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Bob Odenkirk recalls being robbed at gun-point: ‘He had a gun to my head’

Actor shared his unlikely response after ‘somebody pulled a gun’ on him and his then-girlfriend

Annabel Nugent
Thursday 17 March 2022 04:55 GMT
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Bob Odenkirk on Better Call Saul

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Bob Odenkirk has recalled once being robbed at gun-point in Chicago.

The Breaking Bad star opened up about the incident – which occurred as he and his then-girlfriend were leaving an improv show in the city – during a recent appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast.

Odenkirk told host Dax Shepherd that “somebody pull[ed] a gun” on him and his girlfriend when they were seated in a car early one Thursday morning at 1am.

“It looked like a s***ty zip gun,” he recalled. “You know what a zip gun is? It’s kind of a made-up gun. You build it but it’s not made of plastic. It looks like a f***ed up gun but it’s a real gun.

“And this guy holds it up and I park the car and get out. He goes, ‘Give me the money.’”

The actor went on to explain that he was “so wiped out” from a lack of sleep that “I can’t think straight at all”.

“I’m like numb and I’m looking at the guy and I’m taking too long. He’s scared and holding this gun up to me,” said Odenkirk.

The 59-year-old continued: “My girlfriend is in the front seat of the car. She’s got the door locked and she’s freaking out. I have my clothes on from the show and not the clothes that I travelled in – and that’s where my wallet is.

(Getty Images)

“I go, ‘My money is in my other pants.’ And [the robber] is scared and he holds the gun up to my head.”

Odenkirk went on to recall how he exited the car, opened the trunk and pulled his bag onto the sidewalk to retrieve the money.

“I know I have a lot of money in there,” said the Better Call Saul star, adding: “I have at least $300 (£230) cash because I was travelling so I figured I can make him happy.”

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The actor said: “So I give him the money and he goes, ‘Get your girlfriend out of the car. I want her jewellery.’ And – I want to credit this not to my bravado or courage but to how tired I was – I go, ‘What the f***?’”

Agreeing with Shepherd who joked the robber was a “greedy motherf***er”, Odenkirk continued: “I go, ‘Look how much money you got, get the f*** out of here. You should go!’

“And he stands there right by the window of the car not sure what to do and I go, ‘Run! Go!’ And then he does. He leaves and we call the police.”

Last month, Odenkirk reflected on the heart attack that he had on the set of Better Call Saul last year.

The actor was rushed to hospital after collapsing on the set of the show on 27 July 2021.

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