Camtastic Newsletter October 2025
Q&A with Bob Odenkirk on Writing, Movies and His Favorite Hamburger
The 1984 SIU grad sat down to talk about comedy, stunts, campus traditions he misses and what he’d tell aspiring Salukis in the College of Arts and Media
By Journey Short
SIU School of Journalism
I recently had the chance to sit down with CAM’s own Bob Odenkirk, a 1984 SIU graduate. His visit to Carbondale in September drew a lot of interest, and I was able to ask him some questions I thought fellow Salukis would enjoy. Here’s our short Q&A, edited for clarity.
Q: Describe yourself in three words?
A: Determined, Silly, and Excited
Q: What is your favorite character you ever played?
A: The character Ulysses in the film called Normal, because it’s action but it’s funny. So, it’s droll and the character’s probably the closest to me in both age and in point of view
Q: If you weren’t in show biz what career would you go into?
A: If I wasn’t in show business, I’d be a fireman. I like the idea of putting out fires, you know? It’s like the team effort and you know what your job is today. What’s your job? There’s gonna be a fire. You’re gonna put it out. I like that.
Q: What’s your least and favorite food?
A: Well, I haven’t had liver since I was like five but I remember hating it so much. Favorite food? I already told you. The burger at That’s A Burger.
Q: What are your favorite things to write?
A: Oh, a comedy. Funny, short comedy pieces. Like you see on Saturday Night Live.
Q: Who's your favorite actor?
A: Probably Anthony Hopkins. His commitments, his subtlety, his presence, every time you see him on screen, he’s really very present. And sort of effortless quality
Q: Now, I know I promised this Q&A would be just for Salukis, but I promised my grandma I would mention that she loves the Nobody movies. So, when you were shooting the movie Nobody — my grandma's a big fan, by the way – she said, ‘Tell him I loved his movie.’ — was it hard to do the stunts and fights?
A: It is hard, you know, it's physical, and you have to choreograph it and you have to learn it.
And you have to do like, well, you don't have to because the truth is they can have people do it and they can cut around you. But I want to do my fighting and I want to stay on camera and I want to keep my face on camera. So in order, if you're going to do those three things, do your own fighting, do multiple, you know moves, and keep your face on camera while you do it.
You have to learn it. You can't make mistakes, and you have to do an extended couple of moves, like up to like seven or eight moves. And so it's a mental challenge and a physical challenge. And it’s also really fun.
Q: What is your favorite SIU tradition?
A: Oh gee, I mean, we all laugh about Halloween, but I enjoyed it. And it was crazy and I’m glad it’s not as out of control as it used to be. It was nuts. It was dangerous but I love that. I love when people get together in a casual, comfortable way, as long as they’re not getting violent.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to share with any aspiring writers and actors?
A: Well, there are, if you're wondering, how do I start, there are answers to that question.
There are not no answers to that question. There are answers. There are things you can do starting with classes, but also, you can find books about what you love, or certainly YouTube videos.
And just, instead of wondering what something is like, just start investigating. Just get to work. Don't sit around wondering. Just start digging in and finding out.
Well, there you have it folks, The inside scoop on a famous Saluki!
Click to learn more about Bob Odenkirk's visit to SIU.
Odenkirk and Short are joined by Bill Odenkirk and Digital Specialist Mark Stoffel.