AARP Hearing Center
Key takeaways
- Embrace reinvention at any age — Bob Odenkirk’s bold career shift began after turning 60.
- Commit fully to new ambitions, as Odenkirk did with fitness and action roles, to boost confidence.
- Turn life’s challenges into growth, using gratitude and adaptability to seize unexpected opportunities.
Summary
Bob Odenkirk’s career transformation proves that reinvention after 60 is more than possible — it can be extraordinary. Beginning with his breakout role as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad, Odenkirk embraced change, moving from sketch comedy to action stardom. He credits this bold shift in direction, along with a major health scare, for inspiring him to approach life with gratitude and a renewed sense of purpose. Odenkirk’s journey highlights how embracing new challenges and focusing on personal growth can open up unexpected opportunities at any stage of life.
His story offers valuable lessons for anyone seeking career reinvention after 60. Odenkirk discovered that committing fully to new ambitions — whether pursuing physical fitness for action roles or deepening relationships — pays dividends in confidence and fulfillment. As he reflects, appreciating the present and continually striving to improve helps turn every plot twist into a new chance to thrive.
Full Transcript:
[00:00:00] The success that came to me and the attention that came to me from playing Saul Goodman were something that I didn’t think too much about.
[00:00:09] I grew up in the Midwest with powdered milk in the refrigerator, and I feel like I’m that guy at, at heart.
[00:00:15] Other speaker: That’s cool, Bob. [inaudible]. (Back to Bob) I started as a comedy writer with my total commitment to being that for
[00:00:28] the rest of my life. I always liked performing ,and I did a little in the course of doing sketch comedy.
[00:00:35] Then there came Breaking Bad. Saul Goodman was earnest and he was stupid, and he was funny.
[00:00:51] It was a huge role that played well around the world, and people really loved it.
[00:00:58] I don’t mind being connected to that role at all, but I had a kind of fame through
[00:01:06] most of my life in the world of comedy. They really knew me, because the comedy that I wrote really
[00:01:14] expressed what was inside my head. And then when you get on a show like Breaking Bad, there’s a whole lot of people who know you now, and you don’t
[00:01:22] necessarily feel that they know you. When I said I wanted to do an action film, I was fully aware that I might
[00:01:39] really not be able to pull it off. I hadn’t really used my body except to eat chicken and make jokes.
[00:01:51] I didn’t like exercise, but when I said I’d do this, I really needed to focus on becoming stronger physically and more agile, and so I did.
[00:02:02] I’ve learned to like it. I do all my own stunts. The only time I don’t do a stunt is if I fly through the
[00:02:08] air or if I’m driving. Action fighting sequences are a lot like a sketch.
[00:02:15] They should have a journey within them. There should be, like, a starting point and then a big turn in the middle.
[00:02:20] You have to work together, and you laugh and laugh and laugh. I know that’s crazy, but you see all the blood in these movies.
[00:02:31] It is fake blood and it makes us laugh as much as it makes you laugh.
[00:02:43] I had a blockage, and I basically got right up to the edge of death.
[00:02:49] It was a strange, it was sort of an immediate, uh, experience of, uh, being incredibly thankful to be alive and to have the family that I have.
[00:03:00] But then also just thinking about, What are you doing with your time? ’Cause it could stop at any moment.
[00:03:09] What I love about being in my 60s, you can exhale a little bit. Just look at what you have, be happy with it, and then go ahead and, and try
[00:03:19] to get a little better at things. And try to get a little better at being around people, because, uh, we need that as
[00:03:26] much as we need people who excel at things.
