In 1990 Bob Odenkirk briefly joined the Second City in Chicago, where he appeared in a critically lauded sketch revue called Flag Smoking Permitted in Lobby Only or Censorama. For his friend and castmate Chris Farley, he created the character Matt Foley, a motivational speaker who scared teens with a warning about his own disastrous situation: “Thirty-five years old, thrice divorced, and living in a van down by the river!”
Since then, Odenkirk has remained mostly behind the scenes. He’s written for animated sketch shows, such as Tim and Eric’s Tom Goes to the Mayor; nonanimated shows like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; and webcasts like Derek and Simon: The Show. He’s also directed films both independent (Melvin Goes to Dinner, 2003) and studio funded (Let’s Go to Prison, 2006).
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But it was a really long and slow process for me to ever think that I could do this sort of thing for a living. I just didn’t know anything at all about show business, or how one gets a job in it. It wasn’t a legitimate field. There was nothing real about it.
Who were your comedy influences?
Why would you abandon that idea? Wasn’t that one of the aspects that made Mr. Show unique?
Does every sketch need to say something?
One was called “Clumsy Waiter.” It was from season four, and it was about a waiter, played by me, who spills food on a patron’s suit. The maitre d’, played by David, insists on paying for the restaurant’s mistake, but only for half the cost of the cleaning. It almost devolved into vaudeville, which is what it felt like when we were rehearsing it. It didn’t work, but it could have been a good one.
