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The replacement Jeff didn't match up to the orignal Jeff very well

posted 3 years ago by Mister Babadook (2709)
9 replies | jump to latest

The original actor who played Jeff the cab driver felt very confident, very demanding and seemed like somewhat of a threat with how he was essentially making Saul dance like a puppet for his amusement by making him say the better call saul line.

Then Pat Healy who doesn't resemble the original actor AT ALL btw, plays him as some awkward bumbling mommas boy, that Saul could boss around, i dunno it just didn't feel at all like the same character to me.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Yeah was a bit off, if say Jeff's Mum had been one of those tough love Mum's, or a negative you can't do anything right you're useless Mum's, then okay I'd get it as the Bully is often the one Bullied at home by one of their parents (so they take it out on others).

Having said that though, if she was like that then it would have been difficult for Gene/Saul to get into the house. I mean they tried to paint her in that way a tad by not wanting help (a tenacious ole biddy), like at the Grocery store and stuck on the mobility scooter, but they didn't really follow through to her like that in the home environment. Of course a lot may play out on the next episode and we'll see that Marion isn't really the nice old lady we have seen so far, who knows she may even see through Gene yet and end up blackmailing him or something (she looked suspicious late in the episode).

[–] mtxmind (3296) 3 years ago

.......felt very confident, very demanding and seemed like somewhat of a threat

........plays him as some awkward bumbling mommas boy, that Saul could boss around

I think you can make an arguement for the different demeanor of Jeff (different actors not withstanding) as being a matter of perception on Gene's part given his state of mind at the time of the separate encounters with Jeff.

The first encounters he has, he's still spooked by his experience with the collapse, the number snafu at the hospital,, & his initial encounter in the cab with Jeff, which causes him to switch plates on his car, drive out of state & monitor his police scanner which calms him down enough to return to work & then Jeff suddenly shows up again & makes him, causing him to call Ed for another relocation. But when he decides to fix it himself & his inner Slippin Jimmy/Saul takes control of the situation, his perception changes. He now sees Jeff for what he really is: a harmless ineffectual 'fanboy' doofus who can be easily manipulated to his advantage.

That's my take on it.

[–] bjensen4 (1281) 3 years ago

OMG THAT IS WHO THAT WAS????

No wonder I was confused and kept wondering who the hell this guy out of the blue was.

Stupid for BCS to even replace him like that. They could have had a second person who fingered Saul in a similar way and had the episode play out like that instead of replacing the actor.

[–] Mister Babadook (2709) 3 years ago

Yeah it felt very cheap and unlike a show like this to just put someone else in the role and we're supposed to play along like nothing is different and this was totally the same guy.

They should've done something different, deepfake or tried to hold off on filming the episode till the actor had a few days free to do it. Just sticking someone else in the role tainted the storyline for me.

I feel like anything else would've been better than replacing the actor.

[–] LetoAtreides (583) 3 years ago

I honestly didn't remember the original Jeff...these episode are so far apart that I forget a lot of things.

[–] Volley (3443) 3 years ago

Yeah it's definitely going to stick out like a sore thumb in future rewatches of the Gene Sequences when you can actually see the episodes back to back same day instead of waiting years.

[–] Boricanator (1472) 3 years ago

Apparently, they didnt have a choice.

https://screenrant.com/better-call-saul-jeff-pat-healy-don-harvey-recast/amp/

Despite the existence of multiple colorful theories, the real reason for the decision is disappointingly prosaic. Unfortunately for Harvey, he was already contracted to work on the David Simon drama We Own This City. As a result of his obligation to that show, he was forced to leave the Better Call Saul team, necessitating the appointment of Pat Healy as a replacement.

[–] mtxmind (3296) 3 years ago

The way I understandnd it, they had already mapped out the storyline for Jeff this season before they knew that Don Harvey wouldn't be available so I doubt they changed it just because of having a different actor.

[–] HarryShoulder (279) 3 years ago

The original guy was a lot more menacing. Given what we learn about the character, Pat Healy seems more appropriate for the role. I didn’t even know it was supposed to be the same guy until reading an article.