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Better Call Saul has many villains, but few are as intimidating as Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton). Lalo’s menace comes from his genial demeanor. He cooks, he smiles, but you know he could kill you. As Better Call Saul Season 6 reaches its conclusion, Dalton said Lalo will show his villainous side a bit more. However, in one scene, he almost went too far. 

'Better Call Saul': Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) has an intense phone call
Tony Dalton | Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Dalton was a guest on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast on April 29. Discussing his portrayal of Lalo, Dalton described one scene in which Better Call Saul’s creators had to reign him in. Better Call Saul Season 6 airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on AMC.

Tony Dalton never knew what would happen next to Lalo Salamanca

First, a bit of background. Dalton is pretty much in the same position as Better Call Saul fans when it comes to spoilers. Dalton reads and performs the scripts before they air, but still only reads them one at a time. 

“It’s not like you know what’s going to happen,” Dalton said on Awards Circuit. “You read one episode which is personally I think is great because it’s like life. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, I don’t know what’s going to happen next week. That’s kind of what happens when you’re reading one of these episodes when you’re one of these characters. I have no idea where this character is going or what’s going to happen, but I know what’s going to happen in this episode. I know what I bring to the table on this episode.”

That helps Dalton keep Lalo calm.

“And they’ll let you know if you’re going the wrong way, if there’s a little too much smiling or a little lack thereof,” Dalton said. “It doesn’t matter. They have the bigger picture. You’re just part of the paint brush.”

‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 almost drove Lalo Salamanca to the edge

The Better Call Saul creators did give Dalton such a note during one episode of season 6. Dalton wouldn’t say which one, or what the scene is. It’s probably still coming, because so far Lalo is even taking his attempted assassination in stride. 

“Sometimes, even in this season, there’s one scene where I overly got excited,” Dalton said. “Well, the character did. The direction was: not here. He’s just going through the motions. Which is great. When we did it it’s like yes, that’s what we’re here for. You bring some stuff up, some come up. Some they say no, some they say yes. It’s this collaboration the creation of the story and the character.”

‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 was a tough job 

Dalton continued to say it’s not always easy playing Lalo.  

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‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6: Lalo Salamanca Actor Tony Dalton Says Final Season Will ‘Burn the House Down’

“It’s exhausting in the sense that you’ve got to be on top of it,” Dalton said. “You’ve got to be thinking about it the whole time. Every single thing, the lines, the this, the that. But it’s very comfortable because especially this character, because he’s so charming that you just kind of have to be like that for a while.”

Playing Lalo does have its benefits though. Dalton said he might adopt some of Lalo’s personality into his own life, the friendly parts at least. 

“And it’s great because when you’re charming, people are really nice back to you always,” Dalton said. “Sometimes people are serious, you take things a little more seriously. But if you just have this demeanor of Lalo where he looks like he doesn’t care about anything, everyone’s a little more happy around you. It was actually a little bit like educational for me how much if you’re just smiling through life, people are a little more kind to you, at the bank, at the supermarket. Lalo’s like that. He taught me that a little bit.”

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