{"id":3203,"date":"2023-04-05T15:43:50","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T15:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=3203"},"modified":"2023-04-05T21:12:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T21:12:41","slug":"odenkirk-experiences-siu-all-over-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=3203","title":{"rendered":"Odenkirk experiences SIU all over again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor, SIU alumnus works with students, receives degrees<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
SIU alumnus Bob Odenkirk (middle) stands with SIU Chancellor Austin Lane (from left), Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Media Segun Ojewuyi, Dean of the College of Arts and Media Hong Cheng, and SIU System President Dan Mahony, during his degree ceremony Monday, April 3, at the Banterra Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a banner day for Bob Odenkirk and SIU.<\/p>\n

For the first time since the early 1980s, one of the university\u2019s most well-known alumni was back on campus. It kicked off with the City of Carbondale declaring Monday, April 3, as Bob Odenkirk Day and awarding him the key to the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of being celebrated like this is a little mind-blowing,\u201d Odenkirk said. \u201cI had a great time at SIU, and a big part of it was this town.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 1984 SIU graduate turned actor, comedian, filmmaker, and author returned to his alma mater for two main purposes \u2013 to receive the bachelor\u2019s degree in radio-television that he earned as a student and an honorary doctorate and to interact with students and faculty within the College of Arts and Media.<\/p>\n

\"\"Nearly 2,000 people came to SIU\u2019s Banterra Center for Odenkirk\u2019s degree ceremony and Q&A session.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want everyone that\u2019s here as a student to realize that you can start here and go anywhere,\u201d Chancellor Austin Lane said during the ceremony. \u201cBob is living proof of that. Hopefully, he gives you the courage and motivation to follow your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

After receiving his degrees, Odenkirk \u2013 Dr. Bob Odenkirk \u2013 sat down with WSIU\u2019s Larry Hunter for a discussion, first addressing the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThank you for coming here tonight,\u201d Odenkirk said. \u201cYou guys made me feel comfortable, and I\u2019m happy to see you here tonight. It means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Odenkirk covered many topics during the hour-long session, including his experiences at SIU, work as a comedy writer, TV and movie roles, and much more. Of particular interest to the crowd, was his most famous role of Saul Goodman on AMC\u2019s \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d and \u201cBetter Call Saul.\u201d He praised the shows\u2019 writers and producers, particularly Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe variety within that part \u2013 he was a scoundrel; he was earnest and showed love and caring for people; he was tortured; he was sure of himself at times,\u201d Odenkirk said. \u201cThere were scenes that would be pure comedy and then five pages later, heart-wrenching drama. I can\u2019t think that there\u2019s been a role that went to as many places as that one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharing experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Odenkirk met with two classes during his visit. The first was in the Northlight Room of the Communications Building, and the second was in the Christian H. Moe Theater.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cYou can\u2019t guarantee excellence,\u201d he told the nearly 100 students and faculty in the Northlight Room. \u201cYou can just do your best all of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, he spoke fondly of his time at SIU, particularly his experience at the student radio station WIDB. He imparted wisdom, shared stories and advice, and answered numerous questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSIU offered me the freedom to make stuff and do stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t believe you can do it, you won\u2019t try. You have to take a risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"During his session in Moe Theater, he worked with multiple pairs of students as they performed various scenes. He offered the students cues and notes on everything from how to conceptualize the scene as a whole to how to deliver particular words.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me that someone who\u2019s time is so valuable made an effort to work with us in our creative space,\u201d said Uriel Achilleus, one of the students who worked with Odenkirk in Moe Theater. \u201cMr. Odenkirk made it clear that he was working through his own creative process with us; he showed us what goes through his mind when analyzing a scene and portraying a character. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get to work with someone as successful and experienced as he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fond memories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Squeezed between his speaking appearances, Odenkirk met with countless students, faculty, and staff, signing autographs and posing for photos.<\/p>\n

He remarked on the beauty of campus and how it compared to his memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s way more impressive than I had in my head,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was such a sweet place to me. It\u2019s a beautiful campus, ridiculously beautiful. It still has that great vibe. It feels like a place you can find yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"He also made it a priority to stop by the former location of the WIDB radio station, which is now recognized by a plaque behind the towers on East Campus.<\/p>\n

As he toured campus, Odenkirk took time to greet two groups of prospective students taking campus tours.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI thrived here, and I always think of it fondly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

From Carbondale to Hollywood<\/strong><\/p>\n

After leaving SIU, Odenkirk moved to Chicago, where he performed comedy and took classes at the Players Workshop. He was later hired to write for \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d where he helped create beloved sketches such as \u201cDa Bears\u201d and \u201cMatt Foley, Motivational Speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

After many other writing credits and parts in film and TV, Odenkirk co-created the HBO sketch comedy show \u201cMr. Show with Bob and David,\u201d alongside comedian David Cross. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Odenkirk could be found in a number of movies and television shows.<\/p>\n

In 2009, he joined the cast of \u201cBreaking Bad,\u201d which catapulted him into the limelight. His character, lawyer Saul Goodman, quickly became a fan favorite. The character was also the focus of the \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d spinoff \u201cBetter Call Saul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both shows were critically acclaimed, earning Odenkirk numerous awards and honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n

Odenkirk also recently starred in the hit movie, \u201cNobody,\u201d and his newest show \u201cLucky Hank\u201d premiered on AMC on March 19. \u201cLucky Hank\u201d is based on the novel \u201cStraight Man\u201d by former SIU English professor Richard Russo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actor, SIU alumnus works with students, receives degrees By Jeff Wilson It was a banner day for Bob Odenkirk and SIU. For the first time since the early 1980s, one of the university\u2019s most well-known alumni was back on campus. It kicked off with the City of Carbondale declaring Monday, April 3, as Bob Odenkirk … Continue reading Odenkirk experiences SIU all over again<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,11,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-philanthropic-women","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3203"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3219,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203\/revisions\/3219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}