List of ''Breaking Bad'' and ''Better Call Saul'' characters

Breaking Bad is an American television series created by Vince Gilligan. The show was followed, in 2015, by the prequel series Better Call Saul. The following is a list of characters from both series.

Main characters

Cast table

Character	Portrayed by	Breaking Bad						Better Call Saul
		Season 1 (2008)	Season 2 (2009)	Season 3 (2010)	Season 4 (2011)	Season 5A (2012)	Season 5B (2013)	Season 1 (2015)	Season 2 (2016)	Season 3 (2017)	Season 4 (2018)[1]
Walter White	Bryan Cranston	Main									TBC
Skyler White	Anna Gunn	Main									TBC
Jesse Pinkman	Aaron Paul	Main									TBC
Hank Schrader	Dean Norris	Main									TBC
Marie Schrader	Betsy Brandt	Main									TBC
Walter White, Jr.	RJ Mitte	Main									TBC
Saul Goodman	Bob Odenkirk		Recurring	Main
Gustavo Fring	Giancarlo Esposito		Recurring	Main						Main	TBC
Mike Ehrmantraut	Jonathan Banks		Guest	Main				Main			TBC
Lydia Rodarte-Quayle	Laura Fraser					Recurring	Main			Recurring	TBC
Todd Alquist	Jesse Plemons					Recurring	Main				TBC
Kimberly Wexler	Rhea Seehorn							Main			TBC
Howard Hamlin	Patrick Fabian							Main			TBC
Ignacio 'Nacho' Varga	Michael Mando							Main			TBC
Charles 'Chuck' McGill, Jr.	Michael McKean							Main			TBC

Breaking Bad main characters

Walter White

Walter Hartwell White (also known by his clandestine alias Heisenberg) (played by Bryan Cranston) is an underachieving Albuquerque, New Mexico high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, starts manufacturing methamphetamine to provide for his family upon his death. Knowing nothing about the drug trade, he enlists the aid of his former student, Jesse Pinkman, to sell the meth he produces. Walt's scientific knowledge and dedication to quality lead him to produce crystal meth that is purer and more potent than any competitors'. To avoid the tedious collection of pseudoephedrine required for production, Walt devises an alternative chemical process utilizing methylamine, giving his product a distinctive blue color. His crystal meth, which is given the street name "Blue Sky," dominates the market, leading to confrontations with established drug makers and dealers.

Walt is initially squeamish about the use of violence, but gradually comes to see it as a necessity. He also comes to find his new status as a drug lord psychologically rewarding, leading him to become less and less reluctant to resort to criminal acts such as theft, extortion, money laundering, depraved indifference, and murder. Walt's descent, Macbeth-like,^[2] into the criminal underworld unearths immense levels of deeply repressed ambition, rage, resentment, vanity, and an increasing ruthlessness which alienates him from his family and colleagues.

Skyler White

Skyler White (née Lambert) (played by Anna Gunn) is Walter's wife. She has had several meager sources of income: writing short stories, selling items on eBay, working as a bookkeeper, and ultimately helping her husband launder money. Skyler and Walter have a son, Walter Jr., and an infant daughter, Holly. Skyler cares for Walter very much, but their marriage becomes increasingly strained due to his unexplained absences and bizarre behavior, ultimately leading to their separation. Later, once Walter reveals his operation, she aids him in laundering his funds. They buy the car wash where Walter had recently moonlighted. Although she helps Walter, she remains displeased with the situation overall. As Walter slowly becomes more of a "hardened criminal," her emotions of fear and worry for him become increasingly prevalent. When in the episode "Buried," Hank tells Skyler he is on to Walt, but needs her help to provide sufficient evidence to build a successful case, Skyler replies that she needs a lawyer and later tells Walt they should remain quiet.

Jesse Pinkman

Jesse Bruce Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) is a small-time methamphetamine user, manufacturer, and dealer. In high school, he was an indifferent student in Walter White's chemistry class. Now in his mid-20s, Jesse is Walt's business partner in the meth trade. Jesse is impulsive, hedonistic, and uneducated beyond high school, but he is financially ambitious and streetwise. He talks in playful slang, likes to wear garish clothing that follows the latest trends in youth culture, plays video games, listens to rap and rock music, takes recreational drugs, and drives cars outfitted with gadgets to make them "bounce". Walt treats Jesse like a foolish son in constant need of stern correction. Jesse's own family kicked him out of their house because of his drug use. Despite the friction between them, he and Walt have a deep bond of loyalty. As a result of his relationship with Walt, Jesse becomes an excellent meth cook, ultimately leading to his exploitation by others. Despite his criminal lifestyle, Jesse is far more conscientious than Walt. He is horrified, particularly during later seasons, by the brutality at the higher levels of the drug trade, but remains involved with Walt because he's not sure what else he can do. He is very protective of children: his desire to keep children out of the violent drug world gives rise to several key events throughout the series. He wrestles with feelings of guilt about the deaths, all drug-related, of people he has been associated with. Towards the end of the fifth season he is overwhelmed by guilt and his "blood money". Jesse sees all of the pain he caused for that one duffel bag of money causing him to throw it out his car window and attempt to give it to people in need, or people who have a tie to him.

Hank Schrader

Henry R. "Hank" Schrader (played by Dean Norris) is Walt and Skyler's brother-in-law and Marie's husband, who works as a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. He is involved in investigating a meth dealer known as "Heisenberg," unaware for over a year that his prey is actually Walter. Hank has a cavalier exterior, but in reality the dark side of his job affects him more than he cares to admit. In the course of his work, Hank is promoted to El Paso, Texas from Albuquerque for a short time but experiences a traumatic event and moves back to Albuquerque. Despite his brashness, Hank is highly competent at his job and cares deeply about his family. Hank is eventually promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the D.E.A. in Albuquerque but is still determined to solve the "Heisenberg" case, which ultimately leads to his demise.

Marie Schrader

Marie Schrader (née Lambert) (played by Betsy Brandt) is Skyler's sister, Hank's wife, and Walt's sister-in-law. Marie works as a radiologic technologist. She doesn't hesitate to offer advice to others, but often fails to practice what she preaches. She shoplifts compulsively—apparently a manifest symptom of kleptomania—a behavior for which she sees a therapist. She appears self-centered and shallow, but is very devoted to her husband and cares deeply for her sister's family. Nearly all of her household and clothing items are shades of the color purple.

In Season 3, Marie becomes a major source of comfort and support to her husband, when The Cousins shoot and nearly kill Hank. With Walt and Skyler's help, she arranges for Hank to undergo an aggressive physical therapy program that is not covered by their insurance. When Hank stubbornly decides to stay at the hospital, claiming he is completely disabled, she refuses to give up on him and masturbates him to prove he still has feeling below the waist. When he returns home, however, Hank is cold and brash to Marie, despite her attempts to make him comfortable, and she spirals back into kleptomania. Once Hank begins making progress with the case, his relationship with Marie improves again. When Walt and Skyler begin to have marital problems, she volunteers to take in their children for a couple of days while they work things out.

In the final season, Hank shares with Marie the truth about Walter's criminal activities, and Marie confronts Skyler. Learning Skyler has known of Walt before Hank was shot, Marie slaps her sister and storms out of the room angrily. She tries to take Holly with her, but Hank commands her to return the baby. She then urges Hank "to get" Walter. Marie helps Hank in attempting to stop Walt and Skyler but their attempts are thwarted when Walt makes a DVD framing Hank. Marie is eager to help Hank when Jesse agrees to confess about Walt's crimes. She is initially unaware of Hank's death and reconciles with Skyler on the condition she tells Walt Jr. everything. Marie learns that Hank is missing when Walt kidnaps Holly, and eventually receives confirmation he is dead. She is last seen in her house two months later, now with blue instead of purple trim around the house, warning Skyler to be on the look out for Walt.

Walter White, Jr.

Walter Hartwell White, Jr. (played by RJ Mitte) is Walter and Skyler's teenage son and Holly's older brother. He has cerebral palsy, as manifested in speech difficulties and impaired motor control, for which he uses crutches (which Mitte, who has a milder variation of cerebral palsy, does not require^[3]). Angered by his parents' constant fighting, Walter Jr. tries to establish an independent character, insisting on being called Flynn and asking his best friend Louis to teach him how to drive. However, upon discovering that Walt has cancer, Walter Jr. changes his attitude and sets up the website, "www.savewalterwhite.com", which requests and collects donations in an effort to help pay for Walt's cancer treatment. Walt's lawyer, Saul Goodman, arranges for a wave of fictional "donations" drawn from Walter's drug money, in order to launder it and also make Walter Jr.'s efforts appear successful. When Skyler and Walt separate, Walter Jr., given no explanation by either parent, only sees that his mother has (from his point of view) inexplicably thrown his terminally ill father out of the house, and he takes his father's side and stops answering to the name Flynn. Always being "late to the game" (as defined by Mitte on an episode of Talking Bad), Walter Jr. remains oblivious to his father's drug trade life until "Ozymandias", when Marie, confident that Walt is in Hank's custody, forces Skyler to reveal the whole truth to her son. Upon learning of his father's connection with Hank's death, Walter Jr. mistakenly concludes that Walt killed Hank. Feeling betrayed, Jr. calls 911 when Walt fends off Skyler's knife attack, thus forcing Walt to leave and eventually end up on the most wanted list. In "Granite State", Walt attempts to talk to him over the phone and have him retrieve $100,000 that Walt planned to send to Louis' address; however, Walter Jr. angrily refuses and hangs up. In "Felina", Walt visits Skyler for the final time, and watches from afar as Walter Jr. returns to the safe house from school.

Saul Goodman

Saul Goodman (played by Bob Odenkirk), real name James Morgan McGill, is a sleazy "criminal lawyer" (in Jesse Pinkman's words: "a lawyer who is a criminal") who acts as Walter and Jesse's attorney and up to a certain point, the series' comic relief. He uses the name "Saul Goodman" because he thinks his clients feel more confident with a Jewish lawyer; this name is also homophonous with the expression "[it]'s all good, man".^[4] Dressing in flashy suits, Saul maintains extensive connections within the criminal underworld and serves as a go-between connecting drug distributors, evidence removers, impersonators, and other criminals-for-hire. Despite his flamboyant appearance and mannerisms—punctuated by his outrageous low-budget TV commercials—Saul is a highly competent lawyer who is able to solve problems and find loopholes in order to protect his clients. He is also reluctant to be associated with violence or murder. He has served as an adviser for Walter, Jesse, Gus, Mike, and even Skyler, whom he also helped acquire a car wash in order to launder Walter's drug money.

Gustavo Fring

Gustavo "Gus" Fring (played by Giancarlo Esposito) is the Chilean-born proprietor of Los Pollos Hermanos, a highly successful fried chicken restaurant chain. He is also a public booster for the local D.E.A. office and a member of the hospital board. However, despite outward appearances, Gus is a major drug kingpin initially affiliated with the Mexican drug cartel in Ciudad Juárez, who uses his restaurant as a front for methamphetamine distribution throughout the American southwest. Like Walter White, Gus is a criminal who "hides in plain sight", using his anti-drug philanthropy to conceal his true nature. Gus originally established Los Pollos Hermanos in Mexico several years previously, but emigrated to the United States when Don Eladio and Hector Salamanca murdered his cook and close friend, Maximino Arciniega, as punishment for insulting Eladio.

