Bob Odenkirk Says ‘Nobody’ Saved His Life

Bob Odenkirk is still kicking, despite best attempts by his heart — and the Russian mob — to stop him.

Saul Goodman himself appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night, which is a stage he hadn’t graced since before a heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul hospitalized him in 2021. Despite the terrifying ordeal, Odenkirk has since made a full recovery, and his new series, Lucky Hank, is set to premiere this Sunday on AMC.

Odenkirk says he owes his ability to survive and recover from the cardiac event to the training he undertook in order to believably play John Wick if he were a suburban dad in Nobody. Some might say that Odenkirk was simply method acting, since his character in Nobody, Hutch Mansell, didn’t die from a heart attack either.

“It was a classic heart attack,” the ever-irreverent Odenkirk joked of the harrowing health scare, “I said, ‘Gimme the top — the best one.’” Odenkirk downplayed the severity of the event, telling his host, “It all played out fine because everyone was there to save my life, and I had CPR done right away.” The heart attack knocked Odenkirk out of commission for five weeks before he could return to finish filming the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul.

On the topic of his heart’s fortunate durability, Odenkirk said, “I did an action film called Nobody. I was in really good shape, and that helped my heart survive the incident,” then adding some advice, “Exercise: It’ll help you through everything.”

As thankful as we are to still have Odenkirk with us, we’re still waiting for cardiologists to confirm that the best preventative care for heart health is diet, exercise and a starring role in a $16 million movie.