Better Call Saul’s Chuck was originally meant to showcase Jimmy’s soft side, but evolved into a villain thanks to Michael McKean’s portrayal.
AMC
Better Call Saul is a highly acclaimed television series that premiered in 2015 and is a spinoff of the popular show Breaking Bad. It is set in the early 2000s and follows the story of Jimmy McGill, who later changes his name to Saul Goodman. Jimmy is a criminal lawyer who finds himself involved in various criminal activities. Better Call Saul is known for its complex characters and intriguing plotlines. Chuck McGill, Jimmy’s brother, is a highly successful attorney and initially portrayed as an upright character with an aversion to electricity due to a rare physical and mental condition. However, as the show progressed, the character developed into an antagonist, leading to his eventual downfall.
In a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show, Rhea Seehorn revealed that Chuck was not originally intended to be a villain in the show. Seehorn plays Kim Wexler, the romantic interest of protagonist Jimmy McGill, played by Bob Odenkirk. According to Seehorn, Chuck was meant to be the character that showcased Jimmy’s soft side, and Jimmy was going to become Saul Goodman right away within the first season. However, as the show progressed, the character of Chuck developed into a formidable foe, thanks to the excellent portrayal by Michael McKean. Seehorn praised McKean’s performance, which added complexity and subtext to the character, leading to Chuck’s evolution into an antagonist.
“It was not planned out. There was a lot of elements that changed. The great Michael McKean playing Chuck was at one time supposed to be the thing that made you see the soft side of Jimmy. Jimmy was going to become Saul right away, I believe within the first season and Chuck was going to be this invalid that had to be taken care of, but Michael McKean played it with such gravitas and so much complexity and subtext that they were like, “Oh I think this is a formidable foe.”
Then Patrick Fabian playing Howard came in and then there was this complexity, it’s easy to project onto him that he’s one simple thing, but he was playing it with more, and then I was in these scenes where she says very little but is constantly present and observing and I thought not speaking in a room can be a position of as weakness or a position of power, and I find the latter more interesting.
So we were all coming at our characters that way and things got all jostled around and suddenly Michael McKean’s was the foe and I was his heart and Howard was the person that Jimmy was protecting everything onto who doesn’t deserve it. It was interesting.”
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Rhea Seehorn Speculates on the Future of Kim and Jimmy
Sony Pictures Television
Better Call Saul came to an end after six seasons, leaving fans wondering about the fate of its beloved characters. The finale brought closure to the characters of Jimmy and Kim, with the latter visiting the former in federal prison. However, what happens after the finale remains a mystery as the show’s producers intended it. Fans can only speculate whether the visit was a goodbye or the start of a new relationship for the couple. Rhea Seehorn has her own theory, which she shared in an interview with Rich Eisen. Seehorn believes that the two characters are working on getting a reduced sentence for McGill and that the couple will continue their relationship despite the challenges.
“I am a hopeless romantic, so even though I know that the series… Peter (Gould) nailed the ending as far as like, ‘I want their lives to live on, and for them to continue to have questions, the audience.’ And I said, ‘Well, I think you did that, but I’m a hopeless romantic, so if anyone asks me, I’m gonna say she definitely tries to figure out how to reduce his sentence.'”
Over its six-season run, Better Call Saul received critical acclaim for its storytelling, direction, and performances. The show has won numerous awards, including several Primetime Emmy Awards, and has been nominated for many others. Giancarlo Esposito received widespread acclaim for his performance as drug kingpin Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring. The show’s writing and character development were also highly praised, with some critics considering it even better than Breaking Bad.
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