously - he knows exactly that he’s doing is going against her wishes, but on the other hand, what he does achieves what they’re after.

“So it’s one of those great things they do on this show, the writers. It’s a complex scenario. It’s not easy to decide who’s right and who’s wrong."

The Saul we know from Breaking Bad is taking shape. Picture: Stan.

But don’t expect any significant spoilers from Odenkirk. It’s clear his approach to the role is about knowing as little as possible about what is coming next.

“Well, you know, I like to experience it all like a fan, or like the person I’m playing. Which is to say, not knowing what’s next. So, as best I can, I try not to find out what’s happening,” Odenkirk said.

Not sure even Saul knows how this is going to go down. Picture: Stan.

“They (the writers) always offer to tell me what’s coming on later in the series, but often I always decline doing it. I never want to know exactly what’s going to come next,” he said.

Odenkirk did clarify what the cast and crew were up to in the real world, which should be good news for fans.

“We’re on a huge break. They haven’t even started writing season 6 yet,” Odenkirk said.

“We won’t be shooting it until September, but they’ll start writing in about a week and then we’ll work real hard and make a new final season that’ll be a really great thing to see where the story ends up.”

Breaking Bad fans, don’t hold your breath for that perfect exit ramp from Better Call Saul.

There is a theory Vince and the team are planning to end Better Call Saul so that it seamlessly bleeds into the start of Breaking Bad. But Odenkirk is not so sure.

“Yeah, I don’t buy that theory. I think Better Call Saul is going to end AFTER Breaking Bad,” Odenkirk offered.

Gustavo Fring (played by Giancarlo Esposito) is only getting more badass in series 5. Picture: Stan.

“I think (the series) is going to tell a story that goes past Breaking Bad by I don’t know how long, but that’s my gut feeling on it and I don’t know for sure, but I think (the writers) want to tell a substantial story about the character Jimmy once he’s passed the Breaking Bad events,” he added.

Better Call Saul Season 5 premieres only on Stan with special back-to-back episodes on 24 and 25 February, with new episodes weekly – same day as the US.

Better Call Saul premieres only on Stan. Back-to-back eps Feb 24 & 25. Same day as the US.