Mike Ehrmantraut

Mike Ehrmantraut (played by Jonathan Banks) is a former Philadelphia police officer who works for Gus—and, on occasion, Saul—as a private investigator, head of security, cleaner, and hit man. His reasons for leaving the force in Philadelphia are never specified during the Breaking Bad series. Given his "half measures" story to Walt about missing a chance to kill an abusive perp who eventually murdered a victim Mike was trying to help, and Hank's refusal to bring up the reason of Mike's discharge from the police force during an interrogation, it is implied that Mike decided to take revenge against the abusive perp which resulted in his departure from law enforcement. As such, one of the lessons Mike employed in his day-to-day business activities was to not take "half measures". However, the prequel series Better Call Saul revealed that Mike, a crooked cop himself, murdered two other crooked cops who had killed his honest police officer son Matt, who had hesitated to involve himself in any corrupt activities. The next day he fled to Albuquerque to work as a parking attendant at the Albuquerque Courthouse circa 2002 and to be close to his beloved granddaughter Kaylee (played by Kaija Roze Bales), who had been previously relocated there by her widowed mother Stacy. Mike is a calm and calculating individual who efficiently performed his duties for Gus, using his extensive knowledge to do so without detection. He is never shown to target or involve any innocent bystanders in his duties.

Lydia Rodarte-Quayle

Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (played by Laura Fraser) is an executive of Madrigal Electromotive GmbH, working out of the company's office in Houston, Texas. She originally worked with Gus Fring as a supplier of chemicals required for his drug business in the American southwest. Following his violent death at the hands of Walter, the D.E.A. begins investigating the link between Gus and Madrigal. Lydia becomes anxious and asks Mike to eliminate 11 people who were involved with Gus. When he refuses, Lydia makes the same offer to one of the 11 on her hit list and adds Mike to those she wants killed. However, Mike ambushes and kills the new hit man, deducing that Lydia is responsible. He consequently breaks into Lydia's home, ready to execute her, but allows her to live contingent on her providing methylamine.

After Lydia provides the first shipment, the D.E.A. visits Madrigal and Lydia is forced to give up her man in the warehouse to the D.E.A. When Mike sends Jesse to Houston to pick up the methylamine, he and Lydia find a GPS tracker at the bottom of one of the barrels. Mike later guesses that Lydia placed it, because she wants out of the business. Mike again vows to kill her. Jesse, unwilling to see more bloodshed, tries to intervene on the pretense that the D.E.A. may have been responsible. Walt sides with Jesse because he refuses to cease making meth. After bugging Hank's office, they force her to call him and ask about the device. Hank tells her his office did not plant any tracker, and Walt and Mike opt to kill her until they hear through the bug the D.E.A.'s Houston office telling Hank that they placed trackers on every barrel. In an effort to save herself, Lydia provides Walt, Jesse, and Mike information about a freight train that carries "an ocean of methylamine", allowing a heist to ensure they can carry on cooking meth almost indefinitely. Later, she provides Walt with a new market in the Czech Republic, using her resources and network to distribute the meth in large quantities.

After Walt quits, and Declan and his gang are massacred, Todd becomes Lydia's cook. Months later, during a meeting with Todd, Walt (now a wanted criminal) interrupts and seemingly offers to provide a new method of meth production, claiming that the stock of methylamine must be dwindling, and that he needs the money to pay for his cancer treatment while staying under the radar. Lydia appears to agree to Walt's offer, but after Walt leaves she suggests to Todd that Walt should be killed at the meeting. Lydia then pours into her tea a sachet of stevia, which Walt had replaced with ricin, knowing her ritual. That evening Lydia, showing the flu-like symptoms characteristic of ricin poisoning, calls Todd to check on whether the gang killed Walt. Walter answers and tells her that the entire gang is dead, and that he poisoned her, before he hangs up on her.

Lydia reappears in season 3 of Better Call Saul. She is initially revealed to have assisted Gus in acquiring the laundry facility that he will use for the superlab. Later, when Mike decides that he needs Gus to help him launder money he acquired from robbing one of Hector's trucks, Gus arranges for Lydia to launder Mike's money through Madrigal, with Mike receiving $10,000 per week as a "security consultant" for Los Pollos Hermanos.

Todd Alquist

Todd Alquist^[5] (played by Jesse Plemons) is an exterminator for Vamonos Pest, a fumigation company used by Walt, Mike, and Jesse as the front to their meth business after Gus Fring's death. Todd and the other Vamonos employees are burglars, gathering information and selling it to outside parties from the houses they tent. Todd notices and disables a nanny cam at Walt and Jesse's first cook site, attracting their attention. He aids in the heist of methylamine from a freight train, but nonchalantly shoots and kills a young boy who stumbled upon the crime, revealing himself to be a sociopath. The team reluctantly keeps Todd employed after he explains his actions: there could be no witnesses, and his uncle, Jack, could be valuable to the operation.

After Jesse and Mike quit, Todd becomes Walt's assistant in the cooking process. Todd helps Walt dispose of Mike's car and body after Walt murders Mike, and uses his uncle Jack's prison connections to help Walt eliminate Gus Fring's nine former employees and their lawyer. With no one opposing them, Walt and Todd partner with another meth distributor, Declan, and Madrigal Electromotive executive Lydia Rodarte-Quayle to run a highly profitable meth empire for months across the American Southwest and overseas in the Czech Republic. When Walter retires, the purity of the product falls, so Lydia reinstates Todd as the primary cook. The purity improves, but falls short of the standard expected by Lydia's foreign buyers. Todd also has a crush on Lydia, a fact that Lydia exploits to keep him under control.

After the gang captures Jesse, Todd convinces his uncle to force Jesse to cook for them. Todd shoots and kills Jesse's ex-girlfriend Andrea to punish Jesse for an escape attempt. Months later, under the guise of offering a new method of cooking meth, Walter kills the gang through a remotely activated M60 machine gun installed in the trunk of a car. Todd survives the gunfire, but Jesse strangles him with the chains of his handcuffs to the point of snapping his neck.

Todd has been called the most dangerous villain on Breaking Bad, and IGN named him 2013's best TV villain.^[6][7]

Better Call Saul main characters

Kimberly Wexler

Kimberly "Kim" Wexler was one of the key litigators at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. However, Kim’s personal history with Jimmy complicated their working relationship, often putting her at odds with Howard Hamlin and Chuck McGill, threatening her promising career and eventually putting her in Hamlin's doghouse. This forced her to reevaluate her place in HHM and leave, settling up a practice of her own, in conjunction with Jimmy, separate apart from expenses such as rent and resources. Despite this, because of Jimmy's and Chuck's feud, she finds herself still in the middle of her former boss and Jimmy.

Howard Hamlin

Howard Hamlin is the name partner and general go-to guy toeing the company line for hugely successful Albuquerque law firm Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Hamlin is one of life’s winners. His good fortune, sun-kissed looks, and more than ample charm prove to be a constant source of frustration for Jimmy as is his relationship with Chuck McGill.

Ignacio Varga

Ignacio Varga, better known as Nacho, is a calculating, intelligent career criminal. He is the right-hand man to Tuco Salamanca, heir to the crime family of the same name. While not yet a kingpin himself, Nacho is bright and has the ear of his terrifying boss. Nacho hires Jimmy as his lawyer after being introduced to him by Tuco at the start of Season 1. He secretly begins working with Mike Ehrmantraut at the end of season 1. He admires Mike's calm and calculated way of working, compared to Tuco's impulsive and insane way of working.

Charles McGill Jr.

Charles "Chuck" McGill, Jr. is Jimmy McGill's older brother. He is a named partner at one of Albuquerque's most prestigious law firms, Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill, which he co-founded along with his business partner, Howard Hamlin's father. A brilliant man who holds himself and others to high ideals, Chuck firmly believes that doing the right thing is the only true path to success. Chuck is critical of Jimmy's background as a scam-artist, considering his brother's attorney status an insult to the law.

Chuck believes he suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, an unusual affliction garnered under mysterious circumstances, which makes it challenging for him to lead a normal life. Chuck has twice shown no reaction to sources of electromagnetic radiation that were nearby but whose presence he was unaware of, suggesting that he suffers from a mental illness rather than the physical condition he claims.

In the season 3 finale "Lantern", after suffering a severe relapse of his condition, Chuck appears to commit suicide by knocking over a lantern, causing a fire to start.

Supporting characters

Cast table

Character	Portrayed by	Breaking Bad						Better Call Saul
		Season 1 (2008)	Season 2 (2009)	Season 3 (2010)	Season 4 (2011)	Season 5A (2012)	Season 5B (2013)	Season 1 (2015)	Season 2 (2016)	Season 3 (2017)
Steven Gomez	Steven Michael Quezada	Recurring
Skinny Pete	Charles Baker	Recurring			Guest	Recurring	Guest
Carmen Molina	Carmen Serano	Recurring					Guest
Tuco Salamanca	Raymond Cruz	Recurring						Recurring	Guest
Gretchen Schwartz	Jessica Hecht	Recurring	Guest				Recurring
Gonzo	Jesus Payan, Jr.	Recurring	Guest					Guest
No-Doze	Cesar Garcia	Recurring	Guest					Guest
Domingo 'Krazy-8' Molina	Max Arciniega	Recurring							Guest	Recurring
Emilio Koyama	John Koyama	Recurring
Brandon 'Badger' Mayhew	Matt L. Jones	Guest	Recurring		Guest	Recurring	Guest
Christian 'Combo' Ortega	Rodney Rush	Guest	Recurring	Guest
Mrs. Pinkman	Tess Harper	Guest	Recurring	Guest
Dr. Delcavoli	David House	Guest	Recurring
Adam Pinkman	Michael Bofshever	Guest
Wendy	Julia Minesci	Guest
Bogdan Wolynetz	Marius Stan	Guest		Guest	Recurring
Elliott Schwartz	Adam Godley	Guest					Recurring
Ken 'Ken Wins'	Kyle Bornheimer	Guest							Guest
Holly White	Various		Recurring
Ted Beneke	Christopher Cousins		Recurring			Guest
George Merkert	Michael Shamus Wiles		Recurring			Guest
Hector Salamanca	Mark Margolis		Recurring						Recurring
Jane Margolis	Krysten Ritter		Recurring	Guest
Donald Margolis	John de Lancie		Recurring	Guest
Clovis	Tom Kiesche		Recurring	Guest
SAC Ramey	Todd Terry		Recurring			Recurring	Guest
Victor	Jeremiah Bitsui		Guest	Recurring	Guest					Recurring
Tomás Cantillo	Angelo Martinez		Guest	Recurring
Francesca Liddy	Tina Parker		Guest		Recurring		Recurring			Recurring
Cythia	Ashley Kajiki		Guest
Tortuga	Danny Trejo		Guest
Det. Tim Roberts	Nigel Gibbs		Guest		Recurring
Andrea Cantillo	Emily Rios			Recurring		Guest	Recurring
Brock Cantillo	Ian Posada			Recurring		Guest
Gale Boetticher	David Costabile			Recurring
Leonel Salamanca	Daniel Moncada			Recurring	Guest				Recurring
Juan Bolsa	Javier Grajeda			Recurring	Guest					Recurring
Group Leader	Jere Burns			Recurring	Guest
Kaylee Ehrmantraut	Various			Recurring		Recurring		Recurring
Marco Salamanca	Luis Moncada			Recurring					Recurring
Pamela	Julie Dretzin			Recurring
Duane Chow	James Ning			Guest		Guest
Stacey Ehrmantraut	Kerry Condon			Guest				Recurring
Officer Saxton	Stoney Westmoreland			Guest					Guest
Huell Babineaux	Lavell Crawford				Recurring	Guest	Recurring			Guest
Patrick Kuby	Bill Burr				Recurring	Guest	Recurring
Chris Mara	Christopher King				Recurring	Guest
Tyrus Kitt	Ray Campbell				Recurring					Recurring
Don Eladio Vuente	Steven Bauer				Recurring					Guest
Gaff	Maurice Compte				Recurring
Dennis Markowski	Mike Batayeh				Guest	Recurring
Lawson	Jim Beaver				Guest				Recurring
Barry Goodman	JB Blanc				Guest					Guest
Detective Kalanchoe	Gonzalo Menendez				Guest		Recurring
Detective Munn	Jason Douglas				Guest		Recurring
Nurse	T.C. Warner				Guest			Guest
Stephanie Doswell	Jennifer Hasty				Guest				Guest
Declan	Louis Ferreira					Recurring	Guest
Ron Forenall	Russ Dillon					Recurring
Dan Wachsberger	Chris Freihofer					Recurring
Jack Welker	Michael Bowen					Guest	Recurring
Kenny	Kevin Rankin					Guest	Recurring
Frankie	Patrick Sane					Guest	Recurring
Fran	Debrianna Mansini					Guest			Recurring
Lester	Tait Fletcher						Recurring
Matt	Matt Metzler						Recurring
Ernesto	Brandon K. Hampton							Recurring
Mrs. Nguyen	Eileen Fogarty							Recurring
Rick Schweikart	Dennis Boutsikaris							Recurring
Dr. Caldera	Joe DeRosa							Recurring	Guest	Recurring
Bill Oakley	Peter Diseth							Recurring	Guest
Irene Landry	Jean Effron							Recurring		Recurring
Marco Pasternak	Mel Rodriguez							Recurring		Guest
Betsy Kettleman	Julie Ann Emery							Recurring
Craig Kettleman	Jeremy Shamos							Recurring
Detective Sanders	Barry Shabaka Henley							Recurring
Detective Abbasi	Omid Abtahi							Recurring
Joey Dixon	Josh Fadem							Guest	Recurring
Sound Guy	Julian Bonfiglio							Guest	Recurring
Daniel 'Pryce' Wormald	Mark Proksch							Guest	Recurring	Guest
Mrs. Strauss	Carol Herman							Guest	Recurring	Guest
Brenda	Sarah Minnich							Guest	Recurring
Dr. Laura Cruz	Clea DuVall							Guest
Paige Novick	Cara Pifko								Recurring
Arturo	Vincent Fuentes								Recurring
Kevin Wachtell	Rex Linn								Recurring
Erin Brill	Jessie Ennis								Recurring	Guest
Ximenez Lecerda	Manuel Uriza								Recurring	Guest
Clifford Main	Ed Begley Jr.								Recurring
Omar	Omar Maskati								Recurring
Brian Archuleta	Luis Bordonada								Recurring
Rebecca McGill née Bois	Ann Cusack								Guest	Recurring
Make-up Artist	Hayley Holmes								Guest	Recurring
Captain Bauer	Brendan Fehr								Guest
Mr. Ughetta	Michael Chieffo								Guest
David Brightbill	Jackamoe Buzzell									Recurring

