Aaron Paul in ‘Serious Talks’ to Star in ‘Breaking Bad’ Spinoff
Aaron Paul, who got his starmaking turn as meth manufacturer Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, said that he is in “serious talks” with show creator Vince Gilligan to appear in the upcoming Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul, according to The Associated Press.
Breaking Bad Q&A: Bob Odenkirk on the Soul of Saul Goodman
The actor was promoting his upcoming action film Need for Speed when Jesse Pinkman came up, as it presumably will in every interview Paul will give for years.
“Anything Vince is involved with, I’m there,” Paul said. “I owe him my entire career. And the idea of jumping into the skin of Jesse Pinkman again in his lighter days — because it’s all a prequel — it would be fun.”
Earlier this year, Gilligan said that he hoped to convince some of Breaking Bad’s regular cast to join up for Better Call Saul, but conceded he may be a victim of his own success. “They’re off making big movies and doing Broadway plays and whatnot, and that’s exactly the way it should be,” Gilligan said. “That is a high-class problem that we will have to contend with as we go forward with Better Call Saul, if we do indeed want to touch base with some of these characters.”
Still, Paul has been lobbying hard for a role, telling Details in January, “Both Bryan [Cranston] and I want to be a part of that, if they’ll have us.”
One person that won’t be a part of Saul’s world of bus stop ads and Constitution-splattered walls is Dean Norris, who played DEA Agent and Walter White’s brother-in-law Hank Schrader on the show. The Under the Dome star said earlier this week, “I don’t think they’ll let me do a little cable show.”
“I think that experience was that experience,” Norris said. “I’m not a big fan of kind of revisiting something that has already been done. But I think it’s going to be awesome. So I can’t wait to see it.”
Last year, Gilligan revealed that the spinoff was originally conceived as a half-hour sitcom before he and his team settled on an hour-long format. “There’s obviously a danger inherent in doing a spinoff, but I just love the character of Saul Goodman so much, and part of me doesn’t want to say no to this world,” Gilligan said.
Better Call Saul features Bob Odenkirk as shady lawyer Saul Goodman and is set to premiere on AMC in November.