Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn reveals that Chuck originally wasn't supposed to be a villain. A spinoff of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul premiered in 2015 and came to a dramatic conclusion last summer. The series, which chronicles Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) slow descent into the titular criminal lawyer, also introduces several other main characters, including Jimmy's romantic interest Kim Wexler (Seehorn), his brother and rival Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), and Chuck's law partner Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian).
During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Seehorn made a surprising ission about the series.
The Better Call Saul star says that Chuck originally wasn't supposed to be a villain and explains how the character evolved over the course of the show. Read what she shared below:
It was not planned out. There was a lot of elements that changed. The great Michael McKean playing Chuck was at one time supposed to be the thing that made you see the soft side of Jimmy. Jimmy was going to become Saul right away, I believe within the first season and Chuck was going to be this invalid that had to be taken care of, but Michael McKean played it with such gravitas and so much complexity and subtext that they were like, "Oh I think this is a formidable foe."
Then Patrick Fabian playing Howard came in and then there was this complexity, it's easy to project onto him that he's one simple thing, but he was playing it with more, and then I was in these scenes where she says very little but is constantly present and observing and I thought not speaking in a room can be a position of as weakness or a position of power, and I find the latter more interesting.
So we were all coming at our characters that way and things got all jostled around and suddenly Michael McKean's was the foe and I was his heart and Howard was the person that Jimmy was protecting everything onto who doesn't deserve it. It was interesting.
Why Better Call Saul Changed Its Original Character Plans
As Seehorn says, Chuck was originally supposed to be an "invalid" who brings out Jimmy's soft side, which can be seen early on in the show as he cares for his brother who is suffering from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. However, McKean played the character with such "gravitas and complexity" that the writers realized that Chuck, a highly intelligent and dedicated lawyer, could be a formidable foe for Jimmy, who embraces his tendencies as a former scam artist. In turn, the changes to Chuck affected Jimmy's character development, who was originally going to "become Saul" as early as season 1, Seehorn says, but instead, the show chronicled Jimmy's slow descent into Saul over several seasons.
Chuck stepping up as Jimmy's primary adversary allowed the show to more thoroughly examine the character of Howard, who was previously thought to be an antagonist keeping Jimmy's career down, though Chuck was actually the one responsible. The brotherly conflict between Jimmy and Chuck meant that his sibling no longer brought out his soft side, and that's where Kim came in early on to fulfill that role as his romantic love interest. While the Better Call Saul writers may not have had the character arcs and dynamics planned out from the beginning, each is treated with an unparalleled level of complexity and attention to detail.
Source: The Rich Eisen Show