Early life

Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, Illinois and raised in nearby Naperville. He is one of seven siblings born to Walter, who was employed in the printing business, and Barbara Odenkirk, Roman Catholics of German and Irish descent. His parents divorced in part due to Walter Odenkirk's alcoholism, which would influence Bob's decision to avoid alcohol as much as possible. He would later say that he grew up "hating" Naperville because "it felt like a dead end, like Nowheresville. I couldn't wait to move into a city and be around people who were doing exciting things." Walter Odenkirk died of bone cancer in 1995.

Odenkirk attended Naperville North High School and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then transferred to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, "honing his sketch-writing and performance skills with live shows on both colleges' radio stations." He began his foray into comedy writing as a radio DJ for WIDB (Carbondale, Illinois), his local college station at SIU-Carbondale. He worked at WIDB with newsman Greg Weindorf and traffic-man Matt "The Agitator" Helser now of Dirty Laundry Podcast fame. He created a late-night (midnight to 4am) radio comedy show called "The Prime Time Special" with many recurring characters. "It often had us in stitches," said then WIDB Program Director, Victor Lentini. After three years of college, Odenkirk decided to try writing and improv in Chicago. First studying with Del Close, Odenkirk attended "The Players Workshop of the Second City" where he met Robert Smigel, and they began a collaboration that would last for years and take Odenkirk to Saturday Night Live. He also performed at the Improv Olympic alongside notable comedians Chris Farley and Tim Meadows.

Odenkirk said his strongest comedic influence was Monty Python's Flying Circus, primarily due to its combination of cerebral and simple humor. Other influences included radio personality Steve Dahl, SCTV, Steve Martin's Let's Get Small, Woody Allen, The Credibility Gap, and Bob and Ray. He visited Chicago's Second City Theater at the age of fourteen. His younger brother is comedy writer Bill Odenkirk.

Career

Work in television

Saturday Night Live: 1987-1991

Odenkirk was hired as a writer at Saturday Night Live in 1987 and worked there through 1991. Working alongside Robert Smigel and Conan O'Brien, he contributed to many sketches they created, but felt uncertain of the efficacy of his own writing at the show. He acted in several small roles on the show, most visibly during a 1991 parody commercial for Bad Idea Jeans. During his final year at SNL, he worked alongside Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock and Chris Farley, but eventually he decided to leave the show in order to pursue performing. He has credited SNL with teaching him many lessons about sketch writing, from senior writers like Jim Downey and Al Franken, as well as his friends Smigel and O'Brien.

When SNL took its 1988 summer break, Odenkirk returned to Chicago to perform a stage show with Smigel and O'Brien, titled Happy Happy Good Show. The following summer he did a one-man show, Show-Acting Guy, directed by Tom Gianas. During his final summer hiatus, he wrote and acted in the Second City Mainstage show, Flag Burning Permitted in Lobby Only. In that particular show, he wrote the character "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker," for Chris Farley, which would later be reprised on SNL.

Various writing and acting work: 1991-1994

In 1991, Odenkirk was hired to write for the TV show Get a Life, which starred Late Night with David Letterman alumnus Chris Elliott. Odenkirk also wrote for The Dennis Miller Show

Odenkirk's friendship with Ben Stiller, with whom he briefly shared an office at SNL, would lead to him being hired for the cast of The Ben Stiller Show in 1992. Working as both a writer and actor on the show, he created and starred in the memorable sketch "Manson Lassie," and helped the show win an Emmy Award for writing. However, the show had already been canceled by the time it won the award. Odenkirk served as a writer on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien for the show's 1993 and 1994 seasons. Odenkirk met David Cross at Ben Stiller; shortly afterward, the pair began performing live sketch shows, which eventually evolved into Mr. Show with Bob and David. In 1993, Odenkirk began a recurring role on The Larry Sanders Show as Larry Sanders' agent, Stevie Grant. He would continue the character through 1998. Also in 1993, Odenkirk had brief acting roles on Roseanne and Tom Arnold's The Jackie Thomas Show. Radio artist Joe Frank hired Odenkirk and David Cross to appear in Frank's 1994 radio programs, "A Hearing" and "The Last Run" which, in 1997, was combined to become "The OJ Chronicles."

