Both Breaking Bad and its breakout prequel Better Call Saul feature a stellar adult cast, with a fair few characters crossing over between shows — here’s a breakdown of Better Call Saul main characters’ ages, and how old some of them were in Breaking Bad. Whereas Breaking Bad focused on Walter White’s descent into becoming a meth-selling drug kingpin, Better Call Saul brought the story of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, the lawyer who defended him, to the screen. Running for seven years and six seasons, some audiences have even postured that the series is better than its predecessor; which is surprising giving Breaking Bad‘s critical acclaim.
Breaking down the Better Call Saul character ages is easier in some cases, as some people like Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman’s age have been revealed in the series. Unfortunately, other Better Call Saul characters’ ages haven’t been explicitly revealed, and viewers have to rely on contextual clues to ascertain a ballpark number. Luckily, concrete years during which Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad take place have been established, making some of the guesswork a little easier. While Breaking Bad takes place between 2008 and 2010, Better Call Saul has a similar timeline, being set from 2002 to 2005, with the Gene timeline flash-forwards taking place in 2010.
9 How Old Jimmy McGill Is In Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul focuses on the lead character of lawyer/conman Jimmy McGill and his transformation into Saul Goodman, as he is introduced in Breaking Bad. Jimmy’s age in Better Call Saul was revealed in the season 5 episode “JMM.” The installment sees Jimmy and Kim getting married, and his driver’s license is shown, revealing that his birthday is November 12th, 1960. Since Better Call Saul season 1 takes place in 2002, Jimmy is 41 at the start of the series. Season 2 of BCS is still set within the same year, so he doesn’t turn 42 until season 3.
Season 4 covers a full year, seeing Jimmy turn 43, whereas seasons 5 and 6 have him the same age. The only discrepancy comes with the Gene timeline in Better Call Saul season 6, which jumps forward to 2010, making Jimmy 49/50 during these scenes. When he was introduced in Breaking Bad season 2, he had just turned 48 years old, and by the end of the show, while he is packing his bags for Omaha to live out his nightmare of managing a Cinnabon, he is 49 years old.
8 How Old Kim Wexler Is In Better Call Saul
Jimmy’s ex-wife and fellow lawyer Kim Wexler wasn’t a part of Breaking Bad, as by that time she and Jimmy’s relationship had soured, and she moved away from New Mexico to live in Titusville, Florida, and work at a sprinkler manufacturer company. Kim’s birthday was also revealed in Better Call Saul, and she’s not insignificantly younger than Jimmy. Kim’s birthday is February 13th, 1968, meaning when she first meets Jimmy in season 1 while working at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill, she is 34 years old. The two get married (albeit briefly) in season 5, during which time Kim was 36.
By the time Better Call Saul ends on February 11th, 2005, Kim is just 2 days shy of her 37th birthday. Kim makes a surprising appearance in the Gene timeline, during the season 6 episode “Waterworks,” when Jimmy tries to get back in touch with her. During the Gene timeline, post-Breaking Bad, Kim would’ve been 42 years old. While Kim doesn’t appear in Breaking Bad, she does have some connections to the series outside of Saul Goodman. The same episode reveals that when Christian “Combo” Ortega steals a baby Jesus from a Nativity, he is accompanied to juvenile court by Jesse Pinkman and defended by Kim.
7 How Old Chuck McGill Is In Better Call Saul
Chuck McGill is Jimmy’s neurotic older brother and partner at the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill firm. Prior to Chuck’s shocking suicide in Better Call Saul season 3, his true birthday is never revealed. It isn’t until Jimmy visits Chuck’s grave in season 4 that the year he was born is relayed to audiences, showing that he lived from 1944 to 2003. This makes Chuck significantly older than Jimmy, by 16 years to be exact, being roughly either 57 or 58 when he is introduced in Better Call Saul season 1. When Chuck dies in season 3 he is either 58 or 59.
6 How Old Mike Ehrmantraut Is In Better Call Saul
Mike Ehrmantraut is a character that appears in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but the former Philadelphia cop/career criminal/Marine corps veteran’s age is never explicitly stated. Given that Mike served in the Marines during the Vietnam War, it’s estimated that he was born sometime between 1940 and 1944. When Better Call Saul begins in the spring of 2002, Mike would’ve roughly been around the same age as Chuck McGill on the lower end of the spectrum, being either in his late 50s or early sixties. When he kills Werner Ziegler in Better Call Saul season 4, Mike would’ve been somewhere between 60 and 64 years old.
