‘Better Call Saul’s Dean Norris on Hank’s Action Sequences & Hopes for Another Return
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 5, Episode 4 of Better Call Saul, “Namaste.”]
It may have been brief, but that doesn’t mean Dean Norris‘ reprisal of Hank Schrader in Better Call Saul wasn’t every bit as fun as when viewers watched him on Breaking Bad.
Returning for a two-episode arc as the foul-mouthed DEA Agent, Norris once again took his spot alongside partner Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) for more drug-busting fun. In the second half of his appearance — Season 5’s “Namaste” — Norris’ Hank got down to business, following through with the dead-drop info Krazy-8 (Max Arciniega) had provided him and Gomez with in the episode prior.
Despite the insider info, Gus’ (Giancarlo Esposito) drops — which Lalo (Tony Dalton) hoped to disable with this setup — weren’t altogether gratifying for the law enforcer, who didn’t manage to catch the criminal but instead got the goods that were left behind.
While there was some conclusion to his arc, Hank’s story’s not over by a long shot, and Norris agrees. “I don’t know whether Hank’s going to come back and is going to have some more involvement or not,” he told us, “but I know Hank is disappointed that he didn’t get the bigger criminal. But he certainly shows his disappointment that it didn’t work out.”
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television
If viewers know anything about Hank by now after years of Breaking Bad and now here on Saul, it’s that he doesn’t give things up that easily. Saul has already been renewed for an additional sixth and final season, leaving plenty of room for Norris to pop up once more before the show is finished.
On whether he’d come back if asked, Norris said, “Absolutely, of course, and I hope they do. Nothing happens, obviously, in these two episodes that would prevent [Hank] from coming back, so it would be great and a whole lot of fun if they find another reason to have him back in Season 6.”
Fans got a little taste of the animosity between his and Odenkirk’s characters this season, but considering where it’s at when they encounter each other in Breaking Bad, it’s fair to say some build-up could take place between the past timeline fans just saw on Saul and their first meeting in Bad. “It’s funny to see Hank kind of play a small part in the development of who Saul becomes,” Norris adds.
In this episode, “Namaste,” fans got to see a little more action than usual when the DEA took off after the man delivering the dead drops. “There was some stunt driving, and we also got to drive ourselves,” Norris says of the action sequence. “Yeah, that was one of my favorite parts.”
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
Also back to his scene-stealing ways, Norris provides some insight on how his and Quezada’s natural back-and-forth as Hank and Gomez comes together. “Believe it or not, everything’s scripted, and it’s written so well that sometimes it feels like it’s improvised, but it’s all scripted,” he says before adding, “The fun behind it, I think, comes from us being good buddies.”
Hopefully viewers will get to see that once more before Saul is through, but until then fans can keep up with Norris’ Breaking Bad side by checking out his own Schraderbräu — a real-life version of his character’s homemade brew.
In this episode, Hank announces to his team that the first round of drinks is on him: When we asked whether he thought the DEA Agent would be a beer or a mezcal guy — Norris’ former costars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul have their own brand of the booze, Dos Hombres —his answer was definitive. “I think he’s buying them Schraderbräu. … I actually filmed a little alternate that I’ll release on my Instagram after that’s done, where I tell them, ‘We’re all going to go into the bar and get a Schraderbräu.'” Consider us in.
Better Call Saul, Mondays, 9/8c, AMC
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