Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk recently took on a role that called for him to do something he was concerned about: become drunk. It all happened as part of his upcoming episode on Comedy Central's Drunk History. In it, Odenkirk will narrate the story of Steve Dahl's disco demolition. Like all guests who came before him, he had to get drunk to provide the narration. Odenkirk was not too enthusiastic about doing that and he revealed why saying:
It was scary for me to get drunk. Derek knows. We had a lot of conversations about it. I almost backed out because I haven't been drunk in a long, long time. Not that I was going for a record but it was probably over 30 years.
Thirty years sober and with one show, it is over. It is incredible to think that something that took Bob Odenkirk thirty years to create was over in a relative blink. He revealed his behind-the-scenes hesitance at Drunk History's PaleyFest NY panel, per Page Six, and that was not all he shared about his experience with host Derek Waters. He also reflected on why the decision to break with his 30-year sobriety streak was so difficult, with the reason being he is a father to two teenage children.
The actor explained that both of his kids are in college and he was worried about them seeing him drunk on TV. While Bob Odenkirk is an actor, Drunk History requires that participants actually be inebriated when they perform. While Odenkirk struggled with the decision, he ultimately went through with it. He also shared that he felt Drunk History's co-creator Derek Waters was "very protective" of him.
Despite having to break with thirty years of sobriety and becoming so inebriated he was sick-level drunk, it was something Bob Odenkirk decided to do. The Better Call Saul star revealed that narrating the story of Steve Dahl's disco demolition was important to him, as it was part of his childhood. The incident occurred in July 1979. So, Odenkirk would have been 16-years-old at the time.
Maybe Drunk History could consider having participants who do not want to get drunk, simply act the part. Bob Odenkirk is probably not the first actor to have had reservations about getting genuinely intoxicated for an episode of the series. By letting them pretend, the show would not miss out on a great actor narrating it because they do not want to get drunk. Alternately, they could act parts in the narrations of other participants.
No air date has been set for Bob Odenkirk's episode of Drunk History to air. His show Better Call Saul recently finished its fourth season. A fifth season of the popular Breaking Bad spinoff is on the horizon.
In the meantime, fans of the actor can look forward to seeing his episode of Drunk History. It is bound to be a wild ride. The series' sixth installment is expected to debut sometime this year. That window is closing as fall's premieres will soon bring us to winter's.