By the end of Better Call Saul, Mike would’ve still been in his early-to-mid sixties. Mike isn’t introduced in Breaking Bad until season 2, during which time (October 31, 2008 – February 17, 2009) he would’ve been in his mid-to-late sixties, somewhere between 64 and 68 years old. Mike is eventually killed by Walt in Breaking Bad season 5, episode 7, “Say My Name,” after refusing to give up the names of his associates. At the time of his death (October 2nd, 2009), Mike is somewhere between the ages of 65 and 69 years old.
5 How Old Gus Fring Is In Better Call Saul
Gustavo Fring is another character that crosses over in both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, and yet another instance in which a character age isn’t specifically given. After all, even his own enforcer couldn’t find any records on him prior to his arrival in Mexico in 1986. It can be assumed, however, that the restauranteur/methamphetamine producer and Jimmy are roughly the same age, with some sources citing his year of birth as 1958. If this is the case, it means that Gus is either 43 or 44 in Better Call Saul seasons 1, 2, and 3, depending on the month.
This would make Gus 44 or 45 in Better Call Saul seasons 4 and 5, and possibly 45 or 46 in the final season of the series. When Gus is introduced in Breaking Bad season 2, he’s already moved on to start his own drug empire and is either 50 or 51 at the time. Gus famously doesn’t make it to the end of Breaking Bad, being killed off by a pipe bomb explosion and adjusting his tie in the process in season 4, episode 13, “Face Off.” At the time of his death, Gus would’ve been around 51 or 52 years old.
4 How Old Lalo Is In Better Call Saul
Eduardo “Lalo” Salamanca was the biggest miscreant in all of Better Call Saul and Jimmy’s most high-profile client. Despite his death in season 6, his legacy lasted on through Breaking Bad. Like many Better Call Saul characters, his age isn’t expressly stated. However, contextual clues place Lalo’s age around the same as Jimmy’s. Assuming that Lalo was born around 1960, he would’ve been around 43 or 44 when he was finally introduced in Better Call Saul season 4. The same goes for his age in season 5. When Lalo is killed by Gus in season 6, episode 8, “Point and Shoot,” he would’ve been around 44 or 45 years old.
3 How Old Hector Salamanca Is In Better Call Saul
The elderly don of the Salamanca family cartel is Hector Salamanca, and he appears in both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad. It was revealed that Hector was born in 1939, making him relatively close in age to Mike, though not nearly as physically intimidating. However, his power, cunning, and influence make up for it. Hector first appears in the BCS season 2 episode “Rebecca,” during which time he would’ve been roughly 63 years old. He would’ve remained that age in season 3, maybe turning 64 depending on his birth month, 64 during season 4, and possibly 64 or 65 by the time Better Call Saul ends with season 6.
When Hector rejoins the fray in Breaking Bad season 2, he appears to be not all there when he is joined by Jesse and Walt in the hideout, however, this is quickly revealed to be a ruse. Hector was pushing 70 when he first appeared in Breaking Bad and the same age when he is put in the nursing home in season 3. Hector dies with Gus after Walt puts a pipe bomb on him in the Breaking Bad season 4 finale, meaning he was about 70 years old when he dies.
2 How Old Nacho Varga Is In Better Call Saul
The fan-favorite career criminal Nacho Varga was the youngest of the Better Call Saul cast, and his death in the series wasn’t avenged until Breaking Bad season 4. Nacho is billed as being 30 years old when he is introduced in Better Call Saul season 1 and the same age in season 2. By the time Better Call Saul season 3 rolls around, he is 31, and the same goes for seasons 4 and 5. Nacho’s shocking death occurred in Better Call Saul season 6 when he forgoes the original plan and shoots himself with Juan’s gun. He would’ve been either 31 or 32 when he took his own life.
1 How Old Howard Hamlin Is In Better Call Saul
The other half of the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill firm in Better Call Saul is lawyer Howard Hamlin, taking over as managing/senior partner after Chuck became housebound because of his electromagnetic hypersensitivity. His age is never mentioned, but it can be guessed that he’s closer in age to Jimmy than he is Chuck, since Chuck started the firm with Hamlin Sr. This means that Howard was in his early 40s in Better Call Saul seasons 1 – 6, possibly the same age as Jimmy. When he dies at the hands of Lalo in the season 6 episode “Point and Shoot,” it’s estimated that he’s around 44 or 45 years old.