Law enforcement

Steven Gomez

Steven Gomez (played by Steven Michael Quezada) is Hank's D.E.A. partner and friend since Season 1. He has a lot of knowledge about the inner workings of Mexican gangs. He doesn't seem to mind Hank's off-color remarks about his ethnicity. Gomez, or "Gomey" as Hank affectionately calls him, is promoted to El Paso after Hank witnesses a deadly attack on the Mexican border. (Afraid of going back to the deadly environment there, Hank delayed his transfer.) Gomez has been Hank's right-hand man in the "Heisenberg" case since the beginning. After the Salamanca Brothers nearly kill Hank, Gomez starts performing tasks that Hank can't perform due to his handicap. At the end of Season 4 (on Hank's request), Gomez visits Gus' industrial laundry (with the underground lab) after a GPS links Gus' car to a visit. Gomez and K9 units find no trace of any lab on the property.^[8]

After Walt and Jesse ignite the lab,^[9] Gomez returns with Hank to find it destroyed, with little evidence remaining.^[10] Gomez is the only DEA officer whom Hank tells about his revelation that Walter White is Heisenberg, and Gomez continues to be Hank's partner through their final investigation, which leads to both the arrest of Walt and a shootout with Jack's gang. Gomez is killed in the gunfight, shortly before Hank is killed.^[11][12][13]

Gomez was originally set to die in the first season. However, when the 2007–2008 writers' strike cut the season short, the writers reworked their ideas and he remained alive.^[1]

Detectives Kalanchoe & Munn

Detective Kalanchoe (played by Gonzalo Menendez) and Detective Munn (played by Jason Douglas) are partner detectives with the Albuquerque Police Department, questioning Jesse first in regard to the poisoning of Brock Cantillo,^[9] and then in regard to the huge amount of money he's been giving away for free.^[14]

George Merkert

Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Merkert (played by Michael Shamus Wiles) is Hank's boss at the D.E.A. He is impressed with Hank's tenacity and hard work, and recommends him for a transfer to El Paso. When Hank returns to work after being wounded, Merkert is frustrated by Hank's stalling a second transfer to El Paso, unaware that Hank is suffering from panic attacks and is afraid to go back. After Hank attacks Jesse, Merkert is forced to suspend Hank without pay but tells him off the record that Jesse will not press charges.^[15] Following Hank's shooting and subsequent recovery, Merkert welcomes Hank back to work but refuses to act on Hank's suspicions of Gus Fring beyond a basic interview. When Gus is revealed to be a drug kingpin, Merkert is permanently relieved of his duties in the D.E.A. due mainly to his and Fring's extensive personal interactions and the subsequent doubt cast on Merkert's integrity following Fring's downfall.^[16]

SAC Ramey

Special Agent in Charge Ramey (played by Todd Terry) is the head of the southwestern United States D.E.A. offices, and thus the highest ranking D.E.A. agent appearing on the show. He appointed Hank to replace George Merkert as ASAC.^[17]

Tim Roberts

Tim Roberts (played by Nigel Gibbs) is a detective with the Albuquerque Police Department, who works closely with Hank Schrader and the D.E.A. under George Merkert's watch.

Roberts first appears at the White household asking Skyler about Walt's disappearance after Tuco Salamanca kidnaps both Walter and Jesse and takes them to his uncle's house. Hank asked Roberts to take the case of Walter's disappearance as a personal favor to Hank, believing Walter had one of his "episodes" wherein he forgot where he was and would turn up days later.^[18]

Roberts next appears after Marie Schrader is arrested and taken to the police station for pilfering property at the open houses she visits. Hank contacts Roberts after Marie tells Hank about her predicament. Roberts gets the homeowners to drop their charges after their property is returned, and he takes Marie home for Hank.^[19]

Roberts also investigates Gale Boetticher's murder. He consults with Hank after he finds Gale's notebook and asks what all the notes and drawings mean, and whether or not Gale may have been working in a meth lab. This piques Hank's interest in the case, and he embarks on his own investigation of Gale and his ties to Fring.^[20]

The A.P.D. detectives' investigation of Gale's apartment yields Fring's fingerprint, which gives the A.P.D. and the D.E.A. probable cause to officially request that Fring come in for questioning. Fring complies and then explains his ties to Boetticher, who won one of Fring's Maximino Arciniega scholarships that Gale used to pursue degrees in chemistry. Roberts is satisfied with Fring's explanations of how he knew Boetticher and why he was in Boetticher's home, but Hank remains dubious and continues investigating Fring and his personal and business dealings.^[21]

Gus's organization

Maximino Arciniega

Maximino Arciniega (played by James Martinez) is Gus Fring's partner. Gus paid for Max's education in biochemistry and chemical engineering, at the University of Santiago in Chile. The pair then moved to Mexico and opened a chain of Los Pollos Hermanos chicken restaurants together. In the drug business, Max is the chemist; he cooked the crystal meth, samples of which he and Gus started giving away. These samples gained the attention of Don Eladio, a local drug lord, whom Max and Gus approached in the hope of convincing the Don to join them in the meth business. Don Eladio, unimpressed by these upstarts and nominally dismissive of selling methamphetamine in lieu of cocaine, had Hector kill Max on the patio of his mansion as Juan Bolsa watched. Gus is forced to watch his partner's fatal head wound bleed into the swimming pool, a vision that stays with him. After moving to the US, Gus sets up a college scholarship in Max's name (which Gale Boetticher won one year) and determines to avenge his friend's death.^[21] It is implied that Gus and Max's relationship may have been a romantic one, which is acknowledged by both Giancarlo Esposito (who plays Gus Fring)^[22] and series creator Vince Gilligan, who commented that they "probably were lovers", although he never completely confirmed or denied if that was the case.^[23]

The character Maximino Arciniega shares his name with the real-life actor who plays Krazy-8 in Season 1.

Gale Boetticher

Gale Boetticher (played by David Costabile) is a chemist hired by Gus Fring to help set up the new laboratory and serve as Walt's "lab assistant". He held an MS degree in organic chemistry, with a specialty in X-ray crystallography. He described himself as a "nerd" and a "libertarian". He is single, vegan and apparently cultured. He is a fan of foreign language music, appears to speak fluent Italian, and is fond of Walt Whitman. As a side project, he is working on a process for brewing a superior cup of coffee and impresses Walt with his results.^[24] Gale had been pursuing his doctorate at Colorado under an NSF grant but realized that it was not the life for him because he loved being in the lab and wanted to preserve the 'magic' he saw in chemistry.

After Walter learns of Jesse's intentions to press charges against Hank, Walter is forced to fire Gale and re-hire Jesse as his partner.^[25] After Jesse's "disappearance", Gus re-hires Gale and instructs him to learn everything he can from Walt. He tells Gale that Walt has terminal cancer and the meth production cannot halt for even a week because of his business's high overhead. In reality, Walt is in remission, and Gus is actually planning to kill Walt for killing two of Gus' street dealers. Gale, who remains oblivious to this, agrees to take over the lab full-time after one more "cook". Walt realizes that Gus plans to replace him with Gale as soon as Walt has outlived his usefulness and sends Jesse to locate Gale's address so that Walt can kill him to ensure Gus still requires their services. When Walt is about to kill Gale by making his death look like an accident, Walt is subsequently lured to his execution by Mike and Victor but is able to convince them to let him speak to Jesse, under the pretense of leading him into the trap as well. However, Walt orders Jesse to kill Gale as quickly as possible before Gus can prevent it. Jesse reluctantly kills Gale.^[26]

During the crime scene investigation, Gale's lab notes are shown close to his body, on a table.^[27] Later, an Albuquerque police detective gives Hank copies of the evidence taken from Gale's apartment. After reviewing it, Hank shows it to Walt and Walt, Jr. A DVD amongst the evidence shows Gale singing karaoke of the song "Major Tom (Coming Home)", by German musician Peter Schilling, in front of images of rockets and wildlife, with captions in Thai script.^[28] Hank investigates Gale and discovers Gus's fingerprints inside the apartment, causing him to suspect Gus of being connected to the meth trade. It is also indirectly because of Gale that Hank grows to suspect Walter is Heisenberg after Hank finds a book that Gale gave to Walter as a gift, with a dedication written by Gale on the front page that matched the tone and handwriting that Hank had observed in a journal of lab notes that were discovered in Gale's apartment.

