“I’m number one on your speed dial, right next to your weed dealer.” When a lawyer says things like that, you got to take him seriously, and believe that he can do anything, especially if it’s a lawyer like Jimmy McGill (or Saul Goodman if you prefer).
AMC’s popular running crime drama series, Better Call Saul is the rollercoaster life journey of Jimmy/James McGill. From a would-be do-gooder to a greedy, scummy criminal attorney, Jimmy’s transformation into Saul is one hell of a ride, wiggling his way through the dangerous Mexican drug cartel, saving criminals, and reinventing himself (and rebranding his business) as someone he never expected he could be. And now it’s all coming to an end as the second part of Better Call Saul Season 6 premieres on July 11, 2022.
The crime drama series, created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, is a spin-off of the parent show, Breaking Bad (also created by Vince Gilligan) and features a lot of characters common in both shows, starting with Saul Goodman. Over the course of six seasons of the series, many characters have come and gone, but the ones that kept the story moving on are the ones to reckon with. They are not all good or bad, but “only the very best… with just a right amount of dirty!” and that’s how you can really discover who they are.
The biggest bit of casting news for the final season is that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are set to reprise their roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman respectively for a guest appearance. However, they’re probably not going to have a major role to play in Season 6, so we’re not including them in this list.
With that out of the way, here’s a roundup of all the major characters who have appeared and will appear in Better Call Saul Season 6 before we see the end of it all.
Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill / Saul Goodman / Gene Takavic
A former conman, Jimmy McGill follows in the footsteps of his older brother and becomes a struggling lawyer. He tries his best to make it big by doing the right thing but life, law, and circumstances don’t let him stay all good. So, he decides to throw caution to the wind and takes a dark turn in his career and life to become Saul Goodman – a name that will change his fate forever. There are many things unsavory about Jimmy McGill but his sense of humor, witty one-liners, and colorful personality get him going through every situation.
Playing the role of this leading protagonist is Bob Odenkirk. A multitalented actor, Odenkirk is also recognized as a comedian, writer, director, and producer. He has an extensive portfolio of television shows and movies and has appeared in popular titles like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Fargo, and The Birthday Boys, among many others. He first played the role of Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, before the spin-off, Better Call Saul took off.
Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
Mike is an important character in Breaking Bad. But who was he before, and how did he end up there? His character arc in Better Call Saul explains it all. Mike is a retired cop, with questionable morale, some might even say he’s corrupted, but the man has his reasons. From working as a parking lot security guard to a bodyguard for a drug lord and a private investigator, Mike has gone places before he finally ends up becoming a fixer for the Juarez cartel, which we also see in Breaking Bad. He is also kind of a friend to Jimmy and has off-and-on dealing with the lawyer. But one thing that hasn’t ever changed for Mike is his protectiveness for his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. The final season will see how Mike ends up with the cartel and what happens to his relationship with Jimmy, his daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.
Jonathan Banks plays the role of Mike Ehrmantraut. Banks is known for playing the same role in Breaking Bad, as well as in the sequel spin-off, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. His notable film performances include Airplane!, 48 Hrs., and Beverly Hills Cop. In television, he’s known for his roles in popular shows like Wiseguy, Fired up, Community, etc.
Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler
There are very few prominent female characters in Better Call Saul, to begin with. But among the ones that are there, Kim Wexler definitely makes the top of the list. Kim, as she appears at the beginning of the story, is a young and ambitious lawyer, trying to make it in a male-dominated profession. She is also Jimmy’s love interest. By the fifth season, Jimmy and Kim get married, which is more out of legal convenience. She also is at risk because of Jimmy’s new identity and his involvement with the drug cartel. By the end of the fifth season, Kim’s character takes a completely new turn and the once idealist lawyer becomes something you wouldn’t expect, and nor did she. The final season will see Kim Wexler in a whole new light.
Kim Wexler is played by Rhea Seehorn. The actor is known for her earlier performances in television shows like I’m With Her, Whitney, Franklin & Bash, and Veep, among many others. Seehorn has also won three awards for her performance as Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul.
