Saul Goodman

It's all good, man.

James Morgan McGill, better known by his alias Saul Goodman, is a fictional character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the Breaking Bad television franchise. He appears as a major character in Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and as the titular protagonist of its spin-offs Better Call Saul (2015–2022) and Slippin’ Jimmy (2022). Saul is an unscrupulous Albuquerque-based lawyer and con artist who becomes involved in the city's criminal underworld. In Breaking Bad, he acts as the consigliere for the methamphetamine cooks Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.

Quick Facts

Series

Breaking Bad

First minor

Better Call Saul

First date

April 26, 2009

Last minor

Saul Gone

Last date

August 15, 2022

Creator

Vince Gilligan; Peter Gould

Portrayed by

Bob Odenkirk
Blake Bertrand (teenage flashback)
Cole Whitaker (childhood flashback)

Voice

Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul), Sean Giambrone (Slippin' Jimmy)

Lore & Background

Saul first appeared in "Better Call Saul" (2009), the eighth episode of Breaking Bad's second season. He was created to provide Walt and Jesse with a guide for their criminal activities and to replace Hank Schrader as Breaking Bad's comic relief. Although Odenkirk was initially cast for only four episodes as a guest actor, he became integral to the Breaking Bad narrative after Gilligan and Gould were impressed by his performance; Odenkirk subsequently joined the main cast in the third season and remained through to the fifth and final season of the show. Better Call Saul's main storyline depicts Saul's origins as the aspiring lawyer Jimmy McGill and his moral deterioration in the six years before the events of Breaking Bad.

Reader's Guide

Saul Goodman is an alias derived from the phrase "it's all good, man." James Morgan McGill was born on November 12, 1960, in Cicero, Illinois. He worked at his parents' corner store before becoming a con artist known as "Slippin' Jimmy" for staging "slip and fall" accidents. His older brother is Charles Willard McGill. Odenkirk was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series six times for his performance in Better Call Saul, tying the record for most nominations without a win in the category.

Did You Know?

Saul Goodman's name is a play on the phrase "it's all good, man" so that even simple-minded clients could remember it when arrested.
Odenkirk based the character's speaking style on producer Robert Evans and practiced by reading The Kid Stays in the Picture.
The writers made Saul more comical to fill the void left when Hank Schrader suffered trauma from seeing Tortuga's severed head.
A billboard for "James M. McGill, Attorney at Law" was placed in Albuquerque in 2014 as a publicity stunt, connected to a voicemail recorded by Odenkirk.