Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Spoilers ahead forBetter Call Saulseason three.
ThatBetter Call Saulis one of the best dramas on TV has everything to do with how meticulously its crafted.
(Even better, its a song about the periodic table.)
Certainly since he got shot, yes.
Everybody was like, Is he dead?
Is he not dead?
No one was sadder than me when Vince [Gilligan] told me I was going to be killed.
Had you been keeping up withBetter Call Saul?Oh yeah, I loved watching it.
Sometimes when youre on a series, if you join mid-run, you dont watch.
Sometimes you do watch.
I also just happened to be a big fan.
Had you thought much about Gale in between now and then?I hadnt, because he was dead.
There wasnt much to think about.
Had you spent a lot of time thinking about what was going on with old Gale?
Just mourning, mostly.Understandable.
They had you sing inBreaking Badafter realizing that you had some musical background.
Tom Lehrer, who did the song, who adapted it from the Gilbert and Sullivan, I love.
There arent that many songs written about chemistry, so you gotta get the periodic table in.
Had you ever performed that song before?I had not, stupidly.
If I had been smart, I would have said, Oh, hey, you played a chemist!
At some point, somebodys going to ask you to sing that tune, you better learn it.
I just knew who it was.
You dont get those very often.
I really was very excited when I got this gig.
I knew how to play him and who he was.
I felt that very strongly.
Can you elaborate as to your process?
How do you build off of the script and get into character?Its different for every role.
The trick then is, inside of something fixed, how do you find something that can be vast?
Sorry, thats an esoteric question to maybe a practical question.
Coming back to him now, its obviously a different point in his life.
One was the song, which is a great entrance into that.
So that was a great breaking-in point.
He was not manufacturing something; he was doing a science experiment.
That was also very helpful and informative about getting to a place where its earlier in his life.
Theres all sorts of things are inspired by that.
His hopefulness, his naivete, and maybe hes not as solidified in his own belief system.
Speaking to that innocent vibe, how much did it affect Gales little interaction with Gus?
Youre meant for greater things.
This is not your time right now.
We have to wait.
Were not ready yet.
Gale does look slightly less cherubic with facial hair.
Was that part of a wardrobe decision or because youve also been shootingBillions?[Laughs.]
It was a constraint of my work onBillionsat the time.
For that episode we shot, I was in the middle of production, so we had to adjust.
Theres articles titled Its Finally Wags Season Again, or The Best Part ofBillionsIs Wags, Baby.
What do you make of that?That sounds fantastic!
Who could disagree with that?
Its a very fun character to play.
I couldnt be happier playing that role.
Im also very excited that that has really landed with audiences.
How that character started out was quite different.
He was going to be a strong, silent jot down.
Luckily, it keeps spinning.
People should go out and buy the T-shirt and the cutout figure.
Ive seen the cutout onyour Instagram.Do you have one?
And Im like six-foot-five in the thing.
I am not a six-foot-five person, but in my cutout, Im giant.
Youve played a lot of pretty iconic roles.
Is there anything that you get recognized for more often than others?It depends on where I am.
I was recently in Ireland, and theSuitsBreaking Badcontinuum was very strong over there.
If I go to midtown, its allBillions,all the time.
Once they go in and they come out, its done.
You gotta erase the hard drive.
So Im like, Wow, did I say that?
There was one thing I had seen recently, there was some trailer where I said something appalling.
I couldnt believe it.
I was like, God, did I say that?
This interview has been edited and condensed.
