How Bill Burr Got Cast In Breaking Bad After Becoming A Fan Of The Show

Comedian Bill Burr’s Patrick Kuby is one of the more underrated minor characters of Breaking Bad’s five-season run. Kuby is a facilitator hired by Saul Goodman to help Walter White get things done. He serves as a fake environmental surveyor, debt collector, train robber, and courier, all in the employ of Mr. White’s criminal enterprise. The character first turns up in the show’s fourth season, but Burr had been pestering his agent for a part in Breaking Bad since its first season debuted on AMC.

From the very beginning, the comedian was an enormous fan of the show, and he described acting in it as like “getting to be a stormtrooper” in Star Wars, during an episode of his Monday Morning Podcast back in 2018. Playing Patrick Kuby in Breaking Bad was Burr’s first substantial acting role since he starred as a main cast member in the 1996 ABC sitcom Townies, which was canceled after a single season following poor ratings and reviews. His lively, convincing performance makes him one of Breaking Bad’s best recurring cast members on the periphery of the series.

The Stand-Up Comedian Was Pushing For A Part In The Show From Season 1

On his podcast, Burr described how he was hooked on Breaking Bad almost from the get-go, and admitted he felt compelled to try and get a part in the show. “By two, three episodes, I was calling my agent,” he recalled. The comedian believes it was how early he began pushing for a role in Breaking Bad that allowed him to get his foot in the door. “I think that was how I got in.” He was taped reading lines of dialogue for the character Badger, played by Matt L. Jones, and eventually landed the role of Patrick Kuby two years later.

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Although Kuby only appeared in a handful of episodes and six scenes in total between season 4 and season 5 of Breaking Bad, Burr made his mark as a wisecracking Bostonian criminal with a background in the Irish mob. Kuby is the perfect foil for Saul Goodman’s enforcer, Huell Babineaux, with the pair making an entertaining double act in most of the scenes where Burr’s character appears.

Bill Burr Was Part Of The “First Wave” Of Actors Who Realized What Breaking Bad Was Going To Be

He Wasn’t The Only Star Looking To Appear In The Show From The Outset

The stand-up comedian has suggested he was “part of the first wave of people” in Hollywood who understood just how special Breaking Bad was going to be from the outset. Alongside Burr, movie star Tom Hanks was an early supporter of the show. The actor’s son, Colin Hanks, auditioned to play Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, but ultimately didn’t get the role. Instead, it went to Aaron Paul, whose casting was ultimately key to the show’s success.

Matthew Broderick and John Cusack were both offered the role of Walter White in Breaking Bad before Bryan Cranston, and turned it down.

By the time he actually got to be on the show, Bill Burr was in awe of Breaking Bad’s main cast, as well as series creator Vincent Gilligan. He described Gilligan as a “genius” on his podcast, and amusingly referred to Bryan Cranston’s protagonist in deferential terms as Mr. White.

Why Bill Burr Didn’t Return As Kuby In Better Call Saul

A Planned Return Had To Be Written Out Of The Spinoff Series

Burr’s character Patrick Kuby was actually supposed to return to the Breaking Bad universe in its spinoff, Better Call Saul. Kuby’s return was planned for Better Call Saul’s season 5 episode “Dedicado A Max,” but the character then had to be written out of the episode when Burr wasn’t able to reprise the role. During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, the comedian revealed he had to take a leave of absence from his work at the time due to a loved one being terminally ill.

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In the end, Burr’s Breaking Bad character was replaced by Steven Ogg’s Sobchak in Better Call Saul, and Burr never got to star in the spinoff series. Nevertheless, Patrick Kuby remains an important minor character in the original show, whose appearances prove that Burr’s talents extend beyond stand-up comedy. It’s a shame we never got to see them again in AMC’s prequel show, but Burr has gone on to appear in other hit series like The Mandalorian and Barry since his stint in Breaking Bad.

Source: Monday Morning Podcast, The Rich Eisen Show

Breaking Bad

10/10

Release Date: 2008 – 2013-00-00
Showrunner: Vince Gilligan
Directors: Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
Writers: Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Vince Gilligan, George Mastras, Moira Walley-Beckett, Sam Catlin, Thomas Schnauz