Mike Ehrmantraut

Michael Ehrmantraut is a fictional character in the television series Breaking Bad and its spinoff prequel Better Call Saul, portrayed by Jonathan Banks. Mike is a former Philadelphia police officer and United States Marine Corps veteran who works for Gus Fring—and, on occasion, Saul Goodman—as a private investigator, head of security, cleaner, and hitman. While an officer in Philadelphia, he engaged in corrupt activities that indirectly led to the death of his son Matt, leading Mike to move to Albuquerque to watch over and financially support his daughter-in-law Stacey and granddaughter Kaylee through jobs in the criminal underworld. Mike as a character has been praised by critics and Banks' performance has received several acting awards and nominations. Creation The writers of Breaking Bad created the character of Mike Ehrmantraut as a substitute for Saul Goodman, when actor Bob Odenkirk was unavailable for the second season finale "ABQ" because of a commitment to appear in How I Met Your Mother. They cast Jonathan Banks because they admired his work in the 1980s police drama Wiseguy. Banks himself thought he would come on and do the role for "ABQ", but had been impressed by working alongside Aaron Paul in that scene, and with the overall direction that Vince Gilligan had provided for the episode. Banks considered his character close to that of Max von Sydow's Joubert from Three Days of the Condor, an assassin that painted figurines on the side. Following Mike's death in the fifth season episode "Say My Name", Banks said this did not surprise him because he always believed the character would die at some point. Mike continued to appear in Better Call Saul and appears during a flashback scene in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. In 2019, he became the first character to appear in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and El Camino and is one of only five characters to have appeared in all three, the other four being Ed Galbraith, Austin Ramey, Walter White, and Jesse Pinkman.