Bob Odenkirk is currently one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, with his career-making works as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul winning him several awards and a lot of acclaim. However, Bob Odenkirk’s reaction to his Widowmaker cardiac arrest also worried his friends in a big way.
Bob Odenkirk is also viewed as one of the nicest people in the world as he has gone on to show just how generous he can be when the time is needed. He has overcome a lot of adversity and made sure his work never suffered as a result.
Bob Odenkirk’s ‘Widowmaker’ Heart Attack Shocked All Of His Friends
Back in 2021, Bob Odenkirk collapsed and was rushed to the hospital while he was on the set of Better Call Saul. Naturally, this worried several people including his fans and peers. Thankfully, Odenkirk was in stable condition after being hospitalized.
While speaking to The Independent, Odenkirk revealed that during a production break, he turned to his exercise bike, a routine interrupted when he suddenly collapsed. Co-stars Seehorn and Fabian rushed to his aid, administering CPR.
Reflecting on the “widowmaker” heart attack and the insertion of two stents, Odenkirk acknowledges the ongoing process of unpacking the experience, describing how his brain compartmentalized the traumatic event, allowing him to return to work. He revealed that his friends were absolutely terrified after the episode.
“I’m still unpacking it. Even weeks later when I returned to set, it was an emotional moment, but I was a little bit excluded from it. I don’t know if it’s a defence mechanism, but my brain really compartmentalised the experience. It really shoved that thing far away.
I had a strangely upbeat energy in the time after the heart attack I was chipper, and clueless about the enormity of what had happened to me, and what other people had felt being around it. It was only over time that what happened slowly sank in. My brain was completely hiding this thing from me. It was trying to make it disappear – and it did,” he laughs. The cast and crew, including his saviours, Seehorn, who plays Saul’s love interest Kim Wexler, and Fabian, who stars as rival lawyer Howard Hamlin, noticed. “People around me looked at me funny, like ‘You know you had a heart attack, right?’ I had this smile on my face, like ‘What are we doing next!” but they were like, ‘No, it was really bad.’ It was a weird thing.”
It is just a relief that Bob Odenkirk was able to resume filming a month after the heart attack and finally finish up Better Call Saul. After all, Season 6 of the show is hailed as one of the greatest in television history.
Also read: Real Reason Bob Odenkirk Hated Playing Saul Goodman: “It was fun to play him in Breaking Bad but…”
Bob Odenkirk Was Satisfied With How His Character Arc Ended In Better Call Saul
Thirteen years after debuting as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, Bob Odenkirk not only solidified his role in the acclaimed series but also led his own spin-off, Better Call Saul, spanning six seasons. The show delved into Goodman’s backstory and post-Breaking Bad life, adding emotional depth, especially to Rhea Seehorn’s character, Kim Wexler. Departing from Saul in the Season 6 finale, Odenkirk is now engaged in the new series, Straight Man, as he continues to reflect on the character he portrayed for over a decade.
While speaking to Empire, Bob Odenkirk talked about the season finale of Better Call Saul and what he thought about his character arc ending. Odenkirk admitted he wanted to wallow more after the show ended.
“I wanted more time to wallow, and I’m going to wallow for the next ten years or more. I know that was probably the role of my lifetime, and that’s a wonderful thing to have had. Some people don’t get that. I will be wallowing the rest of my life.
I would not have predicted it,” admits Odenkirk of where the show ended up – with Saul (or, Jimmy) in prison, and a glimmer of reconnecting with Kim. “I would have predicted an ending with more explosions. I’m so glad there weren’t. And yet the weird thing about it to me is that it really came from relaxing your grip on the characters. One of the struggles I had, and Rhea had this too, is that the characters were very emotionally intelligent about almost everybody they interacted with, and yet had these blind spots regarding their own behaviour. And in the end the writers granted these characters the self-knowledge that I felt they always had. I thought it was beautiful. When I read it, I was like, ‘Yes, exactly, that’s what should happen.’
Better Call Saul will forever be remembered as one of the most captivating and compelling forms of television for a very long time. Regardless, Bob Odenkirk will always be grateful for his time as Saul Goodman and that is all that matters.
