Why Did Don Harvey Leave Role of Jeff the Cab Driver?

Better Call Saul followers have been questioning what would occur to Gene Takovic (Bob Odenkirk), Saul Goodman’s post-Breaking Bad persona, after he was discovered by cab driver Jeff again in Season 4.

Well, Episode 10 of the present’s closing season has revealed precisely how Saul determined to take care of his drawback in probably the most Saul-like method he may: With one final con.

Viewers can have seen, although, that the actor taking part in the character has modified, it is now not Don Harvey, however Pat Healy, who portrays Jeff.

‘Better Call Saul’: Why Did Don Harvey Leave Role of Jeff the Cab Driver?

Harvey took on the position of Jeff in two episodes of the Breaking Bad prequel, in Season 4’s “Smoke” and Season 5’s “Magic Man.”

In the Season 4 episode, Jeff drove Gene from the hospital and clearly acknowledged the previous lawyer as a result of he stared at him profusely, and even did not drive away when he let Gene out of the automotive.

Jeff returned in Season 5, when he got here throughout Gene within the mall the place he works as a supervisor of a Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska, and the cab driver revealed he shortly realized that Gene was truly none apart from Saul Goodman as a result of he’d seen his adverts when he lived in Albuquerque.

Their tense trade appeared to spell doom for the previous lawyer as Jeff all however compelled him to confess that he was actually Saul Goodman by having him say his well-known catchphrase: Better name Saul.

At first, Saul reacted by requesting a brand new id from Ed Galbraith (Robert Forster), however then he modified his thoughts and determined to do issues his personal method.

This, it turned out, meant getting Jeff and his brother concerned in a scheme to steal hundreds of {dollars}’ price of clothes from the shopping center the place he works in Season 6.

The con labored because of Saul’s tactical planning, and afterwards he informed Jeff and his brother that in the event that they ever revealed his id and despatched him down then they’d go down too as a result of the position they performed within the con would end in a jail sentence of a minimum of 30 years.

Healy changed Harvey as Jeff in Better Call Saul due to scheduling conflicts that the latter had, Entertainment Weekly reported in June.

Harvey had contractual obligations with HBO present We Own This City, by which he performed BPD officer John Sieracki, that means he was unable to movie Better Call Saul.

Instead of putting off the character totally, it was determined that Harvey would get replaced by Healy, and the storyline appeared to play out because it was meant to.

Thomas Schnauz, one of many present’s writers, confirmed in a response to a fan’s query on Twitter that Harvey’s character needed to be recast due to scheduling conflicts the actor had.

He wrote: “As you may have noticed, for the 1st time in the BB/BCS Universe, we had to recast a role.

“Our authentic Jeff/Cab Driver, the nice Don Harvey, was below contract with one other present & sadly unable to return. Luckily, the improbable [Pat Healy] was obtainable & is AWESOME as Jeff.”

As you may have noticed, for the 1st time in the BB/BCS Universe, we had to recast a role. Our original Jeff/Cab Driver, the great Don Harvey, was under contract with another show & sadly unable to return. Luckily, the fantastic @Pat_Healy was available & is AWESOME as Jeff. https://t.co/fulEEbxoKi

— Thomas Schnauz (@TomSchnauz) July 26, 2022

Given Saul/Gene threatened Jeff and informed the cab driver and his brother to by no means discuss to him once more, it looks like this could be the final that Better Call Saul viewers see of the character.

Newsweek contacted Don Harvey’s representatives for additional remark.

Better Call Saul airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC, and episodes are additionally obtainable to stream on AMC+.

Update 07/27/22 05:45 a.m. ET: The article was up to date to incorporate author Thomas Schnauz’s tweet concerning the recasting of Jeff the Cab Driver in Better Call Saul.