NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER âĸ In this âessentialâ (Entertainment Weekly), âhilariousâ (AV Club) memoir, the star of Mr. Show, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul opens up about the highs and lows of showbiz, his cult status as a comedy writer, and what itâs like to reinvent himself as an action film ass-kicker at fifty.
âI canât think of another entertainer who has improbably morphed so many times, and all through real genius and determination.ââConan OâBrien
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Vulture, Newsweek
Bob Odenkirkâs career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a âHomericâ decades-long âodysseyâ from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominationsâwith a side-trip into the action-man world that is baffling to all who know himâitâs almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty.
Bob embraced a life in comedy after a chance meeting with Second Cityâs legendary Del Close. He somehow made his way to a job as a writer at Saturday Night Live. While surviving that legendary gauntlet by the skin of his gnashing teeth, he stashed away the secrets of comedy writingâeventually employing them in the immortal âMotivational Speakerâ sketch for Chris Farley, honing them on The Ben Stiller Show, and perfecting them on Mr. Show with Bob and David.
In Hollywood, Bob demonstrated a bullheadedness that would shame Sisyphus himself, and when all hope was lost for the umpteenth time, the phone rang with an offer to appear on Breaking Badâa show about how boring it is to be a high school chemistry teacher. His embrace of this strange new world of dramatic acting led him to working with Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, and Greta Gerwig, and then, in a twist that will confound you, he re-re-invented himself as a bona fide action star. Why? Read this and do your own psychoanalysisâitâs fun!
Featuring humorous tangents, never-before-seen photos, wild characters, and Bobâs trademark unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic showbiz tale told by a determined idiot.