Mr. Show: 1995-1998

Main article: Mr. Show

Created by Odenkirk and David Cross, Mr. Show ran on HBO for four seasons. The series featured a number of comedians in the early stages of their careers, including Sarah Silverman, Paul F. Tompkins, Jack Black, Tom Kenny, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Brian Posehn and Scott Aukerman. While nominated for multiple Emmy awards in writing and generally well liked by critics, it never broke out of a "cult" audience into larger mainstream acceptance. After Mr. Show, Bob and David and the writers from the staff wrote the movie Run, Ronnie, Run. The film was an extension of a sketch from the first season of the show. However, the studio took production control away from Cross and Odenkirk during the editing stages, and the pair disowned the final product.

After Mr. Show: 1999-2008

Odenkirk starred in numerous television shows and some films. He has written and produced many TV pilots, including The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke and David's Situation, but none have made it to air or been picked up as a series. In 2004, Odenkirk received an unsolicited package including the work of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. Inspired by their unique voice, he connected with them and helped them develop a semi-animated show for Adult Swim called Tom Goes to the Mayor. He assisted Tim and Eric with the development of their second series, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job. He had a number of small featuring roles on TV shows, including Everybody Loves Raymond, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Just Shoot Me!, Joey, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, Entourage, Weeds and How I Met Your Mother.

Odenkirk was in consideration to play Michael Scott in the pilot of The Office, a role which ultimately went to Steve Carell. Odenkirk finally guested in the final season of The Office as a Philadelphia manager strongly reminiscent of Michael Scott.

Breaking Bad and other works: 2009-2014

Main article: Breaking Bad

In 2009, Odenkirk joined the cast of AMC's Breaking Bad as corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman. He appeared as a guest star in three episodes of the second season, and eventually became a series regular for the seasons after and remained on the show until its final season.

In 2011, Odenkirk wrote and developed Let's Do This! for Adult Swim, starring as Cal Mackenzie-Goldberg a "two-bit movie mogul and head of Cal-Gold Pictures as he leads a collection of crazy, fame-hungry strivers chasing Hollywood dreams." The pilot can be seen on Adult Swim's website.

Odenkirk executive produced the sketch comedy show The Birthday Boys which starred the comedy group of the same name. Odenkirk also appeared in and directed a number of the sketches on the show as well. It premiered on IFC on October 18, 2013. In 2014, Odenkirk played Police Chief Bill Oswalt in FX's miniseries Fargo.

In fall of 2014, Odenkirk played Dr. Stork, a podiatrist who specializes in cutting off people's toes, in Adult Swim's anthology series Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories.

Better Call Saul and With Bob and David: 2015-present

Main articles: Better Call Saul and With Bob and David

Odenkirk currently stars in the title role of Better Call Saul, a Breaking Bad spinoff. Primarily set in 2002, seven years before the character's debut in Breaking Bad, the series follows lawyer Saul Goodman's journey from court appointed defense attorney origins to his eventual status as a successful criminal defense lawyer.

The first season consists of 10, 47 minute-long episodes, and a second season of 10 episodes has been airing since February 2016 on AMC.

It was reported in April 2015 that Odenkirk was teaming with former co-star David Cross to produce a new sketch comedy series based on their previous production, Mr. Show, called W/ Bob and David. The series was commissioned by Netflix with the first season having been released in November 2015, featuring four, 30 minute-long episodes along with an hour-long behind the scenes special. Odenkirk and Cross both write, star in and produce the show.

Work in film

Odenkirk's first roles in film were very minor roles in films such as Wayne's World 2, The Cable Guy, Can't Stop Dancing and Monkeybone. In 2003, Odenkirk directed Melvin Goes to Dinner and also played the role of Keith. The film received positive reviews from critics and won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film and Music Festival. It was later self-released in five cities, then distributed on DVD by Sundance.

In 2006, Odenkirk directed Let's Go to Prison, which was written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, and starred Will Arnett, Dax Shepard and Chi McBride. The film received a 12% "All Critics" score from the website Rotten Tomatoes and had a total box office gross of a little more than US$4.6 million. The following year Odenkirk directed The Brothers Solomon, written by Will Forte and starring Forte, Will Arnett and Kristen Wiig. The film received a 15% "All Critics" score from Rotten Tomatoes and had a total box office gross of approximately $1 million.

