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PEOPLE & ARTSSaturday 8 April 2017
Rhea Seehorn answers call on ‘Better Call Saul’
FRAZIER MOORE sionally and romantically,
AP Television Writer Kim long ago threw in with
NEW YORK (AP) — Kim Wex- fellow lawyer Jimmy McGill,
ler may be the most quietly the series’ hero played by
complicated character on Bob Odenkirk, a freewheel-
TV. ing rascal who cuts corners
She is the levelheaded, with such gusto his squares
nose-to-the-grindstone Al- become circles.
buquerque lawyer who, He, of course, will eventu-
two seasons into “Better ally double down on his
Call Saul,” remains full of duplicity by rebranding
mystery and contradic- himself Saul Goodman
tions. and serving a key role in
Most paradoxically (or so it the meth-making mayhem
seems): How, both profes- of “Breaking Bad” (which
In this Feb. 2, 2016 file photo, actress Rhea Seehorn attends the season two premiere of “Better
Call Saul” in Culver City, Calif.
Associated Press
aired from 2008 to 2013). Rhea (pronounced “Ray”) She thinks it involves a pros-
But in “Saul,” the prequel Seehorn became an ac- titute and drugs, but it turns
of “Breaking Bad,” Jimmy’s tress to learn: “I was ob- out to be her own sister,
soul remains in play as Kim sessed with trying to figure whose tuition she was pay-
appeals to his better na- out people psychologically ing to send her to school in
ture, and he to hers. who aren’t me,” she says, another state!”
“There’s a lot of history be- “and walk in their shoes for As Seehorn later realized,
tween them, but also a lot a while.” “The scene served as a
of boundaries,” says Rhea In person, her shoes are showcase for traits that
Seehorn, who plays Kim. “It clearly different from Kim’s: could be grafted onto the
isn’t flirting and sexual in a stylish boots, not office- Kim Wexler character: the
superficial way. There’s a suited heels. Her blond hair workaholic part of Kim; the
rich friendship and a real cascades past her shoul- need to maintain control;
respect going back and ders, freed from Kim’s strict dealing with a personal
forth. ponytail. She flashes a daz- versus a professional rela-
“Kim is a conduit for the au- zling smile almost never dis- tionship. They wanted to
dience for what they love played by the meditative see: Can I do this? Can I do
about him,” she adds. “No Kim, whose introspective that? And we did it many,
viewers want to think about bearing strikes a marked many ways.
how someday, as Saul, he contrast to Seehorn’s viva- “I had a blast! But it makes
will order hits on people, cious manner. you sweat a lot. I wore a
but we do love that Jimmy “I’m obviously more awk- sleeveless blouse for all the
colors just outside the lines ward and dorky in real life,” auditions.”
remarkably well. she says. “But it’s really fun In all, there were three au-
“I don’t look at each sea- playing someone cool.” ditions, the final one along-
son of ‘Better Call Saul’ as She had logged stage side Odenkirk.
a countdown to ‘Breaking credits on and off Broad- Even then, Seehorn knew
Bad,’ thinking: ‘We’re this way, and supporting roles little other than the part she
much closer to him being on the sitcom “Whitney” was seeking was a lawyer.
Saul.’ But in season three and the lighthearted dra- She had no idea what the
you get more glimpses of ma “Franklin & Bash,” when character’s connection
Saul emerging in Jimmy. she tried out for “Better Call with Jimmy might be, no
This transformation is heart- Saul.” clue as to the size of the
breaking. To guard against leaks, the role.
“But he’s still a great law- producers were keeping “But who cares? Even if you
yer,” she insists. “And a any actual scenes from the have a small part in a bril-
great thinker.” show, and even details of liant play, it’s gonna be a
As “Saul” returns for its third the role Seehorn was seek- great part!”
season Monday at 10 p.m. ing, tightly under wraps. Needless to say, Seehorn
EDT on AMC, Kim, too, re- Here’s Seehorn describing found her place front and
mains a great lawyer, a the scene she was given center in the action. But
great thinker and her own by the casting directors: “I she, along with the audi-
breed of enigma. No won- was a policewoman on her ence, continues to dis-
der that, for Seehorn, play- way home, exhausted, af- cover who Kim is, script by
ing Kim has been a learning ter her night shift who sees revealing script, episode by
process from the start. a disturbance in an alley. episode.q