Duane Chow

Duane Chow (played by James Ning) is the owner of Golden Moth Chemical, an industrial chemical manufacturing company that supplies chemicals to Gus Fring's drug empire. During Fring's conflict with a Mexican drug cartel in Ciudad Juárez, the cartel enforcers come to Chow's offices and hold him hostage. Chow's captors are later killed by Mike, who shoots Chow in the hand for not telling Gus about the situation.^[26] After Gus' death, Chow starts being questioned by the D.E.A., as he was on Gus' payroll at the time of Gus' murder. Chow is also on the list of eleven men who Lydia suggests that Mike kill before they can make a plea deal with the D.E.A. (but Mike refuses). Lydia then hires one of the eleven, Chris Mara, to kill the other ten, and adds Mike to the list. Mara starts with Chow, whom he uses to lure Mike into a trap before shooting Chow in the head. Mike thwarts the attempt on his own life after getting from Chris the information Lydia gave him, and then he kills Chris, leaving nine alive from Lydia's original list.^[16]

Ron Forenall

Ron Forenall (played by Russ Dillon) is Mike Ehrmantraut's contact at Madrigal Electromotive's chemical warehouse in Houston. He is in constant contact with Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, who tells him which containers she has taken off the manifests, which he sends to Golden Moth Chemical Company in Albuquerque, which in turn forwards them on to Lavanderia Brilliante and Gus's lab.

Forenall is arrested after Hank and Gomez arrive at Madrigal's warehouse in Houston and Lydia identifies him in the warehouse.^[17] Forenall later appears as one of the nine incarcerated members of Gus's organization who Lydia lists to be taken out, along with Dan Wachsberger, Mike's attorney who rolls over on them. Forenall is last seen in a hallway when a prison door is shut and he is shanked to death by the Neo-Nazis.^[29]

Barry Goodman

Dr. Barry Goodman (played by JB Blanc) is Gus's personal doctor, treating him and Mike after the showdown at Don Eladio's residence.^[30] He later informs Mike about Gus's death.^[10]

Tyrus Kitt

Tyrus Kitt (played by Ray Campbell) is one of Gus's henchmen. After Victor is killed, Gus promotes him to serve as Mike's second-in-command, monitoring Walt and Jesse's activities both inside and outside the lab. He spots Hector Salamanca leaving the DEA office, incorrectly assuming that he has turned into an informant. He is indirectly killed by Hector during the latter's showdown with Gus. ^[9] He reappears in Better Call Saul, where he and Victor serve as co-muscle for Gus.

Chris Mara

Chris Mara (played by Christopher King) is one of Gus Fring's henchmen and Mike Ehrmantraut's errand runners, who runs errands among Fring, the mules, and the dealers. One of his other side jobs is to assist Tyrus Kitt in monitoring who is coming and going through the doors of both the Albuquerque Police Department and the D.E.A.'s Albuquerque office.

Chris first appears in "Bug," where he's shown taking cover when Gaff opens fire on the operatives at the Los Pollos distribution center, killing one of them while Jesse stands paralyzed. He's later shown among the men looking for Walt when Walt goes into hiding.^[30] We also notice Chris in his car when Jesse exits the police station, after being questioned about Brock Cantillo's poisoning by ricin,^[8] and Chris is seen when Hector Salamanca leaves the D.E.A. office after questioning. He also is the one to drive Gus to the retirement home.^[9]

Chris later takes Duane Chow hostage in his own home, forcing Chow to call Mike to come over so Chris can kill him. However, Mike sees Chris's car parked in Chow's driveway and senses that this is a trap. Mike outsmarts Chris with a toy on Chow's front door while he sneaks into Chow's house from the back. Chris confesses that since the DEA seized his hazard pay, he took up Lydia's offer that Mike refused: $10,000 for each of the 10 other men on the list, and triple for Mike. Mike then dispatches Chris in the same way that Chris assassinated Chow.^[16]

Dennis Markowski

Dennis Markowski (played by Mike Batayeh) is the former manager of Lavanderia Brilliante, the industrial laundromat which served as the cover for Gus's superlab. Following Gus's death, the D.E.A. incarcerates Dennis, as he is on Gus's payroll at the time of Gus's death. Dennis agrees to keep his mouth shut when Mike ensures that he will still receive his money from the drug empire.^[31] When Dennis's funds are confiscated, Dennis, through his attorney, proposes a plea deal to the D.E.A., but Hank refuses, believing he can get a better deal from one of Gus's other incarcerated henchmen. Dennis is later killed on Walt's orders by several other inmates who pour flammable liquid into Dennis's cell and ignite it, burning him alive.^[29]

Victor

Victor (played by Jeremiah Bitsui) is Gus's loyal henchman. He first appears as an apparent fellow customer in Los Pollos Hermanos, when he suddenly confronts Walter and tersely conveys Gus's non-negotiable offer to purchase Walter's meth and arrange for delivery within the hour.^[32] In Season 3, he continues his work under Gus. Gus instructs Victor to give half of the money for Jesse's meth to Walter as a way to convince Walter to cook again. After Walt kills two of Gus's dealers, Walt tells Gus that Jesse is "at least two time zones away". Victor guards the lab at all times when Walter and Gale are present and monitors their conversations. Walt suspects Gus is preparing to kill him and conspires with Jesse to kill Gale, making Walt indispensable as the only remaining cook. Victor picks up Walt from his home, telling him there is a leak in the lab. Walt is greeted by Mike when he arrives and deduces they plan to kill him. Walt begs Mike to spare him, offering to turn Jesse over. Under the pretext of contacting Jesse to lure him to a meeting, Walt convinces Mike and Victor to allow him to call Jesse using his cell phone. However, instead of arranging a meeting, Walt instructs Jesse to kill Gale before Mike kills Walt, leaving Walter as the only chemist available to Gus. Victor races to stop Jesse from killing Gale but arrives too late; he enters Gale's apartment and is seen by neighbors.^[26] He then forces Jesse back to the meth lab and watches over him and Walt with Mike until Gus arrives. He reveals that he knows how to cook meth himself from watching Walt and single-handedly begins preparing a full batch in front of him. He dies when Gus slices his neck with a box cutter. Later, Walt, Jesse, and Mike are forced to dispose of Victor's body using hydrofluoric acid, echoing Walt and Jesse's previous experience with Emilio.^[27] Walt later mentions to Jesse that Gus may have killed Victor because he had taken inappropriate liberties (such as cooking meth while Mike held Walt and Jesse hostage) and "[flown] too close to the sun", as Walt put it.^[31]

Better Call Saul

Victor is a recurring character introduced alongside Gus in season 3, first seen driving a black Escalade to the back of Los Pollos Hermanos to obtain the tracking device used on Mike. He and Tyrus later serve as Gus's bodyguards during the meeting with Mike. After Hector's operation takes a crippling blow, Victor hands out a cash payment to Mike as a token of gratitude from Gus. However, Mike refuses it. He also delivers parcels of cocaine to Hector's men as part of Hector's order to have his drugs be smuggled in Los Pollos Hermanos trucks.

Dan Wachsberger

Dan Wachsberger (played by Chris Freihofer) is an attorney hired by Mike Ehrmantraut to represent Ron Forenall, Dennis Markowski, and the other seven surviving members of Gustavo Fring's operation running out of the Lavanderia Brilliante in Albuquerque. Wachsberger takes the money (Mike Ehrmantraut's "Legacy Costs") from Mike and then deposits it to ten safety deposit boxes at the Cradock Marine Bank in Albuquerque: nine for Fring's surviving guys and their families to use in lieu of their "hazard pay" and one larger box for Mike's granddaughter Kaylee on her 18th birthday.

Wachsberger first appears as he and Mike are going through the New Mexico Department of Corrections facility at Los Lunas south of Albuquerque. Dan signs in and tells the attending guard, Darla, that he has brought in his "paralegal" and they have come to see Dennis Markowski.^[31] Dan is consistently shown flirting with women, such as Darla and, at the bank, with Dorothy Yobs, whom he routinely lavishes with gifts of sugary baked goods. Dorothy gives Dan access to the safety deposit boxes at Cradock Marine Bank. Eventually, Hank and Gomez discover Mike and Dan's transactions and their safety deposit boxes at Cradock Marine Bank, and Gomez is sent to investigate. Gomez and his agents discover Dan making his routine drops in these boxes, arrest him, and successfully induce Dan to give them Mike.^[33]

The next and last time we see Wachsberger he is in federal lockup at La Tuna near the Texas border outside of Las Cruces, when, on Walt's orders, he is stabbed to death at the same time the nine surviving members of Fring's operation are also killed off, including Ron Forenall and Dennis Markowski.^[29]

Mexican drug cartel

Don Eladio Vuente

Don Eladio Vuente (played by Steven Bauer) is the head of a drug cartel in Ciudad Juárez which employed Juan Bolsa, Hector Salamanca, and Salamanca's nephews. He first met Gus Fring at a business meeting twenty years prior to the start of the series, where Gus and his partner Max attempted to propose a business deal wherein they would produce methamphetamine for the cartel. Unimpressed by their pitch, Don Eladio had Max executed for manipulating him into a meeting, but spared Gus's life due to an unrevealed past in Chile.^[21] At some time in the ensuing few years, he entered into a partnership with Gus, who served as Don Eladio's chief distributor in the American Southwest.

Following the deaths of Juan Bolsa and the Cousins, and Gus's subsequent establishment of the superlab, Don Eladio orders retribution through his henchman Gaff, hijacking meth deliveries and killing some of Gus's operatives. Gus agrees to Eladio's demands—the formula for the blue meth, the services of a chemist, and a 50% share in the business—and travels to the cartel's superlab with Mike and Jesse. After Jesse cooks a successful batch, Eladio invites the three to a party at his villa attended by multiple capos of the cartel, toasting their new business venture with a bottle of premium tequila supplied by Gus, and chiding the latter for needing to be kept in line every twenty years. However, shortly afterwards the capos begin to collapse, victims of a poison Gus had put in the tequila. Eladio realizes that Gus (who has vomited up some of the poison then soon after is given an antidote after escaping to his prepared field hospital) has betrayed him, but collapses dead into the swimming pool before he can take any action.^[34]

He reappears in Better Call Saul through a flashback, meeting and ridiculing Hector in his hacienda because of his inferiority to Gus Fring.

Juan Bolsa

Juan Bolsa (played by Javier Grajeda) is a high-level member of the Mexican drug cartel to which the Salamanca family belong. It is Bolsa who orders Tortuga's execution by The Cousins and later places his head on a booby-trapped tortoise for the D.E.A. to find. He is also the cartel's liaison with Gus, and the one who arranges a meeting among Gus, the Cousins, and Don Hector Salamanca regarding Walter. He tells Gus he will urge the Salamanca family to be patient but advises that Gus risks losing favor with the cartel if he does not finish his business with Walter quickly and that he cannot guarantee the Cousins will listen to reason.^[35] He has forbidden the Cousins to kill Hank, as the D.E.A. is "off limits" (and for good reason, as attacks on law enforcement generally draw more heat). Bolsa meets his end when Mexican federales tipped off by Gus kill him in Juarez as retaliation for The Cousins' attack on Hank.^[25] His name, translated literally from Spanish, is John Bag or John Sack; this is a nod to the character John "Johnny Sack" Sacramoni from the HBO drama The Sopranos. Both characters are high-ranking members of powerful crime families who are very level-headed, well-spoken, and act as intermediaries between their families and others.

Better Call Saul

In a flashback to 1999, he delivers a tribute, on behalf of Gus, to Don Eladio in his hacienda. Hector, who is also present with Ximenez Lercerda, the Salamanca's driver and smuggler, is embarrassed by how much money Gus is bringing in. In "Lantern", Gus and Bolsa meet with Hector; the latter of the two reiterates that Hector's products must be distributed through Gus' Los Pollos Hermanos trucks. When Hector suffers a heart attack, Bolsa is forced to flee since he must not be seen with him.

