In the summer of 2021, while filming the final season of Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk suffered a heart attack on set and nearly lost his life. In the wake of that near-death experience, the actor has starred in a string of shows and films and released two books: his memoir, ‘Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama,’ and ‘Zilot & Other Important Rhymes,’ which he co-wrote with his children, Erin and Nate.
But Odenkirk took on an entirely different challenge in the summer of 2024 when he decided to climb Machu Picchu with friend and longtime collaborator David Cross. Inspired by his health scare, the comedy performer turned drama/action star wanted to experience one of the wonders of the world firsthand. Now, that journey is being shared with audiences in the documentary Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 5.
For Odenkirk, the trip paralleled his experiences championing projects that were difficult to get made.
“Getting Mr. Show, which is the show David Cross and I did years ago, getting that to happen was a monumental task. It took years,” he told The Knockturnal ahead of the film’s debut at the SVA Theater. “At the time, there wasn’t much of an appetite for another sketch show. We were young, and I had some credits; he did not. It was playing to a very small audience. Many of the shows and projects that I’ve done have had that element of seeming impossible. I wouldn’t count Better Call Saul among them because it came out of such a successful show, but certainly the movie Nobody, which came out of left field for everyone. The fact that I was able to get that made was a big undertaking. I’m proud of the book I did with my daughter and son called Zilot. It’s a book of rhymes that I wrote with the kids when they were little. Obviously, that was a lifelong project because it was 20 years in the making.”
Directed by Michael LaHaie, Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu begins with footage of Odenkirk in the hospital following his health ordeal and captures his literal and figurative journey toward personal fulfillment. Whether he’s performing for locals or cracking jokes about The Jinx, the funny yet profound film is yet another showcase of the Illinois native’s talents as an entertainer.
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross in Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu (OPE Partners)
But the actor hasn’t always been comfortably in the spotlight. He’s been open about being bankrupt before landing the role of Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, and in his memoir, he reflects on the long stretches when he was out of work.
“The purpose of my memoir was to regurgitate my IMDb page with a little more detail, but really it was to show people that in a career in show business, if you go for the long run, the marathon run, there will be ups, there will be downs, there will be silent periods where you feel like you’ve disappeared a bit,” he shared.
But the 63-year-old encourages those who want to pursue a creative path to look to his story as a means of inspiration.
“But you just hang in there. You show up every day, stay in shape, don’t get bitter. Make something new. Believe in your dream a little bit more. And along the way, things will come together.”
