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“
I have people. I have people waiting for me. They don't know what I do; they never will. They're protected, but I do what I do so they can have a better life, and if I live or if I die, it really doesn't make a difference to me as long as they have what they need. So when it's my time to go, I will go knowing I did everything I could for them. Now, you ask me how I keep going? That's how.
A former Philadelphia police officer, Mike later became a private investigator, fixer, and hitman in the criminal underworld of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He primarily serves as the right-hand man to drug kingpin Gus Fring, handling enforcement and logistics for Fring's empire. He is also a close associate of lawyer Saul Goodman and partners with methamphetamine producers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
Mike's work as a mob enforcer-for-hire is primarily motivated by his desire to provide financial security for his granddaughter Kaylee and daugher-in-law Stacey. He became disillusioned with law enforcement after participating in corruption. After avenging his son Matt's murder by killing the corrupt colleagues responsible, Mike relocated to Albuquerque to be near his family. He often tries to maintain a sense of honor and professionalism within his environment, reducing collateral damage or threats where it is necessary.
He was portrayed by Jonathan Banks, who also played Eruptor in Skylanders Academy, Frank McPike in Wiseguy, James Gordan in Batman: Arkham Knight, and Rick Dicker in Incredibles 2.
Mike is a man who knows he's lost a good chunk of his soul, and seems sad and world-weary about it. But he goes on nonetheless because he knows his strengths as well as his weaknesses.
Mike's demeanor is often stoic, gruff, and world-weary. He doesn't display much emotion or apparent conflict when committing crimes, but he also never revels in any needless violence or cruelty like some of his enemies or even colleagues. His approach to everything is pragmatic, professional, rational, and principled; he attempts to minimize harm wherever this is possible while still pursuing his own interests. Although he's mostly apathetic, he shows genuine emotion, love, and paternal care when with his granddaughter Kaylee or daughter-in-law Stacey.
His actions are often guided by his own personal code of ethics. He consistently values things like honesty, humility, and fairness, even when dealing with dangerous individuals or unwarranted situations, and he's also averse to harming innocent people. He will also always abide by his word and keep his end of a deal, even when contradiction would be to his benefit. When violence becomes a necessity, he only approaches it out of precision rather than cruelty. For Mike, brutality is not only inefficient, but distasteful, and because of this, he's at odds with the more impulsive or sadistic figures of the series, like Walt or the Salamancas.
Mike projects an aloof, quiet, reserved, and, when needed, intimidating persona. He has a typical no-nonsense attitude, particularly when dealing with people he views as liabilities, and this is often delivered through sarcastic or dry-witted remarks. On this point, he deeply dislikes Walter, seeing him as a petty, selfish, unpredictable amateur egotist who doesn't know his place. He is also generally skeptical of others, so he tries his best to understand them and anticipate what he can.
Much of his seemingly cold behavior is rooted in the death of his son, for which he blames himself due to encouraging him to participate in corruption to avoid execution, only for this to happen anyway. This is his emotional breaking point (even causing him to tear up once as he reflected on it, the only time this happens in the series), especially considering his belief that he failed to protect him, instead arguing that he "broke [his] boy" and brought him down to "the gutter" where he was. Because of this, he has a lot of deep-seated insecurity, regret, cynicism about the unfairness of the world, and a sense of responsibility within him to make up for his failure as both a father and individual.
Sometimes, this is projected through his attempts to protect similarly naive figures who are in over their heads, such as the young Jesse or Nacho Varga. In his eyes, despite their poor decisions, these two still have a chance at redemption. Mike takes on a quiet mentorship role to them under the belief that they can be taken away from the path of self-destruction. He gives them guidance on restraint, caution, and how to survive in the world - basically anything that one needs to avoid suffering the same fate as his son.
Mike’s worldview is also shaped by some sense of resignation. He believes that no matter how hard one tries, certain types of outcomes are unavoidable. Yet, this doesn’t make him careless in the sense that he gives up or stops trying to harness control over things. Instead, it makes him focus his attention on maintaining what little he can by playing to his strengths. Deep down, and in spite of his detachment, Mike experiences moral turmoil and remorse inside of him for the direction he went in his life, but he argues that he's on a "road" that he cannot take himself off of.
Mike’s alliance with his original boss, Gus Fring, is mostly built on mutual respect, but it's very far from just blind loyalty. Mike does appreciate Gus’s strategic mind and disciplined leadership, and he sympathizes with his quest for vengeance given that Mike has been in similar circumstances. Yet he's always wary of Gus’s ruthlessness. His other subordinates are intimidated by Gus, but Mike isn’t; instead, their relationship is more like a tense, vaguely stable partnership. Mike follows Gus because he sees him as the most predictable and calculated player in the criminal world, but still, he never forgets that Gus’s coldness could make him a threat as well.