After starring in Breaking Bad, Odenkirk began to have more prominent roles in critically successful films such as The Giant Mechanical Man, The Spectacular Now, which received the Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and the Alexander Payne-directed film Nebraska, which was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He began to appear more prominently in comedy films as well, such as Take Me Home Tonight, Ass Backwards, Dealin' with Idiots, and Hell & Back. Though uncredited, Odenkirk directed a segment of the 2013 anthology comedy Movie 43, which was cut from the finished film.

Personal life

In 1996 Odenkirk married Naomi Yomtov, who was later the executive producer of With Bob and David. They have two children.

Bibliography

Year	Title
2013	Hollywood Said No!
2014	A Load of Hooey

Discography

Year	Title
2014	Amateur Hour (feat. Brandon Wardell)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Wayne's World 2	Concert nerd
1994	Clean Slate	Cop
1996	The Truth About Cats & Dogs	Bookstore man
1996	The Cable Guy	Steven's brother
1996	Waiting for Guffman	Caped man at audition
1997	Hacks	Cellmate
1999	Can't Stop Dancing	Simpson
2000	The Independent	Figure
2001	Dr. Dolittle 2	Dog #2 (voice)
2001	Monkeybone	Morgue surgeon
2002	Run Ronnie Run	Terry Twillstein / Various roles	Also writer
2003	Melvin Goes to Dinner	Keith	Also director
2004	My Big Fat Independent Movie	Steve
2005	Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic	Manager
2005	Cake Boy	Darnell Hawk
2006	Danny Roane: First Time Director	Pete Kesselmen
2006	Relative Strangers	Mitch Clayton
2006	Let's Go to Prison	Duane	Also director
2007	The Brothers Solomon	Jim Treacher	Also director
2007	Super High Me	Bob
2009	Operation: Endgame	Emperor
2010	Blood Into Wine	French winemaker
2011	Son of Morning	Fred Charles
2011	Take Me Home Tonight	Mike
2012	Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie	Schlaaang Announcer
2012	The Giant Mechanical Man	Mark
2013	Ass Backwards	Pageant MC
2013	Dealin' with Idiots	Coach Jimbo
2013	The Spectacular Now	Dan
2013	Movie 43	P.I.	Also uncredited director Segment: "Find Our Daughter"
2013	Nebraska	Ross Grant
2014	Boulevard	Winston
2015	I Am Chris Farley	Himself	Documentary
2015	Hell and Back	The Devil (voice)
2015	Freaks of Nature	Shooter Parker
2016	Girlfriend's Day	Ray	Also writer and producer; filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987-1995	Saturday Night Live	Various roles	13 episodes; also writer
1991-1992	Get a Life		Writer
1992	The Dennis Miller Show		Writer
1992	The Ben Stiller Show	Various roles	13 episodes; also writer
1993	The Jackie Thomas Show	Elmer	Episode: "Aloha, Io-wahu"
1993	Roseanne	Jim	Episode: "Tooth or Consequences"
1993-1998	The Larry Sanders Show	Steve Grant	11 episodes
1993-1994	Late Night with Conan O'Brien		Writer
1994	Tom	David	Episode: "The Bad Seed"
1994	Life on Mars		Pilot; also creator and writer
1995-1998	Mr. Show with Bob and David	Various roles	30 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
1996	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Bob (voice)	Episode: "Fructose"
1996	Seinfeld	Ben	Episode: "The Abstinence"
1996	The Dana Carvey Show		Writer
1997-1998	NewsRadio	Dr. Smith / Bob	2 episodes
1997-2001	Everybody Loves Raymond	Scott Preman	2 episodes
1997-2000	Tenacious D		Co-creator, writer and executive Producer
1997	Space Ghost Coast to Coast	Himself	Episode: "Gallagher"
1999	Just Shoot Me!	Barry	Episode: "The Odd Couple: Part 1"
1999	3rd Rock from the Sun	Gary Parkinson	Episode: "The Fifth Solomon"
2000	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Gil	Episode: "Porno Gil"
2000	The Near Future		Pilot; co-creator, director, writer and executive producer
2001	Ed	Rev. Richie Porter	Episode: "Valentine's Day"
2001	The Andy Dick Show	Chuck Charles	Episode: "Standards and Practices"
2002	Next!	Various roles	Pilot; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2003	Highway to Oblivion		Pilot; director
2003	Less than Perfect	Colin Hunter	Episode: "The New Guy"
2003	Futurama	Chaz (voice)	Episode: "The Why of Fry"
2003	The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke	Carl Laemke	Pilot; also creator, writer and executive producer
2003	Slice o' Life	(Role unknown)	Pilot
