Bob Odenkirk (birthname:
Robert John Odenkirk) is best known for his colorful portrayals of shyster lawyer Saul Goodman in AMC’s
Breaking Bad (2009-2013) and in the spinoff starring Odenkirk,
Better Call Saul (2015-2022), but he has directed as well as acted in three feature films (
Melvin Goes to Dinner in 2003,
Let’s Go to Prison in 2006 and
The Brothers Solomon in 2007) and acted in dozens of others, starting in bit parts in such comedies as
Wayne’s World 2 (1993),
The Cable Guy (1996), Christopher Guest’s
Waiting for Guffman (1996) and
Dr. Dolittle 2 and Henry Selick’s
Monkeybone in 2001 (2001).
Odenkirk began to land roles in more significant films near the end of the run of
Breaking Bad, first in the excellent indie film,
The Spectacular Now (2013), with
Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley,
Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kyle Chandler under James Ponsoldt’s direction, and premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and grossing a robust $6 million for distributor
A24.
Odenkirk joined the cast of director Alexander Payne’s comedy-drama,
Nebraska (2013), co-starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb and Stacy Keach, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival (where Dern won the Best Actor Palme) and nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Supporting Actress) and earning nearly $28 million (on $13.5 million costs) for former distributor Paramount Vantage.
Odenkirk’s next most notable theatrical appearance (after several little-seen indie releases) was a supporting role in director/producer
Steven Spielberg’s drama about the Washington Post,
The Post (2017), starring Meryl Streep and
Tom Hanks, with Sarah Paulson, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood and Matthew Rhys, grossing $180 million (on $50 million costs) for producer-distributor 20
th Century Fox.
Bob Odenkirk was part of the voice cast of filmmaker Brad Bird’s anticipated sequel for Pixar/Disney,
Incredibles 2 (2018), with the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell,
Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine Keener and Jonathan Banks, returning a robust $1.24 billion worldwide against $200 million costs for Disney and Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Feature.
Odenkirk played a supporting role in the comedy
Long Shot (2019), starring Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Andy Serkis, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival but ultimately lost money for Lionsgate, returning a poor $54 million. Then Odenkirk appeared in his first period drama in director/writer
Greta Gerwig’s lovely version of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868’s novel,
Little Women (2019), starring
Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson,
Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern,
Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper and Meryl Streep, nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress and Screenplay) and grossing a strong $220 million for Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures/Regency.
Odenkirk enjoyed one of his most notable big-screen starring roles as a former government assassin in Universal Pictures’ action movie,
Nobody (2021), with Connie Nielsen, Aleksei Serebryakov, RZA and Christopher Lloyd under Ilya Naishuller’s direction, returning positive reviews and even more positive box-office ($57.5 million gross against $18 million costs), leading to Universal’s sequel,
Nobody 2 (2025), with new cast members John Ortiz, Colin Hanks,
Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside.
Odenkirk continued working as a story writer with
Nobody screenwriter Derek Kolstad on the crime thriller titled
Normal (2025), which he produced with production partner Marc Provissiero and then led the cast directed by British indie filmmaker
Ben Wheatley, including Henry Winkler and Lena Headey, and which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and released by Amazon and MGM Studios.
Bob Odenkirk led the cast of the green-screen-shot remake of
The Room (2003) titled
The Room Returns! (date to be announced), co-starring Bella Heathcote, Kate Siegel, Mike Flanagan, and Greg Sestero (the only cast member from the original movie) under Brando Crawford’s direction.