Bob Odenkirk didn’t have a happy relationship with his father, Wally Odenkirk. Bob was one of seven children and his father, an active alcoholic, didn’t provide a stable situation for them. Relaying a memory when he was 9 years old, Bob told The New York Times, “My dad wakes me up at 2 a.m. to tell me he’s leaving and he’ll send me money to pay the bills, and I’m thinking, I don’t know cursive enough to write the check, so how am I going to pay the bills?”
In his memoir “Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama,” Bob wrote that his father “was rough and too intense, and those were his good qualities.” The “Breaking Bad” star wrote about his father’s irascible temper and his consistent absence from home, which meant that Bob got the chance to bond with his siblings, but felt the absence of a father figure.
But the author and actor knows how to spin straw into gold. While he admits that he didn’t get what he needed, he also has learned to use the pain in his acting. “Let me just make myself that kid again, because I’ll take that feeling of loss and fear and play it tomorrow!” he told The New York Times. He went on, “If there was one thing that let me do this, it was some access I have to the emotional, even traumatic spaces inside me that maybe isn’t the most healthy person to be.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).