Recently, in celebration of Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday, Bob Odenkirk shared a revealing backstory about the hit spin-off series Better Call Saul.
During the NBC special “90 Years of Laughter + Love,” the actor disclosed that in the original script, his character, Saul, was supposed to kill Carol Burnett’s character, Marion.
However, Odenkirk strongly opposed this idea and threatened to leave the show if the script wasn’t rewritten to his liking. Odenkirk was so committed to his stance that he was willing to risk his career and never work in the industry again.
Bob Odenkirk Refused to Kill Carol Burnett’s Character on ‘Better Call Saul’
Odenkirk’s resistance to the scene where Saul kills Marion is rooted in his concern for the younger audience members of the show. He didn’t want to be known as the actor who killed Carol Burnett, as he felt it would be inappropriate for children watching the show. As he shared his story, he emphasized that he was the real friend of Burnett, not the executive producer of Better Call Saul, Vince Gilligan, who originally wrote the scene.
“Carol, I was willing to risk my career and never working in this town again. Because I didn’t want little children who watched our show — and I hope many of them did — to see me on the street and say, ‘Mommy, that’s the man who killed Carol Burnett.’ That’s all I wanted to say. That I’m your real friend and Vince is not.”
Carol Burnett herself also spoke about her connection to Gilligan, revealing that she met him through her daughter Carrie’s involvement in an episode of The X-Files.
As for the controversial scene, Odenkirk had no hard feelings toward Gilligan or the other show members. He stood by his convictions and refused to participate in something he felt would damage his career and reputation.
