“Breaking Bad” actor Bob Odenkirk shared 27 years of work and personal experiences with students.
On Nov. 24, the writer and comedian visited Augustana to discuss life in Hollywood and his upcoming projects.
At 7 p.m. Odenkirk stood on the Gävle Room stage, looking out at the students. He admitted he was not used to talking to students and his comedy club routine was too dirty for the crowd.
So, he started with clean jokes, after being introduced by his nephew, Augustana senior Alex Odenkirk.
Odenkirk talked about a variety of subjects, including his personal life, experiences as an actor and how he started writing.
He also read excerpts from his book, “A Load of Hooey.” His readings of choice were his wittily negative ratings of admired works, such as “The Godfather” and “The Bible.”
The actor also opened up for the floor for questions. When asked when Odenkirk knew that he wanted to write comedy, he said that when he was a kid that he would “write all the time about comedy bits and stuff.”
He remarked that he would “write every day.”
He finally knew that he wanted to be in show business when he was 20 years old.
Many of the questions pertained towards his experience being an actor on the television show “Breaking Bad.”
Odenkirk played the role of comedic relief with his less-than-moral character, Saul Goodman.
Odenkirk responded, “I liked working with everyone. The writing was amazing and I was a lucky actor.”
Odenkirk cut off the questions to show some video clips on his time on the “Ben Stiller Show,” a sketch show starring Odenkirk, Ben Stiller and other comedians.
He also showed clips from “Mr. Show with Bob and David” and his part in the movie “Spectacular Now,” which highlighted Odenkirk’s dramatic acting.
Odenkirk talked about his time on other shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” Seinfeld” and more, and then finished the night with another excerpt from his book, “A Load of Hooey.”
The following day, Nov. 25, he spoke at a casual lunch meeting to a crowd of about 35 students. Odenkirk sat cross-legged onstage while answering questions from the crowd.
Odenkirk also promoted his upcoming “Breaking Bad” spin-off show and a new project with actor David Cross.