2003	Arrested Development	Dr. Phil Gunty	Episode: "Visiting Ours"
2004	Joey	Brian Michael David Scott	Episode: "Joey and the Nemesis"
2004	Aqua Teen Hunger Force	Bean Wizard (voice)	Episode: "Hypno-Germ"
2004-2006	Tom Goes to the Mayor	Various Voices	21 episodes; also writer and executive Producer
2005	Crank Yankers	Droopy (voice)	Episode: "#3.14"
2006	Freak Show	Half Oldman Half Youngman / Senator Tinkerbell (voices)	2 episodes
2007-2010	Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!	Various roles	25 episodes; also creative consultant
2007	The Sarah Silverman Program	Mister Wadsworth	Episode: "Maid to Border"
2007	Derek & Simon	Vance Hammersly	3 episodes; also co-creator, writer, director and executive producer
2008-2012	How I Met Your Mother	Arthur Hobbs	9 episodes
2008	Weeds	Barry	Episode: "Head Cheese"
2008	Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Journal	Donnie	Television special
2008	David's Situation		Pilot; co-creator, director, writer and executive producer
2009	Rules of Engagement	Mike	Episode: "Russell's Secret"
2009-2013	Breaking Bad	Saul Goodman	36 episodes
2009	American Dad!	Third Worker / TV Host (voices)	2 episodes
2009	The Goode Family	Brian Kennedy (voice)	Episode: "Pleatherheads"
2009	Glenn Martin DDS	Vince the Circus Owner (voice)	Episode: "The Grossest Show on Earth"
2010	The Life & Times of Tim	The Interventionist / Bathroom Attendant (voices)	2 episodes
2010	Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule		Creative consultant
2010	Entourage	Ken Austin	3 episodes
2010	Team Spitz	Principal Kersey	Pilot
2010	Funny or Die Presents	Scott & Behr	Episode: "112"
2011	Let's Do This!	Cal	Pilot; also creator, director, writer and executive producer
2011	Jon Benjamin Has a Van	Rev. Rocco Janson	Episode: "Smoking"
2012	NTSF:SD:SUV::	Aaron Sampson	Episode: "Robot Town"
2012	Bob's Burgers	Chase (voice)	Episode: "Tina-Rannosaurus Wrecks"
2012	The League	Miles Miller	Episode: "A Krampus Carol"
2012-2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Various roles	5 episodes
2013	The Office	Mark	Episode: "Moving On"
2013	Drunk History	Richard Nixon / The Guy	2 episodes
2013	Late Night with Jimmy Fallon	Saul Goodman	Episode: "5.191"
2013-2014	The Birthday Boys	Various roles	11 episodes; also director, writer and executive producer
2014	Fargo	Chief Bill Oswalt	9 episodes
2014	TripTank	Hot Sauce Worker (voice)	Episode: "Crossing the Line"
2014	Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories	Dr. Stork	Episode: "Toes"
2015-present	Better Call Saul	Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman	20 episodes; also producer
2015	W/ Bob & David	Various roles	4 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer

Music video

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Yo La Tengo - Sugarcube	Actor
2010	Built to Spill - Hindsight	Director

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1989	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program	Saturday Night Live	Won
1990				Nominated
1991				Nominated
1993			The Ben Stiller Show	Won
1998			Mr. Show with Bob and David	Nominated
		Outstanding Music and Lyrics		Nominated
1999		Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program		Nominated
2003	Phoenix Film Festival Award	Best Picture	Melvin Goes to Dinner	Won
		Best Ensemble		Won
	Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival Award	Best Feature Film		Won
	Independent Film Festival of Boston Award	Audience Award		Won
	Avignon Film Festival Award	Best Feature		Won
	Slamdance Film Festival Award	Grand Jury Prize		Nominated
	DVD Exclusive Award	Best Director		Nominated
		Best Original Song	Run Ronnie Run!	Nominated
2012	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Breaking Bad	Nominated
2013				Nominated
	Boston Society of Film Critics Award	Best Cast	Nebraska	Won
2014	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award	Best Cast		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Breaking Bad	Won
	Satellite Award	Best Cast in a Motion Picture	Nebraska	Won
2015	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actor in a Drama Series	Better Call Saul	Won
	TCA Award	Individual Achievement in Drama		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Drama Series		Nominated
2016	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]