By Joshua Axelrod
It took more than 20 years for Patrick Fabian to land his first series-regular role on a show with staying power. He could’ve done much worse than jumping aboard the spinoff of arguably the greatest show in television history.
Fabian, who was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in New Cumberland, Pa., has spent six seasons playing Howard Hamlin on AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” the “Breaking Bad” spinoff that has been slowly revealing the backstory of slick-talking lawyer Saul Goodman since it premiered in early 2015. Fabian’s Howard is a respected attorney who often ends up at odds with Saul (Bob Odenkirk) and his shady schemes.
“Better Call Saul” returns Monday for the first seven-episode run of its final season. The last six episodes will begin airing on July 11 following a short hiatus. As somebody who considers the fact he’s still getting steady work to be “like a 30-year overnight success story,” Fabian was always prepared for his time in the “Breaking Bad”-verse to eventually run out.
“It’s a miracle and it’s wonderful and it’s great,” he said of his time on “Better Call Saul.” “But it’s also coming to an end, just like every other job. You find yourself in that wonderful showpeople ennui of, ‘Oh no, the band’s breaking up!’”
Though he grew up closer to Harrisburg than Pittsburgh, Fabian said he has relatives in Murrsyville and still thinks of Pennsylvania “as a great place to be from.” His nephew, Michael, works for Commonplace Coffee and will often send Fabian “the best coffee I’ve ever had,” he said.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in acting from Penn State University in 1987. Fabian credited Penn State for giving him “a kick-ass education” that included teaching him everything from how to “sew a basic bodice” to being comfortable on stage. He was on campus and addressed some students last year while receiving an alumni award from Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture.
‘I got to say, ‘What I learned at school, I still use when I audition,’” he said. “What I learned as an actor, I got my roots at Penn State.”
His previous work includes a starring role in the 2010 found-footage horror film “The Last Exorcism“; recurring roles on “Joan of Arcadia,” “Big Love” and “Veronica Mars”; and a string of guest appearances on “Friends,” “24,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Will & Grace.” Fabian said his parents still think his career peaked in 1994 when he did a guest spot on the popular CBS crime drama “Murder, She Wrote.”
Like many actors, he lived in “a perpetual state of being off-balance” as he went from one job to the next. “Saul” was a life-changing role, including in the way fans interact with him now.
“I get yelled at a lot more in public,” he said. “People tell me to get off Jimmy and Kim Wexler’s back, that’s for sure.”
Howard has been a constant thorn in Jimmy (Saul’s original name) and Kim’s (Rhea Seehorn) sides since Jimmy referred to him as “Lord Vader” in the series premiere of “Better Call Saul.” To Fabian, Howard has been “the most consistent guy” on the whole show because all he’s doing is trying to run a law firm while Kim and Jimmy’s moral compasses falter.
“What Howard provides is a mirror of Jimmy and Kim’s behavior,” Fabian said. “Through Howard, you see them reveal parts of themselves that you’re uncomfortable with as an audience. I’m sure there are people yelling at the screen ‘Don’t do that!’ when they make particular choices.”
There’s a long history on “Better Call Saul” of Jimmy screwing with Howard; he has thrown bowling balls at his car and ordered sex workers to crash a business lunch at a fancy restaurant. Fabian loves that Howard has gone through therapy on the show and come out the other side “a more peaceful person,” though he’s still the kind of guy who felt the need to put a “namaste” sticker on his Jaguar.
The Post-Gazette was provided with the first two episodes of the new “Better Call Saul” season. Howard is very much in Jimmy and Kim’s crosshairs, at least in those early outings.
“We’ve seen Howard’s resilience” over the show’s first five seasons, Fabian says, so it’s safe to assume that he won’t submit to his adversaries’ latest attempts to ruin his reputation without a fight.
As the show gets ready to take its final bow, Fabian is more appreciative than ever of its cast and crew. He shouted out “Saul” costume designer Jennifer Bryan for providing him with the suits “that do 90% of my acting,” as well as creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for letting him play in the “Breaking Bad” sandbox.
Since Fabian saw only the scenes he was in due to COVID-19 restrictions, he’s just as excited as fans to watch the show’s final season play out starting next week. It’s been a heck of a ride for him, and he’s grateful.
“Thank you so much for making this actor’s dream come true by showing up and watching this show,” he said. “I’m thrilled with it, and it doesn’t happen without an audience. I cannot thank the fans of ‘Better Call Saul’ enough, and you’re going to love season six.”
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxelburgh.