Bob Odenkirk Went Bankrupt Before Landing Breaking Bad Role

Odenkirk, who had pivoted to directing at that time, revealed he was bankrupt prior to taking his role in the series after making several feature films that "weren't great" and didn't pay well. Odenkirk told Stern that he was visionless as a director, and ended up in a "financial hole" that resulted in a call from his business manager to sign a $900,000 loan to "keep afloat." "I get a phone call, 'They're gonna offer you a role on 'Breaking Bad,' the show 'Breaking Bad'' — not a popular show or a big show at the time — 'and don't say no,' my agent says," Odenkirk, who played lawyer Saul Goodman, told Howard Stern on Monday's episode of Stern's Sirius XM radio show. 

"And I was like dude, I haven't said 'no' in a year and a half, but maybe you didn't notice that," he added. "I still checked it out, I still wanted to know what the hell the show was," Odenkirk said of the time after he was offered the role. "I called a friend, somebody I'd been writing with, Reid Harrison, and he goes, 'Oh, that's the best show on TV. You gotta do that. That's the best thing there is.'" Bankruptcy can happen to anyone. Here is a list of  other celebrities and famous people who also sought the federal protection of bankruptcy relief.