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Bob Odenkirk Is Already Back To Work On Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul Sony Pictures Television
By Jeremy Mathai

The good news just keeps coming. For every single person fortunate enough to have watched Bob Odenkirk light up the screen in any number of his roles over the years or even met the man himself, his recent health scare stemming from a heart attack while filming the final season of "Better Call Saul" sent shockwaves and resulted in a heartfelt outpouring of love and well wishes. The film industry, film writers, and fans breathed a tremendous sigh of relief when official word came that he had been stabilized and was safely recovering. Now we have it straight from Odenkirk himself that he's already feeling well enough to resume filming on the acclaimed series a little over a month later. We absolutely love to see it.

Why We Love Bob Odenkirk

Better Call Saul Sony Pictures Television

It's impossible to narrow down the praise for Bob Odenkirk to just a single word, but there's one consistent thing we've repeatedly heard from those in the know: his professionalism and dedication to his work always shine. That's why it's both surprising and not surprising to hear that Odenkirk is already back in the makeup chair and ready to get back to filming "Better Call Saul." Take it straight from the actor's own mouth (fingers?), as he tweeted earlier this morning: "Back to work on Better Call Saul! So happy to be here and living this specific life surrounded by such good people. BTW this is makeup pro Cheri Montesanto making me not ugly for shooting!"

Showrunner Peter Gould and co-star Rhea Seehorn also took to Twitter to celebrate:

What's incredible is that even in the midst of his triumphant return and the adoration that would be sure to follow (a lofty status that he himself is well aware of, though remains humble about), Odenkirk is still focusing on the talented crew behind the scenes who don't get nearly enough credit for the work they do. In this instance, he chose to spotlight Cheri Montesanto's efforts in providing his makeup. There's just no way to fake that sort of genuine selflessness and authenticity in a business that usually strips those qualities from anyone who's remained successful for as long as he has.

In fact, it's this precise quality that makes "Better Call Saul" work as well as it does. It's easy to forget now, but many fans looked at the wildly immoral figure that Saul Goodman remains throughout "Breaking Bad" and assumed that there was no way to turn that caricature into an actual living, breathing person capable of leading his own spin-off show. Leave it to Bob Odenkirk to inject Jimmy McGill with all the warmth, humor, and personality that makes him someone worth rooting for in the first place and that makes his inevitable descent into Saul Goodman feel so tragic.

In any case, we couldn't be happier to see the esteemed actor back and doing what he loves to do. If you'll excuse me, I'll be looking up memes of his show-stopping moment from "Little Women" for the rest of the day.

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