Hector Salamanca

Hector Salamanca (played by Mark Margolis) is the elderly Don who was once a brutal Mexican drug kingpin and an associate of cartel boss Don Eladio. However, a stroke has rendered him unable to walk or speak, and he communicates only by ringing a desk bell attached to his wheelchair. Despite this, he is still of sound mind. He is Tuco Salamanca's uncle, having raised him as a son, along with Tuco's twin cousins Leonel and Marco. Though brutal, Hector is very loyal. He spent 17 years in San Quentin State Prison, never once revealing any information to the authorities. He taught his nephews that family is everything and lives by the creed himself. Hector loathes Gustavo Fring, calling him "chicken man" ("hombre gallina" in Spanish, literally "hen man") and a "dirty South American". Likewise, Gus despises Hector for killing Max^[21] and goes out of his way to torment the former kingpin by allowing Hector to live through seeing his younger relatives die, one by one, knowing that Hector's family is everything to him. Hector decides to help Walt kill Gus by requesting a D.E.A. meeting in order to lure Gus to him. Tyrus, who spots Hector leaving the D.E.A. building, suspects Hector of being a D.E.A. informant and alerts Gus. Gus and Tyrus prepare to kill Hector in Hector's nursing home room, and Gus orders Hector to look at him. When a sorrowful-looking Hector finally looks at Gus (something Gus wanted Hector to do all season), Hector's facial expression changes to wrath as he begins repeatedly ringing his bell. Gus realizes that the bell is attached to a bomb under Hector's wheelchair and tries to run, but is caught in the explosion. Hector and Tyrus are instantly killed, while Gus dies a few moments later after leaving the room.^[9]

Better Call Saul

After Mike and Nacho sideline Tuco by provoking him into attacking Mike over a fender bender, Hector approaches Mike and offers him $5,000 to recant his testimony against Tuco. When Mike refuses the initial offer, Hector makes repeated attempts to intimidate Mike into accepting the deal, from having men break into his house to having the Cousins threaten Mike's granddaughter. Mike eventually caves and accepts the deal, but instead of $5,000 he requests (and he's given) $50,000 for recanting his testimony.

Despite complying with Hector's demands, Mike is not content with the threats to Kaylee's life and retaliates by attacking an ice cream truck transporting Hector's drug cash. Hector kills a witness who stumbled upon the heist, and later has the Cousins kill the driver and bury him in the desert. While Hector is killing the driver, Mike makes a second attempt to take him out with a sniper rifle from a nearby ridge, but is unable to do so due to Nacho blocking his sight line and Gus's men planting a note on his car, setting off the car's horn to lure Mike away from the hilltop.

During this time, Hector is in competition with Gus for control of the cross-border drug smuggling trade. The conflict escalates after Mike attacks another of Hector's trucks on Gus's orders, this time planting drugs and causing two of Hector's drivers to get arrested at the border crossing. The police and the DEA shut down Hector's operation. A furious Hector proceeds to take Los Pollos Hermanos hostage and intimidates Gus into taking over transportation of Hector's product, not realizing that this is exactly what Gus intends to do.

After Hector starts planning to take over Nacho's father's business for his own use, Nacho turns on Hector and enacts a plan where he switches out Hector's heart medication with spiked pills. Hector eventually suffers a heart attack while meeting with Gus and Juan Bolsa, but Gus saves him with CPR and he is taken to the hospital. While the ambulance is driving off, Gus gives Nacho a knowing look, suggesting he knows about Nacho's plan.

Tuco Salamanca

Tuco Salamanca (played by Raymond Cruz) is a psychopathic Mexican drug kingpin who becomes Walter and Jesse's meth distributor. He is unpredictable and prone to violent outbursts, but respectful of Walter because of Walter's superior product, intelligence, business style, and guts. He has no respect for Jesse, whom he continually taunts, threatens, and abuses. After Walt and Jesse become inadvertent witnesses when he brutally assaults and kills one of his henchmen, Tuco kidnaps them, planning to flee to Mexico and have Walt cook meth for the cartel.

Tuco takes Walt and Jesse to a remote desert house where his uncle Hector lives. Walter and Jesse try to poison Tuco with ricin, but Hector rings his wheelchair bell to alert Tuco. Tuco takes Jesse outside to execute him. After Walt distracts Tuco by admitting that he tried to poison him, Jesse smashes Tuco's head with a rock, takes his gun and shoots Tuco in the abdomen. Walt and Jesse leave Tuco to bleed out, but after seeing Hank's approaching car and mistaking it for Tuco's cousins arriving to smuggle them into Mexico, they flee and hide behind some desert plants growing on a slight ridge.

Tuco emerges, staggering and wounded, and is caught off guard by Hank, who has been following the LoJack signal to Jesse's car. Tuco pulls a gun from Jesse's car and fires at Hank. The short shoot-out ends when Tuco stops to reload, allowing Hank to reposition and shoot Tuco when he moves to resume fire. Hank hits Tuco in the head, killing him instantly.^[18] Hank survives, but is traumatized and later develops anxiety attacks. His DEA colleagues are shown presenting Tuco's grill (which has been mounted in a paperweight) as a trophy, which he later throws in a river in disgust.^[36]

Better Call Saul

Tuco reappears in Better Call Saul, set several years prior to Breaking Bad. His first appearance comes after two skateboarders pulling off a scam for Jimmy McGill accidentally target Tuco's grandmother, mistaking her for Betsy Kettleman. Tuco and his crew take Jimmy and the skateboarders out into the desert, intent on killing them, but Jimmy is able to talk Tuco down to just breaking one leg on each of the skateboarders to send a message.

In season 2, Tuco's lieutenant, Nacho Varga, becomes wary of Tuco's violent methods and schemes with Mike to temporarily sideline him. As part of the plan, Mike stages a 911 call from a payphone across the street from a restaurant where Tuco does accounting with his dealers. He then drives across the street and deliberately swipes Tuco's car while pulling into the restaurant. Enraged that Mike is blowing him off, Tuco tries to grab his wallet, but Mike fights back. The fight ends with Tuco knocking Mike out with a punch to the head just as the police arrive in response to Mike's earlier call.

Although Tuco is initially charged with Assault with a Deadly weapon because of the gun he was carrying, his uncle Hector bribes Mike to say that the gun was his. Instead, Tuco is only charged (and eventually convicted) of simple Assault, which would have him being released right before the events of Breaking Bad.

In "Off Brand," Tuco is mentioned to have knifed an inmate and wounded a guard in an altercation at Los Lunas, prolonging his sentence for the original assault.

Leonel and Marco Salamanca

Leonel and Marco Salamanca (played by Daniel and Luis Moncada), referred to as the Cousins, are hitmen for a Ciudad Juárez Mexican drug cartel. Their austere, mechanical physicality and virtually non-verbal interaction makes them a fearsome presence and they kill without hesitation or emotion. They are, in fact, revealed to have killed Tortuga by decapitating him with a machete.^[35]

As children, they were raised by Hector Salamanca, who once tested them by stopping a brotherly fight by nearly drowning Marco and forcing Leonel to hit Hector until he released Marco, reinforcing to them that "family is all".^[15] Following the death of their cousin Tuco, Hector summons them to New Mexico to kill Walter. En route to being smuggled into the US, hidden with other immigrants in a space in the bales of hay on the back of a truck, they kill the entire group, including a pregnant woman, and then set the truck on fire when one recognizes them by their skull-tipped boots.^[37]

The Cousins quickly track down Walter to his house and are inside, about to kill him, when Mike informs Gus of their presence and Gus orders them by text message to abort the mission.^[38] Although Gus has given them permission to kill Walter after their partnership ends in three months, Gus is warned that the Cousins will probably ignore such deals. Later, outside Walter's house, Mike finds a drawing of a scythe on the asphalt next to his car door, which he believes the Cousins have drawn to send a message.^[35]

Gus redirects the brothers by telling them it is Hank who killed Tuco, and he gives them special permission to kill a D.E.A. agent on his turf, which is normally prohibited due to the amount of attention drawn by such an action. However, Gus warns Hank one minute before the brothers confront him in a parking lot. Hank backs his car into Leonel and slams him into another car, crushing Leonel's legs. Marco then opens fire on Hank, who manages to escape out the passenger's side of the car. Marco strides across the parking lot towards Hank, shooting and killing a passerby who surprises him, while another woman escapes the same fate when Marco stops to reload. Hank then surprises Marco from behind and shoots him in the chest four times, all four bullets being stopped by Marco's bulletproof vest. Marco replies by shooting Hank twice in the chest. Rather than finish Hank off with a bullet to the head, Marco grabs an axe from his car. In that time, Hank loads Leonel's empty gun with a hollow-point round that Marco had dropped next to him and shoots Marco in the head.^[15][24]

To silence Leonel, Gus distracts the police assigned to the security detail by personally bringing them fried chicken while Mike sneaks into Leonel's room and gives him a lethal injection. Leonel dies, and Mike quietly disposes of the syringe he used, unnoticed by the police officers nearby.

Better Call Saul

The Cousins reappear in Better Call Saul, in their role as enforcers for Hector. They are first shown threatening Mike's granddaughter when Mike refuses to recant his testimony against Tuco. When Mike is waiting to take a shot at Hector from a hilltop with a sniper rifle, he sees the Cousins kill the Salamanca's ice cream truck driver and drug smuggler Ximenez Lecerda, whom Mike Ehrmantraut robbed a few days earlier.

Gaff

Gaff (played by Maurice Compte) is a member of Don Eladio's drug cartel. He is first seen coordinating the hijacking of a Los Pollos Hermanos truck that is transporting drugs and killing the guards inside by pumping it with exhaust gas. Gaff serves as the cartel's representative in a sitdown with Gus, where he rejects Gus's offer of $50 million to cut all ties and informs Gus there will be no negotiation, only an ultimatum to deliver the formula for the blue methamphetamine. Later, Gaff kills one of Gus's men with a sniper rifle at the chicken farm but stops shooting when Gus presents himself as a target. Gaff is present when the cartel is poisoned. He is garroted by Mike, while checking on Don Eladio.^[34]

Gonzo

Gonzo (played by Jesus Payan, Jr.) is Tuco Salamanca's brother-in-law and one of his lieutenants. He dies while moving No Doze's body from under a stack of cars in a junkyard; the stack shifts and catches his arm under it, partially severing it and causing him to bleed to death. When Walter and Jesse learn he is dead, they incorrectly assume that Tuco is killing any witnesses to No Doze's murder. Later, when Tuco finds Gonzo is not returning his calls, he falsely believes Gonzo is working as a police informant.^[39]

No Doze

No Doze (played by Cesar Garcia) is one of the head lieutenants in Tuco's drug organization. Tuco beats him to death for telling Walter and Jesse, "Just remember who you're working for", which Tuco takes as an insult to his intelligence and an encroachment on his authority.^[40]

Tortuga

Tortuga (played by Danny Trejo) is an informant for the D.E.A. in El Paso on the inner workings of the Mexican cartels. Cartel operatives cut off his head and place it atop a tortoise (Tortuga is Spanish for "tortoise") with "HOLA DEA" ("Hello DEA") written across its shell. A hidden bomb in the head then explodes, killing the tortoise and a D.E.A. agent, and severely injuring some of the D.E.A. agents and Mexican policemen on the scene with Hank.^[41] It is later revealed that Tortuga was beheaded by Tuco's cousins Leonel and Marco Salamanca under Juan Bolsa's direct order.^[35]

Ignacio "Nacho" Varga

Nacho (played by Michael Mando) is a lieutenant in the Salamanca family's drug operations in Albuquerque. He is only mentioned in Breaking Bad when Saul Goodman tells the people that kidnapped him and hauled him out to the desert that they must talk to Nacho or "Lala", whom many believe may be Don Eladio Vuente. In Better Call Saul, Nacho appears to be Tuco Salamanca's lieutenant, who is not happy with the way Tuco does his drug business. Nacho also has a straight job working at his father Manuel's auto upholstery business. Nacho also does some drug dealing on the side and away from the Salamancas as well as tries to make more money on other side jobs such as stalking the Kettleman family after learning of this scheme from Jimmy McGill. Eventually, Nacho will work with Mike Ehrmantraut after he intervenes on Daniel "Pryce" Warmauld's behalf after Nacho steals "Pryce"'s baseball cards. Nacho then hires Mike to kill off Tuco, only to have Mike get Tuco to hit him with the Albuquerque Police arriving to arrest Tuco. After Tuco winds up in jail, Nacho takes over his collections from the local drug dealers under the direct supervision of Don Hector Salamanca and Nacho is not happy about that situation, either. When the Salamanca drug supply is cut, Don Hector pressures Nacho to get his father to ship Salamanca's drugs through Manuel's trucks, which causes a rift between Manuel and Nacho, and Nacho then looks to kill Don Hector and seeks out "Pryce", who then contacts Mike, who counsels Nacho on how to do this right and not get caught, but cautions Nacho that there are a lot of people watching Don Hector. Nacho then switches out the pills in Don Hector's medication he takes for his heart and is there when Don Hector collapses at his meeting with Juan Bolsa and Gustavo Fring and then Nacho hands the real medication to Gus Fring.

