Bob Odenkirk couldn’t have been more perfect for Saul Goodman, but three different actors also played him inBreaking Bad’s universe. Very few actors are as inextricably attached to a role as Odenkirk is with Saul; it’s like James Gandolfini with Tony Soprano or Bryan Cranston with Walter White. Saul’s early episodes inBreaking Badmade great use of Odenkirk’s comedic talents, but as the series went on and the character was developed a lot more — and especially after he was given his own spin-off show — this role also introduced the world to Odenkirk’s untapped abilities as a dramatic actor.
AcrossBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul,outside of a couple of isolated flashbacks, Jimmy McGill was mostly only played by Odenkirk. A couple of younger actors were brought in to briefly play the character at different stages of his life, but Odenkirk was never too far away from the spotlight — until a third series was introduced to theBreaking Baduniverse. When the franchise premiered a third show,an animated spin-off calledSlippin’ Jimmy, a different actor with a very different take came in to play the character.
Sean Giambrone Played Saul Goodman In Slippin' Jimmy
Slippin' Jimmy Goes Back To Saul’s Childhood
To coincide with the final season ofBetter Call Saul, AMC released a third show within theBreaking Baduniverse: an animated prequel series calledSlippin’ Jimmy.Slippin’ Jimmygoes back to Jimmy’s younger years in Cicero, Illinois, and chronicles the wild antics he got up to withhis best friend and partner-in-crime, Marco Pasternak, who was featured briefly inBetter Call Saul. The anthology-style series has everything ranging from a spaghetti western episode to a silent comedy episode to anExorcistparody episode. It was certainly a novel premise, but it fell short of the other acclaimed franchise entries.
Slippin’ Jimmypremiered all six of its episodes on June 22, 2025.
Rather than bringing back Odenkirk,Slippin’ Jimmybrought in Sean Giambroneto play the title character.Giambrone is best known for playing the lead role of Adam Goldberg in the long-running sitcomThe Goldbergs, and he’s also played other animated voice roles, like Yumyulack Opposites, Jr. inSolar Oppositesand Luan’s boyfriend Benny inThe Loud House.Slippin’ Jimmyis a drastic tonal departure from the franchise’s other shows, replacing the gritty, grounded, character-focused drama with zany, off-the-wall, absurdist comedy. Unsurprisingly,Slippin’ Jimmywasn’t as well-received as its predecessors; it was panned by critics and instantly forgotten about.
2 Young Actors Play Jimmy McGill As A Child In Better Call Saul
Cole Whitaker Played Jimmy As A Young Boy And Blake Bertrand Played Him As A Teenager
AsBetter Call Sauldug into Jimmy’s past, a couple of other actors were brought in to play him in his younger years. Cole Whitaker played Jimmy as a young boy and Blake Bertrand played him as a teenager. Bertrand played young Jimmy in season 2, episode 7, “Inflatable.” The episode opens with a flashback to Jimmy working in his father’s store in 1973. A con man comes in to cheat Jimmy’s dad out of money and tells Jimmy there are only wolves and sheep in the world, setting upJimmy’s transformation into a scam artist.
Better Call Saul: 10 Biggest Steps In Jimmy’s Transformation Into Saul
Better Call Saul has finally revealed the final stage of Jimmy McGill’s transformation into Saul Goodman, but it took a few key steps to get there.
Whitaker appeared in the season 3 finale — season 3, episode 10, “Lantern” — which opens with a flashback to a young Chuck readingThe Adventures of Mabelto an even younger Jimmy McGill while they stay in a tent in their backyard, lit by a lantern. Not only does the use of a lantern foreshadow the episode’s tragic ending; the flashback also shows that Jimmy and Chuck once had a good relationship before bringing their bitter feud to a head in the present-day storyline. These werethe only twoBetter Call Saulscenes where Jimmy wasn’t played by Odenkirk.
Recasting Saul Goodman Proves The Slippin' Jimmy Spinoff Was Never Going To Work
No One Other Than Bob Odenkirk Should Play Saul Goodman
The fact that the producers ofSlippin’ Jimmyhad to recast the role of Saul proves that thisBreaking Badspin-off was never going to work. It’s not like Batman or James Bond, where the role can be played by anyone; the audience’s interest in this character is specifically tied to Odenkirk’s performance.Giambrone does his best, but it was a fool’s errandfor anyone else to play this part.
The audience’s interest in this character is specifically tied to Odenkirk’s performance. Giambrone does his best, but it was a fool’s errand for anyone else to play this part.
Odenkirk couldn’t have voiced Jimmy in his early years, but maybe that should’ve been taken as a sign that the animatedBreaking Badspin-off was a bad idea from the get-go.Better Call Saulalready showed audiences everything they needed to see from Jimmy’s childhoodto understand his character.Slippin’ Jimmyput the need for new content ahead of the needs of the story and characters.
Breaking Bad
Cast
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
