Lavell Crawford finally made his long-awaited “Better Call Saul” debut on the AMC series’ May 8 episode. But the show’s team initially wasn’t quite sure how to handle the fact that the actor has dropped 140 pounds since playing bodyguard Huell Babineaux on “Breaking Bad.”
Huell popped up briefly during the recent installment of “Saul,” teaming with Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) to plant a cell phone battery on brother Chuck McGill (Michael McKean). Crawford told TheWrap that producers initially wanted the stand-up comic to don a fat suit for the appearance, in order to look a bit more like his old self.
“When they did see me, they were like, ‘Wow, this guy really dropped pounds,’” Crawford said with a laugh. He added that the weight loss was important for his health: “My check engine light was coming on — I had to do something.”
“When I got on there, they tried to put a fat suit on me,” Crawford continued. “I was like, ‘Come on, man! Here I am, working hard to lose all this weight, and you want to put a damn fat suit on me.’”
In the end, Crawford managed to talk producers out of having him bulk up for the brief appearance. But he understands why there was concern. “It makes sense — I’m supposed to be a bodyguard, so the bigger you are, the better,” he admits.
The actor is grateful to have been able to play Huell again, and he would love to return soon. “I hope this isn’t going to be a one-trick pony,” he said. “It got a good response, so I’m crossing my fingers.”
And what should Huell be up to during future episodes? “I’d like to see him get into some real action where he’s got to whoop somebody’s ass,” Crawford said. “Maybe save [Saul’s] ass a couple times, or maybe him and Mike (Jonathan Banks) might get up and have an altercation.”
The stand-up comic added, “I always thought Huell was like [Saul’s] barometer. I’d like to see their relationship grow to the point where Huell is the guy to keep Saul kind of honest.”