Bob Odenkirk Secretly Played Saul Goodman In The '90s, Way Before Breaking Bad

Over the past couple of decades, Bob Odenkirk has made a name for himself as one of the world’s most prolific and versatile dramatic actors. Odenkirk’s journey into drama began when he was cast as Walter White’s lawyer, Saul Goodman, in Breaking Bad. But it wasn’t until he headlined his own spinoff, Better Call Saul, and explored the broken human being hiding behind the mask of “Saul Goodman,” that audiences realized just how great he was. Since then, Odenkirk has given brilliant dramatic performances in everything from Greta Gerwig’s literary adaptation Little Women to the John Wick-style Nobody action movie franchise.

But long before that fateful casting in Breaking Bad, Odenkirk had become a screen legend in a whole different field: comedy. Odenkirk wrote for Saturday Night Live, guest-starred in every iconic sitcom from Seinfeld to How I Met Your Mother, and teamed up with David Cross to create possibly the greatest sketch show in TV history, Mr. Show with Bob and David.

During the heyday of Odenkirk’s burgeoning comedy career, he had a recurring role on The Larry Sanders Show as Larry’s obnoxious agent, Stevie Grant. Rewatching The Larry Sanders Show now, it’s hard not to see Stevie as a prototype for what would become Saul later down the line.

Bob Odenkirk's The Larry Sanders Show Character Was An Early Prototype Of Saul Goodman

Stevie, the sleazy agent in The Larry Sanders Show, is basically an early prototype of how Odenkirk would play Saul: cocky, verbose, slippery, quick-witted, completely untrustworthy, and able to talk himself out of any situation. To be clear, I don’t mean Jimmy McGill, the real human being underneath the flashy suits and the fake name; I do mean Saul Goodman, the persona that Jimmy puts on for his clients (and, when real life becomes too painful, he even puts on for himself in the mirror).

Stevie is basically Hollywood’s answer to Saul. Whereas Saul applies his diabolical schemes and unorthodox methods to getting criminals off the hook in the legal system, Stevie uses smoke and mirrors to manipulate studio executives and get his clients a better deal. When Stevie is negotiating Larry’s salary with the network, he throws all kinds of wild ideas up in the air — quitting the show, moving to New York, going to another network — and somewhere in all that chaos and disruption, he manages to come out on top and get exactly what he wants (usually begrudgingly, after he’s humiliated his opponents and left them with no other choice).

Odenkirk is great at playing this kind of slimy, slippery sleazeball; he really gets the comedy of it, and dials into it, and he’s a perfect foil for Larry. Garry Shandling played Larry as a nebbish, non-confrontational neurotic, so it was always hilarious to contrast him with a brash, outgoing aggressor, like Odenkirk’s Stevie or Rip Torn’s Artie. The Larry Sanders Show is one of the best TV comedies ever made — its self-aware showbiz satire was way ahead of its time, and paved the way for Curb and 30 Rock — and not enough people know about it.

The Larry Sanders Show Is A Treasure Trove Of Comedy Talent

Between main cast members like Garry Shandling and Rip Torn giving some of the greatest comic performances of all time, and guest stars like Billy Crystal and Robin Williams and Catherine O’Hara poking fun at themselves, the cast of The Larry Sanders Show was a treasure trove of 1990s comedy talent. The conceit of a late-night talk show allowed for a revolving door of celebrity guests like Carol Burnett and Richard Lewis.

But The Larry Sanders Show didn’t have to rely on famous faces. Its own supporting cast is full of legends, from Janeane Garofalo as Paula the talent booker to Jeremy Piven as Jerry the head writer.

The Larry Sanders Show

Release Date 1992 - 1998-00-00

Network HBO Max

Showrunner Garry Shandling

Writers Garry Shandling, Dennis Klein