Known for portraying the crafty lawyer Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, actor Bob Odenkirk unveiled a surprising connection to royalty on the genealogy-based US television show Finding Your Roots. Tracing Odenkirk's family lineage back five generations, the show revealed that he is the 11th cousin of King Charles III. Despite his Chicago roots, the actor's familial ties lead back to Plön, Germany, where his fifth great-grandfather, Friedrich Carl Steinholz, was born in 1755, conceived out of wedlock with the Duke of Plön, linking Odenkirk to European royal families through intermarriage.

Bob Odenkirk's history

Initially skeptical and asserting his American identity, Odenkirk expressed his reservations about monarchy, stating, "I'm not a monarchist. I don't believe in that." However, he later shifted his tone with laughter, acknowledging the humour in his newfound connection to royalty and suggesting a potential change of heart.

"You know, I feel like it’s a little twisted. I understand why society built itself around monarchs and leaders, and they passed them down through generations. I understand that goes through every society, every civilisation," he added.

"But I think that we’ve gotten to a better place with democracy and we should keep going down that road," Bob continued.

As clips from the show teased Odenkirk's reactions, viewers witnessed the actor's infectious laughter and exclamations of disbelief. "Are you kidding me? That's insane!" he declared, expressing amusement and perhaps reconsidering his stance on royal ties.

Bob Odenkirk's heritage

Raised in a Catholic family of German and Irish descent in Chicago, Bob Odenkirk's journey into his ancestry brings unexpected revelations. The actor, who survived a heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul in 2021, reflected on the newfound information, expressing a wish that his late mother could have shared in this surprising chapter of his family history.