‘Better Call Saul’ Star Bob Odenkirk Stunned to Learn He’s Related to King Charles III
Meghan Markle isn’t the only actor with royal connections. Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk recently learned that he’s a distant relative of Britain’s King Charles III. But don’t expect him to be angling for invitations to any royal gatherings. The 61-year-old actor isn’t impressed by the idea of monarchy.
The ‘Breaking Bad’ star isn’t impressed by royalty
Odenkirk is featured in an upcoming episode of PBS’s Finding Your Roots. In a clip (via YouTube), host Henry Louis Gates Jr. sat down with the Breaking Bad actor to discuss his family history.
First, Gates revealed that Odenkirk is a direct descendant of the Duke of Plön through the duke’s illegitimate son Friedrich Carl Steinholz. Odenkirk wasn’t exactly impressed by his connection to European nobility.
Though the link to the duke made Odenkirk feel like he was “part of history,” he said that kings and queens were something that should be left in the past.
“I’m an American. I’m not a monarchist,” he told Gates. “I don’t believe in that. I feel like it’s a little twisted.”
He added, “I understand why society built itself around monarchs and leaders … I think we’ve gone to a better place with democracy.”
Bob Odenkirk’s royal family connection revealed
After Odenkirk shared his anti-monarchist views, Gates dropped a bombshell, revealing to the Midwest-born actor that he’s the 11th cousin of King Charles.
Odenkirk burst out laughing at the news. “Well, maybe I’ll change my mind,” he said, clearly amused about his “crazy” connection to the House of Windsor.
Gates proceeded to tease Odenkirk about “trashing” his royal relatives. “You oughta be ashamed of yourself, Bob,” he said with a smile.
Bob Odenkirk grew up in the Chicago suburbs
Odenkirk might have some royal blood, but his upbringing was a far cry from that of his distant cousin. The SNL and Second City alum was born in Berwyn, a blue-collar suburb of Chicago, and raised in suburban Naperville. He couldn’t wait to get out, he said in a 2010 interview with Time Out Chicago.
“It wasn’t exciting enough,” he recalled. “It felt like a dead end, like Nowheresville. I couldn’t wait to move into a city and be around people who were doing exciting things.”
While in college at Southern Illinois University, Odenkirk got interested in comedy. But he had no idea how to pursue a career in Hollywood.
“Growing up, show business seemed so far away. Second City seemed far away,” he told a group of students in 2019 (via the Chicago Reader). “It freaked me out. It was all so intimidating. The whole business is so scary and distant and such a mystery.”
It was a mystery Odenkirk eventually solved. After moving to Chicago to study comedy, Odenkirk eventually started performing with the improv troupe Second City. Later, he was a writer for Saturday Night Live and co-created the sketch comedy series Mr. Show. In 200, he joined the cast of Breaking Bad as shady lawyer Saul Goodman. He played the character again in the Emmy-nominated Breaking Bad prequel series Better Call Saul.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