Independent drug traders

Declan

Declan (played by Louis Ferreira) is a meth dealer who operates in Phoenix, Arizona and was previously a competitor to Gus Fring. Mike attempts to sell him the methylamine, but Walter instead suggests that Declan take over distribution of the blue meth in return for 35% of revenue.^[33][42] Lydia later tries to convince Declan to replace his meth cook, whose product is of unacceptably poor quality, with Todd. When Declan refuses, Lydia signals Todd's uncle's white supremacist gang to massacre Declan and his entire crew.^[14]

Emilio Koyama

Emilio Koyama (played by John Koyama) is Jesse's former partner in the meth business and Krazy 8's cousin. According to Jesse, they met when they were still in elementary school. In the "Pilot" episode, Emilio is arrested during a D.E.A. raid on a house (at which Walter is present during a "ride along" with Hank) in which the D.E.A. is looking for a meth supplier who goes by the street name "Captain Cook". Emilio makes bail and, suspicious that Jesse ratted him out to the police (although it is later revealed Krazy 8 was a D.E.A. informant), forces Jesse to lead him and Krazy 8 to Jesse's new partner. Emilio recognizes Walt from the time of his arrest and suggests killing both Walt and Jesse. Walt convinces them to spare their lives if he teaches them his meth formula. While the three are in the RV in the desert, Walt deliberately causes a chemical explosion and flees, trapping Emilio and Krazy 8 inside the RV with deadly phosphine gas. Emilio dies and Jesse subsequently disposes of his body by dissolving it, albeit disastrously in hydrofluoric acid in Jesse's bathtub.^[43][44]

Krazy-8 Molina

Domingo Gallardo "Krazy-8" Molina (played by Maximino Arciniega) is a meth distributor associated with his cousin Emilio and Jesse Pinkman. Unbeknown to Walt and Jesse, Krazy-8 is a D.E.A. informant, who acquired the customers of the dealers he ratted out. Krazy-8 becomes suspicious of Jesse when Jesse attempts to sell him a new product after Emilio's arrest, and Krazy-8 forces Jesse to take him to Jesse's new partner. Krazy-8 suspects Walt is involved with law enforcement and appears intent on killing him until Walt offers to teach Krazy-8 his drug formula. While mixing chemicals, Walt creates a small explosion that produces phosphine gas and appears to kill both Emilio and Krazy-8. Emilio dies, but Krazy-8 regains consciousness, prompting Jesse and Walt to imprison him in Jesse's basement for several days as Walt works up the courage to kill him.^[43][44] Walt begins to bond with Krazy-8, who has regained his health, feeding him and sharing beers, and attempts to rationalize freeing him, but strangles him with a bicycle lock upon realizing that Krazy-8 plans to attack him with a concealed piece of a broken crockery. Later in the episode, it is implied that Walter disposed of Krazy-8's body with hydrofluoric acid in the same manner as Emilio's.^[45] From that point on, throughout the series, Walt makes sandwiches without bread crusts, adopting Krazy-8's manner of eating sandwiches.^[37]

The fourth-season character Maximino Arciniega shares his name with the actor who portrayed Krazy-8.

Arciniega reprised the role of Krazy-8 as a recurring character in Better Call Saul. He is first shown in "Gloves Off," where he's shown handing a cash payment to Tuco at a Mexican restaurant prior to Mike and Nacho setting Tuco up to get sent to jail. He works for his family business, Tampico Furniture in Albuquerque as a straight job and deals the drugs he gets from the Salamanca's Albuquerque operation. Later, in "Off Brand," he is revealed to be having issues paying Hector in a timely fashion, causing Hector to order a reluctant Nacho to give Krazy-8 a beating.

Jack Welker

Jack Welker (played by Michael Bowen) is Todd's uncle and leader of a white supremacist gang. Walter pays Jack and his crew to kill Mike's guys in jail, who were involved in Gus's operation and may talk because the D.E.A. confiscated their hazard pay. They successfully kill nine of Mike's guys and their lawyer Dan Wachsberger in three separate prisons, within a two-minute timeframe.^[29] Jack heads his crew's massacre of Declan's crew, at Lydia's behest, after Declan refuses Lydia's request to replace Declan's shoddy meth cook (whose substandard product is jeopardizing the Czech Republic deal) with Todd.^[14]

Jack and his crew are later hired by Walter to kill Jesse in exchange for teaching Todd to cook meth one more time. When Walter is lured to the money's location by Jesse, he calls Jack's crew for help, but calls it off when he sees Hank and Gomez are accompanying him. Nonetheless, Jack and his crew arrive and engage in a shootout with Hank and Gomez.^[12] Following the shootout, Jack executes Hank and abducts Jesse as an enslaved meth cook. He then orders the rest of the gang to dig up Walter's barrels of money (containing approximately 80 million dollars), leaving with all but one of the barrels (about 11 million dollars), which he states is for Walter.^[13]

Jack meets his end when Walter arrives at his hideout and remotely activates an M60 machine gun, which injures Walt and kills Jack's henchmen. Todd manages to duck the bullets, but is promptly strangled by an enraged Jesse. Jack attempts to leverage Walter's remaining money, but Walter executes him with his own gun, in the same manner that Jack executed Hank.

Jack's gang includes his second-in-command Kenny (Kevin Rankin), as well as Frankie (Patrick Sane), Lester (Tait Fletcher), and Matt (Matthew T. Metzler).

Jesse's friends and family

Andrea Cantillo

Andrea Cantillo (played by Emily Rios) is a love interest of Jesse Pinkman's. She is a recovering meth addict and single mother to a young son named Brock (played by Ian Posada). Jesse meets her at a drug addicts' support group meeting and initially tries to get her to relapse so she will become a customer of his, but he reverses course when he learns she has a young son to care for. He engages in a romantic relationship with her, but ends it when he discovers that the 11-year-old boy who killed his friend "Combo" is her younger brother Tomas Cantillo (played by Angelo Martinez). After the break-up, she confronts Jesse at his home about a large sum of money he had left for her at her home. He tells her the money is for her to move out of her bad neighborhood and to help raise her son. Saul continues to deliver money to her, in her new home, on Jesse's behalf. In Season 4, she and Jesse reunite. When Brock is poisoned, Jesse rushes to the hospital and stays there until the doctors notify him that Brock will survive. In Season 5, Walt manipulates Jesse into leaving her, by advising Jesse that he would have to be honest with her about all the crimes he has committed. While Jesse does send them off again, he continues providing for them financially. Later in the season, Andrea is again contacted by Walt in a failed attempt to lure Jesse out of DEA protection. Walter assigns Jack to watch over the house in case Jesse makes an appearance. Subsequently, Jack uses her as leverage against Jesse, who is kept prisoner by him and his team to cook meth for them. After Jesse attempts to escape from Jack's gang, Todd shoots and kills Andrea while Jesse is forced to watch. Jesse is threatened with Brock's death if he attempts to escape again.

Brock Cantillo

Brock Cantillo (played by Ian Posada) is Andrea's eight-year-old son. Andrea is a recovering meth addict and single mother. Jesse meets her at a drug addicts' twelve-step program meeting and initially tries to get her to relapse, so she will become his customer, but he reverses course when he meets Brock and realizes she has a young son to care for. Jesse engages in a romantic relationship with Andrea, but ends it when he discovers the 11-year-old boy who killed his friend "Combo" is her younger brother Tomas Cantillo (played by Angelo Martinez); however, Jesse continues to offer financial support to Andrea and Brock.

In Season 4, Andrea and Jesse reunite. When Brock is poisoned, Jesse rushes to the hospital and stays there until the doctors notify him that Brock will survive. Jesse fears Brock was poisoned by a ricin cigarette Jesse was carrying. Walt tries to convince Jesse that Gus poisoned Brock. This manipulation by Walt renews Jesse's loyalty to him rather than to Gus. In the final season Jesse changes his mind about leaving town and assuming a new identity when he realizes Walt poisoned Brock. Jesse rushes to Walt's house and attempts to burn it down, but is intercepted by Hank.

Subsequently, Brock and Andrea are used as leverage against Jesse, who is kept prisoner by Todd and Jack's gang to cook meth for them. After Jesse attempts to escape, Todd shoots and kills Andrea, and forces Jesse to watch. Jesse is threatened with Brock's death if he attempts to escape again.

Jane Margolis

Jane Margolis (played by Krysten Ritter) is Jesse's neighbor, landlady, and lover. She is a prolific drafter, a skill that she has used to become a tattoo artist despite not having any tattoos. She is also a recovering drug addict. She discovers that Jesse also has a history of drawing, and each is intrigued by the other. Jane carries an aloof air but she and Jesse quickly become a couple. She relapses into drug addiction and introduces Jesse to heroin. She later phones Walt and threatens to expose him if he refuses to give Jesse his share of money from a major methamphetamine deal with Gus Fring, a deal that Jesse had nearly ruined by his drug use. Her actions work. After Walt drops off Jesse's cut of nearly a half million dollars to his duplex apartment, she and Jesse discuss running away together to New Zealand to start new lives. They then enter Jesse's bedroom and see the heroin, but instead of throwing it away as they had promised themselves earlier, they get high and fall asleep. That night Walt returns to the apartment and finds the drugged-out couple unconscious in bed. In the process of trying to wake Jesse from his stupor, Walt accidentally turns Jane on her back. Still asleep, she soon begins to vomit, and Walt silently stands at the bedside watching her choke and then die from asphyxiation. Although Walt did not deliberately create the circumstances of Jane's demise, he did choose to do nothing to prevent her death once he saw her choking. Series creator Vince Gilligan later explained Walt's motive for allowing Jane to die. In 2013, during a panel discussion about Breaking Bad in New York City for the Film Society of Lincoln Center, he stated that Walt was afraid that Jane's bad influence would lead Jesse to an early death from a heroin overdose.^[46]

Jane's death manifests significant repercussions throughout Season 3, and is largely responsible for Jesse's downward spiral throughout the first half of the season, as well as her father Donald's deep depression that affects him to the point that he fails in his duties as an air-traffic controller, leading to a mid-air collision between a 737 and a King Air 350 ("ABQ"). Walt also expresses guilt over his inaction towards Jane to Jesse in the episode "Fly", while under the influence of sleeping pills, and he later questions the statistical improbability of both meeting her and talking to her father on the same night despite having met neither beforehand. Walt finally reveals his role in Jane's death to Jesse in the series' ante-penultimate episode, "Ozymandias". This left him more visibly betrayed by Walt for his lack of intervention that led to her death as Jack and his men take Jesse away.

