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Bill Oakley
Though Bill Oakley is unfortunate enough to try tangling with Kim Wexler in court, he’s mostly a character who only gets involved with Jimmy’s experiences with the legal system. A deputy district attorney in Albuquerque when they first meet, Bill is a consistent reminder to Jimmy of what a poor sucker looks like to him. Bill’s always overworked and envious of Jimmy’s successes, so it’s hard not to feel a little sorry for him.
Bill does get some progression to his character arc in that he goes solo and represents Jimmy/Saul in the show’s finale, but that raises more questions than it answers in regard to the direction of his life when the series ends. Bill is clownishly amusing without coming off as either stupid or insensitive, and it feels like there’s more to him than the audience gets to see.
Marshall Dixon A.K.A. “Camera Guy”
Viewers get to witness the first interactions that Jimmy makes with many of the important characters that he introduces into the narrative of Breaking Bad, but some of Jimmy’s most important partners in crime are characters that only appear in Better Call Saul. Marshall Dixon, mostly known only to fans as “Camera Guy”, is the de facto leader of a trio of students from the University of New Mexico who Jimmy uses to help promote himself and as accomplices in some of his cons.
For a TV show, Better Call Saul has many moments that are downright meta-cinematic. From Jimmy’s true passion for directing to the show’s examination of performance and play-acting, the series feels like a movie and shows a lot of love for the art form too. These moments are at their most direct when “Camera Guy” is making one of his snarky remarks. If he made a film about Jimmy, it could be a masterpiece.
Sherry A.K.A. “Drama Girl”
Out of the trio of UNM students that Jimmy hires, Sherry–also known to fans simply as “Drama Girl”–stands out as the most empathetic by far and a number of her ideas are much smarter than Jimmy’s, though she never gets the credit for them. There’s just something about her unrecognized brilliance and effervescent charm that screams spin-off material.
Thanks to her skills in acting, “Drama Girl” also ends up playing some small but important roles in a few of Jimmy’s schemes. She gets into her characters, and she shows the makings of quite a talented con artist if she wants the part.
Ernesto
Ernie is an example of a Better Call Saul character who only gets a first name in the show, but the audience still knows their personality well and feels sympathy for them. Ernesto is shown to have started in the mailroom at HHM along with Jimmy and Kim before landing a role as Chuck’s assistant following Chuck’s initial falling out with Jimmy in the show’s first season.
Though Ernie is fired by Chuck in season 3 for his part in luring Jimmy into breaking into Chuck’s house, before then disappearing from the show save for a flashback at the end of season 4, he does play a pivotal role in transforming Chuck completely into a villain in the eyes of the viewer. So it’s a bit of a shame that Ernie’s story wasn’t delved into more, as he’s a likable character who deserved at least a little closure. The way that Chuck knowingly manipulates Ernesto’s emotions so that he incriminates himself mirrors what Chuck also does to Jimmy, but it’s still one of the show’s cruelest tricks on its own and a crime befitting some measure of justice.
Lyle
Another Better Call Saul character with only a first name, Lyle is Gustavo Fring’s most doting employee from the legitimate side of his business, Los Pollos Hermanos, working at the Albuquerque location of the fast food chain alongside Fring himself.
Lyle’s naive devotion to one of the most dangerous cartel members in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is a character trait that’s actually quite endearing, as he never learns of his employer’s true source of income. He’s also one of the very few characters from outside the underworld of the illegal drugs trade that’s shown to interact with Gus Fring on anything close to a frequent basis. Even though Lyle only really serves to emphasize Fring’s loneliness and detachment from normal everyday life, he had the enthusiastic presence required to be a bigger character on the show.
David The Sommelier
David acts as an even more concentrated version of Lyle in Better Call Saul, appearing for only one scene in the show, which is Gus Fring’s last. A charismatic and somewhat flirtatious sommelier at one of Fring’s haunts, David clearly caught the attention of the reclusive criminal mastermind at some point in the past.
While Gustavo Fring’s sexual orientation is never explicitly discussed during the course of either Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, it is strongly implied in both shows that he is gay, with David’s scene being one of Fring’s most vulnerable and unguarded moments in either show. Though again, David ultimately only serves to accentuate the tragic isolation of Fring’s life, there’s clearly so much more to “The Chicken Man” and David is a rare window into his true personality. Gus Fring is really only shown tolerating others throughout Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. To see him actually enjoying another person’s company teases a glimpse into a fascinating life that still mostly remains a mystery.
Rich Schweikart
One of the most successful, experienced, and respected members of the slice of New Mexico’s legal community that viewers see, Rich Schweikart is also one of Kim’s biggest professional mentors on the show. After failing to poach Kim away from HHM in season 2, he welcomes her into his firm with open arms in season 4, acting as her boss until her resignation at the end of season 5.
Rich remains a part of the show after Kim’s resignation from Schweikart & Cokely, as the firm represents Sandpiper Crossing in the series’ overarching class-action plot thread, but he’s sadly in the background of events. He’s an incredibly tactful man and, as such, his inner thoughts mostly remain unsaid, which is what Better Call Saul is all about deep down. Rich is an expert in the art of keeping his true feelings to himself and his influence on both Kim and Jimmy’s impressions of what a lawyer looks like is more subtle and more powerful than some of the other bigger characters on the show.
Mrs. Nguyen
The owner of the nail salon in which Jimmy’s original law office is housed, Mrs. Nguyen is one of the very few characters who appear to have Jimmy figured out from the beginning. This isn’t to say that she shows absolutely no sympathy toward him, but for someone who has to spend so much time around him, she’s rarely fooled by Jimmy’s so-called chicanery.
With her immunity to Jimmy’s charms, she’s able to see him for who he really is and tolerates him regardless. There’s even somewhat of a spark between the two as she seems like the only woman capable of really keeping him in check. Mrs. Nguyen often seemed like one of the many people that meant more to Jimmy than he was willing to admit.
Clifford Main
Briefly Jimmy’s boss in season 2, Clifford Main remains a part of the series as one of the key attorneys involved in the Sandpiper Crossing case. While he may have seemed like just an early foil to the growth of Saul Goodman at first, Cliff becomes a much more sympathetic figure during the show’s final season.
Jimmy and Kim’s plot to destroy Howard Hamlin’s reputation brings out an unexpected character detail from Cliff Main in the form of his insights on drug use based on his experiences with his son’s addiction. Cliff steadily transforms throughout the final season from someone who appears to only care about money and business etiquette to someone who really cares about doing the right thing. This helps the audience appreciate the similar change that’s going on with Howard’s character, but the story of a somewhat old-fashioned man getting a more nuanced understanding of drug use would have been an amazing story to see from the people behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Cheryl Hamlin
Cheryl Hamlin stands out as a supporting character within Better Call Saul not only because she appears very late into the course of the show, but also because, despite being married to one of the main characters, her very existence isn’t even brought up until the tail end of the final season.
As the wife of Howard Hamlin, whose marriage has apparently deteriorated for some time behind the scenes, she adds so much detail and perspective to one of the show’s most integral main characters. The audience can only truly feel for Howard after being given a brief glimpse into his life and his clear affection for her. Her presence is also instrumental in the downfalls of both Jimmy and Kim, so the further details of her life are always going to be something that fans wonder about.