Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk Gets Candid About The Cons Of Getting In The Industry Too Young
The dark side of comedy we often don’t think about.
It's no secret that many TV and movie stars got their start as writers or performers on Saturday Night Live. While the show has definitely had its ups and downs throughout its history, it has remained consistent in entertaining viewers with comedic sketches, live music, and the occasional celebrity cameo.
In addition, SNL has become a beacon of hope for many artists trying to make it in Los Angeles. Back in 1987, Better Call Saul 's Bob Odenkirk was one of many writers trying to make a name for themselves and make some money doing what they loved. While getting hired by Saturday Night Live was a huge success, it also turned out to be a huge setback.
After Disney 's live-action boom in the late '90s and early '00s, it's not at all uncommon to see a celebrity who started acting the day they learned to walk. However, we are only now getting a glimpse of the toll such early career moves took on these stars.
Odenkirk, however, believes that being a 25-year-old in a competitive Hollywood environment was extremely bad for his mental health. In fact, the actor and writer describes that time in his life as incredibly dark, mentioning that he wasn't prepared for the pressure.
“It was existentially dangerous. I had feelings of ‘I should erase myself.' I was too young when I got hired at SNL. That was not a good thing. That could’ve gone wrong. That could’ve gone so wrong. It came this close so many times to going so wrong. You gotta believe me,” he said on Tig Notaro’s podcast Don’t Ask Tig.
Fortunately, Odenkirk was able to push through all the struggles that came with working at SNL and move on from writing to starring in several more productions to build his own acting portfolio. Certainly, many fans of the actor's performance today are incredibly happy to see that he didn't give up back then and continued to explore the creative field of work.
If you want to join the praise for Bob Odenkirk, you should definitely check out Better Call Saul. The Breaking Bad spin-off is available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Don’t Ask Tig