Giancarlo Esposito as Gus/Gustavo Fring
Gustavo or Gus is a Chilean-American narcotics distributor in New Mexico and Southwest United States. He has several legal businesses as fronts for his drug distribution, including a successful fried chicken chain restaurant called Los Pollos Hermanos (The Chicken Brothers). Gus is not your average drug lord. He is an educated, intelligent entrepreneur at first, and a good and supportive employer to his restaurant staff. On the other side, he is on unpleasant terms with the Salamanca family and does all he can to wipe them out of the business. Gus ends up befriending Jimmy and Mike and uses them to his benefit from time to time. In short, Gus Fring is a very layered, complex character, making it impossible to say which side he is ever on.
Giancarlo Esposito plays the role of Gus Fring. The award-winning actor also plays the same role in Breaking Bad. Esposito’s notable performances include his roles in television series like Homicide: Life on the Street, The $treet, Dear White People, and recently, The Mandalorian, The Boys,and Godfather of Harlem, among many more.
Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin
Howard is the managing partner at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill, where Jimmy’s late brother, Chuck was also a partner. Howard is also Jimmy and Kim’s ex-boss, and you could say there’s a strange kind of rivalry between him and Jimmy. Howard is exactly what you would expect a shrewd and successful lawyer to be – sharp, determined, and extremely ambitious. He has been trying to drive Jimmy out of business for a while but eventually, Kim manages to put him in his place, which breaks him mentally to a great extent. In the sixth season, we’ll see Howard returning to his old self and try to make a case to disbar Jimmy. But with Jimmy now being dead and reborn as Saul, it’s going to be a big showdown between Hamlin and Hamlin, and Goodman.
Howard Hamlin is portrayed by stage, television, and film actor Patrick Fabian. His notable film roles include End Game, The Last Exorcism, Pig, and more. He has appeared in many popular television series like Saved by the Bell: The College Years, different CSI franchises, 24, and Desperate Housewives, among many others.
Michael Mando as Nacho Varga
A young and ambitious member of the Salamanca gang, Nacho is Tuco Salamanca’s most trusted man and an important member of the cartel. He once gets represented by Jimmy McGill (in his early days of practice) and from thereon, the two men have a very odd kind of understanding with each other. Though he’s on the wrong side of the line, Nacho tries to save Jimmy from a few troubles. When Tuco’s cousin, Lalo takes over the business in Tuco’s absence, Nacho gets a little sidelined and eventually tries to kill Lalo with Gus’s help. By the final season, we see Nacho’s plans foiled, and he’s on the run as Lalo tries to hunt him down and kill him.
Michael Mando plays the role of Nacho Varga. The Canadian actor is most known for his role of Vic Schmidt in the sci-fi series Orphan Black, and in the video game, Far Cry 3, as Vaas Montenegro. Mando has also appeared in American television series like Psych, Covert Affairs, and The Killing, among others.
Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca
The nephew of cartel lord, Hector Salamanca, Lalo is the cousin of Tuco and the Salamanca Twins – Marco and Leonel. After Hector suffers a stroke and Tuco goes to prison, Lalo comes to Albuquerque from Mexico and takes over the operations. He is a charming man, all things and his profession considered, with a taste for fancy things. But he trusts no one and is suspicious of Nacho from the first day he meets him. When Nacho tries to kill him in his own estate in Mexico, Lalo figures out his plan and manages to escape, but he is a man on a mission to kill his enemies.
Tony Dalton plays the role of Lalo Salamanca. Dalton is also a screenwriter and producer and has worked mostly in Mexican films and television. On American television, he has previously appeared in shows like Sense 8 and Hawkeye, and in films like Colombiana.
In other roles, Better Call Saul Season 6 will also see some characters from previous seasons returning one last time. Some of them include Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca, Ed Begley Jr. as Clifford Main, founding partner of Davis & Main Attorney’s at Law, Daniel and Luis Moncada as Leonel and Marco Salamanca, among a few others.