Brandon "Badger" Mayhew

Brandon "Badger" Mayhew (played by Matt L. Jones) is Jesse's friend. Despite being on probation, Badger still uses drugs. He had a job as a mascot for a bank, advertising on the street. During Season 1, Badger leaves the job to briefly team up with Jesse in order to cook crystal meth. However, disagreements between the two soon occur, and they bitterly part ways. In Season 2, Badger and Jesse reconcile, and he helps clear the meth lab from Jesse's basement and assists in hiding Jesse's RV to avert police suspicion. Walt and Jesse later employ Badger to sell their product, but he is soon arrested, causing complications. Once released, Badger flees New Mexico to lie low in California for a while. After Badger returns to New Mexico, Jesse takes advantage of him by easily persuading him to start selling for them again. Later, Badger appears at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting with Skinny Pete, informing a group of recovering drug addicts that "Blue Sky" (Walt and Jesse's product) is back in town with the intention of finding new buyers. Soon, he and Skinny Pete begin to find the meetings helpful and continue to attend regularly. Badger helps Jesse several more times over the series, and is in attendance at Jesse's house party, which lasted several days. He is also the lead singer for a band with Jesse called Twaughthammer. Badger is a science fiction fan and discusses an idea for a Star Trek script at length in the episode "Blood Money". He and Skinny Pete help Walt threaten the Schwartzes in the series finale.

Combo Ortega

Christian "Combo" Ortega (played by Rodney Rush) is Jesse's friend and a dealer of Jesse's methamphetamine. He's also revealed to have been the one who originally owned the RV that Walt and Jesse cooked meth in, which Combo had sold to Jesse for $1,400 without his family's knowledge, which provides a big clue for Hank when tracking down "Heisenberg".

Combo is later killed in "Mandala", when a rival drug group corners him while he is dealing methamphetamine on "foreign turf". Combo calls his friend Skinny Pete to report two men are "mad eyeballing" him. As he hangs up the phone, a kid on a bicycle (later revealed to be Tomas Cantillo, part of the gang) shoots him several times, killing him on the street. Combo's death drives Jesse to spiral into drug addiction.

Skinny Pete

Skinny Pete (played by Charles Baker) is Jesse's friend. He served time in prison with Tuco and introduces him to Jesse. Jesse recruits Skinny Pete to deal meth, although Pete is on probation. When Pete is mugged by two addicts, Jesse is forced to get the money and product back. After Badger is arrested and Combo is killed, Pete quits dealing for Jesse, fearing being sent back to prison and for his own safety. He decides to sell meth for Jesse again, albeit on a smaller scale. He attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings with Badger. After following the program together and staying clean, they relapse when Jesse tempts them with meth. After a few days of heavy meth use they leave Jesse's house. In the Season 5 episode "Hazard Pay", Skinny Pete is shown to be a talented pianist as he plays a small section of C.P.E. Bach's Solfeggietto at a music store.^[47] He is also seen in the mid-season premiere "Blood Money", hanging out at Jesse's house and listening to Badger's Star Trek script.

Skinny Pete is seen briefly in the series finale, having been hired by Walt (along with Badger) to use laser pointers to imitate sniper rifles when Walt threatens Gretchen and Elliot should they decide to not take his money and give it to his children. The two are also the ones who reveal that Jesse is still alive, something Walt didn't know.

Adam & Mrs. Pinkman

Adam Pinkman (played by Michael Bofshever) and Mrs. Pinkman (played by Tess Harper) are Jesse Pinkman's parents. Due to Jesse's drug abuse, they have a strained relationship with their son, culminating when they kick him out of his late aunt's house, where Jesse had been living alone after serving as his aunt's caretaker and friend. Mr. & Mrs. Pinkman renovate the home, preparing it for sale. Meanwhile, Jesse works with Saul Goodman to reacquire the home. Representing Jesse (who does not attend the meeting), Saul presents an offer significantly under market value. Offended, the Pinkmans begin to leave the negotiating table. As they are leaving, Saul mentions that the home used to host a meth lab, which was not revealed in the disclosure. Realising their legal obligation, and that the sale price will plummet, Mr. & Mrs. Pinkman reluctantly agree to a deal.

On the closing date, Jesse visits his parents at the newly renovated home. When Jesse heads to the front door, Mrs. Pinkman tells Jesse that the house has been sold, and that he needs to leave, as the new owners will be stopping by shortly. When Jesse doesn't stop, a confused Mrs. Pinkman asks where he is going. Jesse states, "Inside. I bought the place." It is only at this point that Jesse's parents realize Saul was representing Jesse at the negotiation.

Jake Pinkman

Jake Pinkman (played by Ben Petry) is Jesse's younger, over-achieving brother. Jesse accepts the blame for a joint belonging to Jake, which results in Jesse being thrown out of his parents' house. After apologizing to his brother, Jake asks for his joint back; Jesse responds by crushing it on the sidewalk and informing his brother that the marijuana is of poor quality anyway.

Wendy

Wendy (portrayed by Julia Minesci) is a meth-addicted street prostitute, who associates with Jesse Pinkman and is featured in the online promotional material as one of Saul Goodman's clients (as "Wendy S."). She helps Jesse maintain an alibi and withstands an intense interrogation from Hank Schrader on Jesse's behalf. Recognizing her loyalty to him, Jesse tries to convince her to help him kill two drug dealers who convinced an 11-year-old boy to murder Combo on Gus Fring's orders. She declines at first, fearing the repercussions, revealing that she has a son whom she needs to protect, but Jesse persuades her to help by drawing a comparison between the murdered boy and her own son. At the last moment, she is spared the ordeal by Mike, who intervenes to take Jesse to a meeting with the drug dealers.

Associates of Saul Goodman's

Huell Babineaux

Huell Babineaux (played by Lavell Crawford) is Saul Goodman's bodyguard, who also executes various intimidation and other errands. Hired more for his size and pick pocketing skills than his intelligence, he has a condition approximating narcolepsy (e.g., he falls asleep at odd times, such as when standing up or while on security detail), and has digestive problems that keep him from being as stoic as Saul would like.^[48] Together with Kuby, he was sent to intimidate Ted Beneke into paying his IRS debts with the money Skyler gave Ted. Later seen in the Season 5 premiere, it is made known that Huell played a huge role in the poisoning of Brock Cantillo when he pick pocketed Jesse's ricin cigarette. In "Buried", Saul sends Huell and Kuby to collect Walt's money from a storage locker in which he and Kuby proceed to lie down and relax on Walt's millions, and in "Confessions", Saul tasks Huell with pick pocketing Jesse's marijuana.

Hank and Gomez later interrogate Huell to learn where Walt hid his money, telling him falsely that Walt intends to kill him in order to "tie up loose ends" and ensure that no one can trace his drug dealing past. They use a staged photo of a dead Jesse who's said to have been shot in the head to coax Huell into revealing that he and Kuby packed Walt's money into seven barrels, then loaded the barrels into a hired van. Huell also reveals that they washed the van afterwards because of all the dirt on it, implying that Walt's money was buried somewhere in the desert. Hank and Gomez tell Huell to sit and wait until they come back for him, but as they never return, his fate remains unknown.

Huell reappears in Better Call Saul, where Jimmy hires him through a shady veterinarian to plant a cell phone battery in Chuck's pocket, as part of Jimmy's defense strategy to discredit Chuck's mental health.

Ed

Ed (played by Robert Forster) is an associate of Saul Goodman's who specializes in protecting Saul's clients by giving them new identities and new places to live. In "Granite State", he takes Walter White to New Hampshire, hiding him away in a cabin in a rural area. Walt depends on him for several months for supplies and, at times, companionship. Ed also helps Saul escape to Omaha, Nebraska.^[49]

Francesca Liddy

Francesca Liddy (played by Tina Parker) is Saul Goodman's outspoken receptionist and secretary. Originally hired at the Wexler-McGill law firm, she continued to work for Jimmy when he re-branded himself as Saul.

Patrick Kuby

Patrick Kuby (played by Bill Burr) is one of Saul Goodman's hired hands. He assists in facilitating the car wash sale to the Whites by impersonating an environmental inspector and later intimidates Ted Beneke with Huell's help. He also aids Walt, Jesse, and Mike in their train robbery and helps Huell collect Walt's money from storage. Before moving to Albuquerque, Kuby was involved in organized crime in Boston (Burr's hometown as well).^[50]

Other characters

Hugo Archuleta

Hugo Archuleta (played by Pierre Barrera) is a former custodian at JP Wynne High School. When Walt had to leave class to vomit (a consequence of his chemotherapy), Hugo cleaned up after him. After the DEA connects missing school equipment to methamphetamine production, Hugo is one of the initial suspects because of the access his custodial duties afford him. Hugo is soon placed under arrest for possession of marijuana and fired, and after a search of his home, more marijuana is found but no methamphetamine or items that could connect him with the meth investigation.

Ted Beneke

Ted Beneke (played by Christopher Cousins) is the president and owner of Beneke Fabricators. He gives Skyler her old job back as an accountant during the second season. Ted has always been attracted to Skyler but doesn't make any advances since her return. Ted commits tax fraud to keep the company alive and save everyone's jobs. He admits this when Skyler finds out while working on the company's books. Skyler sleeps with Ted in season three, to exact revenge against Walt, but she ignores Ted's offer for her to leave some of her things at his house. When Walt finds out about their affair, he goes to angrily confront Ted, who hides in his office. This escalates into a scene where Walt is escorted out by security and the company staff is aware of Skyler's relationship with Ted. Skyler later gets angry at Ted when he shows up at her house to ask about their relationship, and she later severs both her personal and professional ties with him.

In season 4, Ted meets with Skyler, who is now running a car wash, and notifies her of the IRS' criminal investigation into his company's tax fraud. Since Skyler is heavily linked to Ted's tax fraud, and her entire family would be put under surveillance if the investigation were to proceed, she intervenes by pretending to be a ditzy accountant at Ted's meeting with the IRS. While her show of incompetence (allegedly using Quicken to handle the company's accounting and ignoring electronic transactions) forestalls a full investigation, provided he pays his back taxes and penalties, she must still deal with his poor financial standing and ensure he complies with the IRS' stipulation. Skyler arranges for Ted to receive money to pay off his IRS obligations by having Saul manufacture a dead relative in Luxembourg who leaves Ted a sizable inheritance. However, a follow up by Saul reveals that Ted has leased a new Mercedes and is using the funds to reopen his business. When Skyler urges Ted to pay the IRS first, he refuses and tells her to leave. Seeing no alternative, Skyler is forced to reveal it is she who gave Ted the money. Ted still refuses to pay the IRS, as he will lose his home and social status, regardless. Skyler perceives his motive to be blackmail; she thinks he expects her to foot not only his tax bill but his other obligations as well. With no other options, Skyler has Saul Goodman send two of his men—Huell and Kuby—to force Beneke to write the check. They succeed, but Beneke then panics and attempts to flee. In the process, he trips on a loose rug and crashes headfirst into a counter.

At the start of the fifth season, it is revealed that Beneke did not die from the fall. However, he has been gravely injured. When Skyler visits him in the hospital, an intimidated Ted guarantees his silence.

