Bob Odenkirk isn’t the first comedian to fail to make an impression at Saturday Night Live and then go on to do bigger and better things. He shares that honor with the likes of Stephen Colbert, Sarah Silverman, Conan O’Brien, Robert Downey Jr. and many more. But still it’s baffling that Odenkirk –– who is currently getting rave reviews for AMC’s Better Call Saul—only has this brief on-screen appearance in one classic S.N.L. parody commercial.

Odenkirk was a writer, not a full-fledged cast member, so most of his contributions would be behind the camera. But Odenkirk has talked at length about his difficulties getting material on-air. So how did one of the nicest, funniest men in show business fail where many others succeeded? Maybe it was all just a matter of timing.

I don’t mean a matter of timing for the show; Odenkirk had three separate opportunities to make his mark on S.N.L. writing from 1987 to 1991, again in 1993, and for the last time from 1994 to 1995. I mean a matter of timing for Odenkirk. The actor was only 25 when he first started out at S.N.L. and, according to a recent interview he gave on Michael Ian Black’s new podcast, he wasn’t mature enough to handle Saturday Night Live:

A big part of the challenge I had at Saturday Night Live was my own immaturity. I brought a lot of challenge to the show just because I was a person who was confrontational and suspicious of the establishment. When I was there I treated Lorne like a boss, like the boss of some dumb job I had. Only after I left did I go: the guy’s a creative guy and he created that show and he oversees the creative side of it, and he does overall a pretty damn good job . . . but I was like, “Who the fuck is this guy to tell me who’s funny, fuck him.” I was a dick.

Between his fits and starts on S.N.L., young Odenkirk found plenty of other work including writing stints on the shows of fellow S.N.L. refugees Ben Stiller and Conan O’Brien. But Odenkirk found his true calling in front of the camera in series like The Larry Sanders Show, Mr. Show, Breaking Bad, and, now, Better Call Saul. And, for the record, Odenkirk’s legacy in the S.N.L. writers’ room hasn’t been completely forgotten. During a summer hiatus from S.N.L., Odenkirk created one of the show’s most iconic characters: motivational speaker Matt Foley. That sketch not only rocketed Chris Farley to fame in the 90s, but endures to this day.

Young Odenkirk may have been a jerk, but he was undeniably a funny one.

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