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One of the great gifts ofBetter Call Saulsfifth seasonhas been the opportunity to get to know Lalo Salamanca.
In Mondays season finale,Saulviewers learned how far a provoked Lalo can and will go.
Dalton also will appear inAmalgama, directed by Carlos Cuaron, this year.
OnBreaking Bad, Saul Goodman mentions the name Lalo in a moment of utter distress in the desert.
Thats all viewers knew of him until last season onBetter Call Saul.
I knew I was in good hands.
Whatever those guys are doing, sign me up for it.
It could be just one episode.
Maybe youre going to be a guy who is the driver, you know?
I had just finished doing a television series calledSr.Avila.I did that for about five years.
The character that I played there was very dark, very gray and very stoic.
Lalo is always enjoying himself.
Even when he was in jail, he was in a good mood.
$7 million bail, no problem.He was!
And that couldnt be furthest from the truth, man.
Not because I know these guys well but because these people know theyre going to die any second.
Thats the whole concept of Lalo.
As far as hes concerned, he could die any second.
So instead of everything being dire, hes nonchalant.
He doesnt take it personal.
He loves his job.
Id love to see those two together in a scene.
The last two episodes of the season were phenomenal.
In Bad Choice Road, you had that long, scary scene in the apartment withRhea Seehornand Bob Odenkirk.
The reversal in the scene was remarkable.
Kim Wexler became the scary one.
Tell me about filming that.That was such a fun scene to do.
Lalo is in their safe space, in their home!
We rehearsed it two days.
Since it was episode nine, youre on top of it.
The first few days of filming are scary, but for this, you already know the character.
You put in a couple of ideas and throw it in their soup and see if they like it.
Like, when Lalo walks in and he goes, I like it!
This is a nice place!
That was not supposed to be like that.
But when I did it, they all laughed.
It was supposed to be more serious, but I figured Lalo is very emotional.
Then we started doing the scene, and Rhea killed it every single time.
Shes such a great actress.
And Bobs the head of the circus.
He sets the tone for all of us to follow, because hes so generous in so many ways.
He gives ideas and he listens.
Working like that is amazing because you feel at ease to be able to express yourself freely.
In the finale, we saw Lalo become the action hero.I know, right?
Youve never seen him be that aggressive.
I even told [Peter Gould] that maybe in the last scene, I was overdoing it.
But he said, We can do this once.
You cant do it all the time, but this is our once.
And it goes black from there.
Hes the last thing we see in the season.Hes walking away with vengeance in his eyes.
Not so happy-go-lucky!Oh, hes pissed.
They killed the cook!
She was cooking his food!
Thats the only thing he cares about!
Well, now you have job security.At least for the first episode, maybe!
You never know with these guys.
I dont mind that.
Im just grateful for the ride.
If its long, its great.
If its short, its great.
This character mentioned in passing onBreaking Badis now a major part of the story.
What does that mean to you?Its good for me, and its good for Lalo, too.
Its hard to live off of acting for your whole life.
Ive been doing this for like 25 years now, and theres a lot of ups and downs.
To get a part like this, its exactly what you wish for.
I got to play with the big boys out in Albuquerque.
Its amazing, really.
One of Lalos most important acts is that he gave the bell to his uncle Hector.
That bell has a sordid history both onSaulandBreaking Bad.I loved that!
Hector is a very important father figure to Lalo.
Lalo has a lot of empathy for his uncle.
Really, thats the only person he has those types of feelings for.
Giving him the bell is a part of that.
You know, the bell was special.
You dont know whats coming in the final season, right?They tell us nothing!
I find out when I get the script.
So whatever the hell happens to Lalo, its all good!
What they do so well on this series is that you never know whats going to happen.
Like, everything Ive seen on Twitter, nothing has happened the way people thought.
No one has a clue where the story goes, which is amazing.
So I know whatever happens to Lalo will be one of those things I will not see coming.
I cant help but think hes going to get away.Me too.
But a worthy death would be amazing too.
Thats how heroes fall!
But inBreaking Bad, Saul is still scared of Lalo.
So Saul believes Lalo is still out there.Thats very true.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
