Rhea Seehorn is the breakout star of Better Call Saul, most likely because she is the only one who can put up with Jimmy/ Saul’s crap. She plays Kim Wexler, the lawyer who is much too good at her job and is often roped into Jimmy’s questionable shenanigans. As it turns out, Seehorn is making her directorial debut on this week’s episodes of Better Call Saul.
“It was definitely terrifying. People were like, ‘Was it fun?’ When I wasn’t sweating like Albert Brooks in ‘Broadcast News,’ yeah,” Seehorn told USA Today, “It was alternating just sheer joy and sheer adrenaline and terror. Yes, it’s daunting. This is not a first-time director type of show, let’s face it. This is an extremely advanced show.”
This is the final season of the hit Breaking Bag spinoff, which is split into two parts: part one is currently airing, and the second batch of episodes hits screens this summer. Seehorn knows the show well enough that she didn’t feel too intimidated to sit in the director’s chair. She even shadowed the other directors, co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.
“It was a free master class any day you went to set to watch any department. When I am not frantically trying to learn my own stuff or getting to see my family, the only other place I prefer to be is on set,” the actress added. “I like watching other people’s work. I also like learning all of the other cogs in the wheel of this giant, collaborative art form… It helps me as a performer; it helps me as a human.”
As it turns out, Seehorn has a background in art. She graduated with a degree in studio art, which helped prep her for her work behind the camera. “They tell you all the time: Don’t do a cool shot just to do a cool shot. It has to be in service of telling the story,” she added. “So I looked for places to do that.” Okay, but Better Call Saul is known for its cool shots, so hopefully, she threw a few in there.
Fans are also hoping that Kim Wexler survives, and Seehorn appreciates it. She added, “You can’t imagine how amazing it feels as a performer to create this character that wasn’t even in the Breaking Bad pantheon that people have come to truly see as this three-dimensional person that they’re deeply concerned about. And that they also want to have a beer with and hang out with!”
Better Call Saul airs Mondays on AMC.