Clovis

Clovis (played by Tom Kiesche) is Badger's cousin who operates a vehicle towing and repair service. When Jesse's RV quits running, Clovis charges him an exorbitant amount to tow and store the vehicle, due to its cargo. Clovis repairs the RV and catches Jesse sleeping in it after Jesse has scaled the fence (and destroyed a portable toilet in the process) after being evicted from his home. Clovis orders Jesse to pay for the repairs and property damage and then threatens to sell off Jesse's inventory to cover the repairs, when Jesse claims he cannot furnish immediate payment. Jesse again breaks into the gated lot and drives through the gate without paying for the repairs. He later returns to pay Clovis for the repairs and damages and arranges to store the RV inside Clovis' gated lot for $500 per week. Clovis later sells Jesse a used red Toyota Tercel hatchback. Jesse decides to retrieve the RV, but Walter has warned Clovis that the D.E.A. is looking for it, forcing Clovis to bring it to a junkyard to be destroyed.

Louis Corbett

Louis Corbett (played by Kyle Swimmer and Caleb Landry Jones) is Walt Jr.'s best friend. They both attend JP Wynne High School. He frequently gives Walt Jr. rides to school and helps him set up a PayPal account for donations to Walt Jr.'s website.

Dr. Delcavoli

Dr. Delcavoli (played by David House) is Walt's physician during the first two seasons. He is supposed to be one of the top 10 oncologists in the United States.

Group Leader

The Group Leader (played by Jere Burns) is a counselor who leads group therapy sessions at Narcotics Anonymous. His real name is not revealed. He takes a calm, non-judgmental approach to leading discussions and emphasizes that those attending his sessions are there not to improve themselves, but to learn self-acceptance. During an outdoor session at a campfire, he reveals to Jesse and other recovering addicts that in July 1992, while drunk on vodka and high on cocaine, he killed his six-year-old daughter by accidentally hitting her with his car. Jesse, still reeling from Jane's death, asks the Group Leader how can he not hate himself for what happened. The Group Leader responds that self-hatred and guilt stand in the way of achieving true change. The Group Leader is seen again in Season 4, when Jesse returns to a session distraught about killing Gale. During the session, Jesse nearly breaks down and yells at the Group Leader, claiming that his philosophy about "accepting yourself" for making mistakes is wrong and people should be judged for the things they have done. Jesse then asks the Group Leader if he just accepts himself for killing his daughter and admits to the whole group that the only reason he comes to these meetings in the first place is to sell meth to them. He asks the Group Leader if he's okay with that, to which the group leader responds, "No". Jesse retorts, "About time", and leaves the session, never to return.

Lawson

Lawson (played by Jim Beaver) is Walt's gun dealer. He sold Walt a thirty eight snub handgun (a Ruger LCR) with the serial number filed off.^[51] Walt also purchases an M60 machine gun from Lawson in the restroom of a Denny's. After the purchase he gives Walt the keys to a car where the M60 is in the trunk.^[10] The character reappears in the spin-off series Better Call Saul and sells Mike Ehrmantraut a sniper rifle and ammunition by which Mike will try and assassinate Don Hector Salamanca at a remote desert location.

Donald Margolis

Donald Margolis (played by John de Lancie) is Jane's father. He owns the building his daughter managed for him. He sent Jane to rehab once before and goes with her to recovery meetings. Donald becomes furious when he discovers that his daughter is back on heroin, suspecting Jesse is at fault. He nearly calls the police but relents when Jane promises to go back into rehab. Depressed, he goes to a bar and strikes up a conversation with a stranger (Walter) about the heartache of raising children. His words inspire Walter to help Jesse get clean from heroin. Walt returns to Jesse's apartment and witnesses Jane choking to death on her vomit while intoxicated on heroin. Heartbroken, Donald is present when the paramedics remove Jane's body and hardly reacts to Jesse's presence. A month later, he returns to work as an Air Traffic Controller while still distraught and causes a mid-air collision of two airplanes. It is not clear if the collision was done on purpose or not. The collision kills 167 people and provides one of the recurring images in the Season 2 flash-forwards, a burned pink teddy bear floating in Walter's pool. Shortly after the incident, Walt hears via his in-car radio that Margolis is rushed to hospital after a self-inflicted gunshot wound; however, Walt turns the radio off before Margolis' fate is revealed.

Carmen Molina

Carmen Molina (played by Carmen Serano) is the assistant principal at JP Wynne High School, where Walt teaches and Walt Jr. attends. In Season 3, Walter makes an awkward pass at her, resulting in Walt's being placed on an indefinite sabbatical.^[52] In Season 5 it is revealed she has been promoted to principal.^[53]

Old Joe

Old Joe (played by Larry Hankin) is the owner of a local junkyard who appears to be in his late 60's. He aids Walt and Jesse on several occasions by using his car crusher in addition to sharing his well-grounded knowledge of the legal limits on police procedure and evidence gathering. He is also a capable engineer: he provides the magnet system used to wipe the evidence from Gus' laptop and constructs the portable laboratory equipment used in the Vamonos Pest undercover meth lab operation. Joe's reasons for assisting Walt and Jesse in the commission of their crimes, at potential risk to himself, are never made clear; possibly, he is motivated by no more than a desire for relief from the boredom of managing a junkyard on a daily basis.

Pamela

Pamela (played by Julie Dretzin) is a divorce attorney hired by Skyler in the third season. Skyler confides in Pamela that Walter is a drug dealer, and Pamela urges her to contact the police.

Gretchen and Elliott Schwartz

Gretchen Schwartz (played by Jessica Hecht) is Walt's former college chemistry assistant and now co-owner of Gray Matter, a successful pharmaceutical company. A former romantic interest of Walt's, she is married to Walt's former partner and friend, Elliott Schwartz (played by Adam Godley), who created Gray Matter alongside Walt. Gretchen discovers that Walter lied to his family, having told them she and Elliott are paying for his treatment, and is horrified when Walt angrily and bitterly blames her and Elliott for ruining his life. Although she claims that Walt sees it wrong, what actually transpired remains unknown except that Walt left her and his research behind suddenly and without explanation after Gretchen took him to her parents' home for the weekend. Out of pity for Walt, Gretchen later covers for him and states that she did help Walt out on the condition that she would deny it if asked by Skyler. She also adds that the two will no longer be able to continue to "fund" Walt's treatment. When told this, Walt spins another lie in which he claims that he met with Gretchen and learned that she and Elliott have gone broke due to the recession, and hence cut off their financial help. Later, after Skyler's suspicions of Walt's having an affair with Gretchen are renewed, Skyler makes contact with Gretchen, who tells her they never paid for any of Walt's medical bills.

She is seen with Elliott in the penultimate episode "Granite State," on Charlie Rose. Walt catches the interview at a secluded bar in New Hampshire, after calling the DEA to turn himself in. Charlie questions them about their association with Walt. Elliott insists that Walt had nothing to do with the development of Gray Matter, aside from the name. Gretchen adds that the Walter White she knew, not "Heisenberg," is gone. Walt, quietly furious while watching the interview, leaves the bar before the police arrive.

In the series' last episode "Felina," Walt forces Gretchen and Elliott to give the remainder of his money to Walt, Jr. as a donation from their foundation, using Badger and Skinny Pete to hold laser pointers at them from outside (as if they were snipers) while he explains that two hitmen will kill them if they do not give the money to his son.

Drew Sharp

Drew Sharp (played by Samuel Webb) is an inquisitive teen growing up in McKinley County in northwestern New Mexico who appears at the wrong place at the wrong time. In the opening scenes, we find Drew on his motorcycle riding around the desert scrub and picking up a tarantula he puts into a jar. He hears a train coming down the tracks and sets off to see it, only to encounter Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and Todd Alquist as they are celebrating their success in pilfering the methylamine from the tanker car on the train Kuby helped them stop. Walt, Jesse, and Todd turn off the engine to their pump and discover Drew and his motorcycle on the other side of the trestle. They wave hello to Drew, but Todd then pulls out his pistol and kills Drew.^[54]

Drew's body and motorcycle are hauled back to Vamonos Pest in Albuquerque so that Walter, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Jesse can decide how to dispose of them. Todd keeps the tarantula in the jar. Later on in that episode, KOB Reporter Antoinette Antonio reports on the disappearance of Drew Sharp and how the search for Drew has now expanded beyond McKinley County.^[42] The killing of Drew is a critical turning point for Jesse, who ultimately severs his ties with Walt's operation due to his horror and grief at the young boy's death. After Walter belatedly leaves Jesse his share of the buyout money, Jesse seeks Saul Goodman's help to send half of the $5 million to Drew's family, but is rebuffed.^[55]

Spooge

Spooge (played by David Ury) is a drug addict who steals meth from Skinny Pete at knifepoint.^[36] Jesse later accosts Spooge in the latter's home as Jesse attempts to retrieve the stolen drugs and/or cash payment. Spooge attempts to repay Jesse by breaking open an ATM he has stolen from a convenience store. While attempting to drill into the machine from the bottom, he begins verbally abusing his girlfriend (played by Dale Dickey), who tips the ATM, crushing Spooge's head and killing him instantly. Jesse's associates and rivals attribute Spooge's death to Jesse for a short period, until the woman confesses to the murder. Spooge had a son, whose complete neglect caused Jesse to call 911 and leave the phone line open to allow police to trace the call.^[56]

Holly White

Holly White (played by Elanor Anne Wenrich) is Skyler and Walt's infant daughter and Walt Jr.'s younger sister. While pregnant with Holly, Skyler smokes and Walt later finds out. Walt is not present for his daughter's birth because he is preoccupied with drug-related business, and he blames Jesse for making him miss the birth. Ted Beneke, Skyler's boss, takes Skyler to the hospital when she goes into labor. Skyler brings the baby on her trip to the Four Corners Monument, where Skyler tosses a coin while contemplating leaving Walt. Holly is seen learning to walk in Season 5. Holly and her brother spend three months in the home of their Aunt Marie and Uncle Hank while their parents work to determine the state of their marriage. After her Uncle Hank's unexpected death, which causes a nasty fight between Walter and Skyler, Walter kidnaps Holly to "punish" Skyler for attempting to stab him and leaves her at a fire station. She is later returned safely to Skyler. Holly's last appearance occurs in "Felina" where Walter, via a request that is granted by Skyler, holds and embraces her for a moment before he leaves.

Bogdan Wolynetz

Bogdan Wolynetz (played by Marius Stan) is the owner and proprietor of the car wash at which Walt is employed at the beginning of the series. He is abrasive and rude to Walter, who finds this job degrading and tedious. After Walt is diagnosed with lung cancer in the pilot episode, he angrily lashes out at Bogdan and quits.

Bogdan does not reappear until the fourth season, when Walt and Skyler are trying to purchase the car wash in order to launder Walt's drug money. When Skyler is trying to negotiate the purchase, Bogdan brings up Walt's angry outburst and states that, if Walt wants to purchase the establishment it will cost him $20 million. When Saul suggests that Walt and Skyler could accuse Bogdan of harboring Islamist terrorists in order to force him to sell the car wash, Walt exasperatedly reveals that Bogdan is, in fact, Romanian. Eventually, Walt and Skyler are able to purchase it for $800,000 after Skyler hires Kuby to perform a fake environmental audit on the car wash.

When Bogdan hands the keys to the building over to Walter, he taunts Walter by implying that he needs his "woman" to do things for him. Walter, having been riled up by Bogdan, refuses to let him leave with his first American business dollar which had been framed and mounted. Subsequently, Walter spends that dollar in the vending machine to buy a can of soda.

References