Bob Odenkirk: who is Better Call Saul actor, when did he have heart attack - who is co-star Rhea Seehorn?

Bob Odenkirk is the star of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, and has had a career spanning five decades
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Bob Odenkirk became an international name after starring as the comic relief criminal lawyer in crime drama Breaking Bad.

In 2015, he got his own series, Better Call Saul, a prequel to Breaking Bad which focuses on how Jimmy McGill becomes Saul Goodman.

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The spin-off has gone on to be so popular, that many fans debate whether it is a better show than Breaking Bad.

The sixth and final season of Better Call Saul is being released weekly on Netflix now, with the grand finale coming to the platform in the UK on 16 August.

But who is Bob Odenkirk, what else has he been in, and who is his co-star Rhea Seehorn?

Bob Odenkirk returns in the final season of Better Call Saul (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Bob Odenkirk returns in the final season of Better Call Saul (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Bob Odenkirk returns in the final season of Better Call Saul (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Who is Bob Odenkirk?

Odenkirk is a 59 year old American actor and comedian who was born in Illinois in 1962. His family is of German Irish descent and he is the second oldest of seven siblings.

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He is best known for playing the shifty lawyer Jimmy McGill/ Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and the Netflix spin-off Better Call Saul.

Odenkirk’s father, who was an alcoholic, died of bone cancer in 1986, and his mother died in November 2021, three months before filming for Better Call Saul season six finished.

He has a career spanning five decades - he got his start as a writer for SNL in the 1980s and has since appeared in several major film and TV shows.

Odenkirk married producer Naomi Yomtov in 1997 and the couple have two children together.

When did Bob Odenkirk have a heart attack?

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Filming for Better Call Saul season six began in March 2021 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additional delays came when Odenkirk suffered a heart attack on set.

Odenkirk collapsed on 28 July last year while shooting in Albuquerque, New Mexico - his son later took to social media to reassure fans that the star would be okay.

Odenkirk was rushed to hospital from the set where he recovered.

Better Call Saul season 6Better Call Saul season 6
Better Call Saul season 6
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It was during the filming of the latest episode to drop on Netflix, Fun and Games, that Odenkirk suffered what he described as a “small heart attack.”

He told Hollywood Reporter: “I didn’t go back to shoot for five weeks. I had a five-week break to recover. And then when I went back, we limited our shooting to 12-hour days.

“And so they took care of me and I was able to do it, and hopefully you can’t tell when I had the heart attack and when I didn’t.”

During the heart attack, Odenkirk’s heart stopped and a defibrillator had to be used to recover a pulse. He returned to work in September 2021 and filming on Better Call Saul season six wrapped in February this year.

What else has Bob Odenkirk been in?

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Odenkirk’s first screen role was on the comedy series Cableville, USA in 1987. Since then he has racked up more than 120 acting credits.

He had various roles on the sketch comedy show The Ben Stiller Show and played Stevie Grant on The Larry Sanders Show.

He has had bit parts on many well known American shows including Seinfeld, Roseanne, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Futurama, Arrested Development, and Weeds.

Odenkirk played Arthur Hobbs in How I Met Your Mother and Bill Oswalt in season one of Fargo.

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His guest roles include appearances as a mod lawyer in The Simpsons, Mom, and various parts in Drunk History.

Odenkirk has also starred in several Hollywood films including Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, historical drama The Post, comedy film Nebraska, and action flick Nobody, in which he had the lead role.

Who is Rhea Seehorn?

Rhea Seehorn plays Kim Wexler, Jimmy’s love interest and later wife in Better Call Saul. Over the course of the series her proximity to Jimmy pulls her ever closer to a life of crime.

Seehorn is a 50-year-old actress who was born in Virginia. She has plenty of acting credits to her name having appeared in Veep, The Harper House, Ridley Jones, and American Dad.

Her film roles include playing Erin in Linoleum, Kelly in We Hate Kids, and Lori in The Shaggy Dog .

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