From a Wall Street Journal online article (Feb 21, 2020):

“I don’t have this precious career as an actor that I had to preserve. I’m an older guy, I’ve had a career, and the most personal thing I’ve ever done was Mr. Show, so, in a way I’ve said my piece, so I just don’t have all that much to lose really compared to somebody who’s an actor for a living and dreaming of their own show. My daughter asked me this question. This was a kid who grew up in Hollywood. She said, “If it’s bad, how bad would it be?” And I thought, Well, it’s Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. The worst thing it would be, would be an experiment that just didn’t pan out, but an interesting one at the very least.”

It’s fair to say that in 1998, no one who saw Bob Odenkirk perform a Mr. Show sketch buck naked on the stage of Radio City Music Hall for Comic Relief VIII—a cupped hand his only nod to decency—would have predicted his turn to drama. Odenkirk is now critically celebrated for his portrayal of greasy lawyer Saul Goodman in AMC’s Better Call Saul.