In terms of capabilities, Mike is a highly intelligent man with tactical awareness that keeps him ahead of others. Even in high-pressure situations, he always appears as though he alone is in control, and he rarely expresses fear or submission towards other figures. He has thorough and up-to-date knowledge of forensic evidence, surveillance technology, and police protocols. His combat training is very comprehensive, which allows him to methodically neutralize opponents using scientific approaches and careful planning. All of this makes him one of the most feared yet respected enforcers in the drug trade, and his presence alone can even be a form of leverage.
Quotes[]
Better Call Saul
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The lesson is: if you're gonna be a criminal, do your homework.
I've known good criminals and bad cops. Bad priests. Honorable thieves. You can be on one side of the law or the other. But if you make a deal with somebody, you keep your word. You can go home today with your money and never do this again. But you took something that wasn't yours. And you sold it for a profit. You are now a criminal. Good one, bad one? That's up to you.
„
~ Mike to Daniel on the difference between criminals and villains.noicon
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You're sure about this? Killing your partner - that's a bell you don't un-ring.
Mike: Wait. You want his trucks hit because you wanna disrupt his supply line. Hector's your competition. Gus: Why do you ask? Mike: Because I'm not done with Hector Salamanca.
„
~ Mike changing his mind and agreeing to work with Gus.
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You have a gun to his father's head. That doesn’t sit with me. You wanna keep Varga for the long run, I don't think fear is a great motivator.
„
~ Mike talking to Gus about his treatment of Nacho and the usage of threats.
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You keep your goddamn retainer.
„
~ Mike refusing to accept Gus's "retainer" payment after being ordered to kill Werner Ziegler.
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Well, here's what's gonna happen. One day, you're gonna wake up, eat your breakfast, brush your teeth, go about your business. Then, sooner or later, you're gonna realize you hadn't thought about it. None of it. And that's the moment you realize you can forget. When you know that's possible, it all gets easier.
„
~ Mike to Jimmy on the desert shootout.
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Look. We all make our choices. And those choices, they put us on a road. Sometimes those choices seem small, but they put you on the road. You think about getting off… but eventually, you're back on it. And the road we're on led us out to the desert, everything that happened there and straight back to where we are right now. And nothing–nothing–can be done about that. Do you understand that?
„
~ Mike to Jimmy.
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Mike: Your dad's gonna be okay. Nacho: How do you know? Mike: Because anyone who goes after him is gonna have to come through me.
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~ Mike insisting that no one can come between him and Nacho's father.
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The boss has a problem, he knows how to reach me. If you have a problem… I’m right here
„
~ Mike insisting to Tyrus Kitt that the bodyguards will stay protecting his family.
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You know what a cop fears most? More than getting shot, more than anything? Prison. Getting locked up with everybody you put away. You threaten a cop with that, you make him dangerous, and that's what I told him. I talked sense. No one was getting hurt. But if you go to the I.A., if you even look like you're going… He had a wife, a kid, responsibilities. "Take the money. Do something good with it." Well I tried. I tried. But he wouldn't listen. My boy was stubborn. My boy was strong. And he was gonna get himself killed. So I told him… I told him I did it, too. That I was like Hoffman, getting by, and that's what you heard that night: me talking him down, him kicking and screaming until the fight went out of him. He put me up on a pedestal… and I had to show him that I was down in the gutter with the rest of 'em. Broke my boy… I broke my boy. They went to Hoffman, he took the money, but he hesitated. Even looking like you're doing the right thing; to those two? Meant that he wasn't solid. That he couldn't be trusted. I got Matty to take the money… and they killed him two days later. He was the strongest person that I ever knew. He would've never done it, not even to save himself. I was the only one… I was the only one who could get him to debase himself like that. And it was for nothing. I made him lesser. I made him like me. And the bastards killed him anyway.
„
~ Mike's monologue on how he disappointed his son.noicon
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Stacey: Hoffman and Fensky… If they killed Matty, who killed them?… Pop. What happened? Mike: You know what happened. The question is: can you live with it?
Alright. Here's what's gonna happen: In a few days, Howard Hamlin's car will be found several states away by the water. The odometer will have rolled to the exact number of miles it took to get there. There will be cocaine in the upholstery. That was the story you were setting up for this guy, yeah? They'll call it a suicide, hoping the body will come washing up. It never will. At some point, you're gonna hear about it. Someone calls you, someone at the courthouse mentions it—the moment that happens—you call the cops. His car was here for hours last night. Good chance somebody noticed it. That means you are the last people to see him alive. Cops are gonna want to hear from you. You tell the cops you saw him—he came here, seemed like maybe he was chemically altered, didn't make a lick of sense. Then he left, that's all you know. You keep telling the lie you've been telling.
Walt: Just make sure you get all of those things. Mike: A) These "things" cost $800 a piece. B) You're not that interesting. So, yeah. I'll get all of 'em, Walter.
„
~ Mike reassuring Walter White that the bugs will be removed from his house
“
You know, Walter, sometimes it doesn't hurt to have someone watching your back.
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~ Mike to Walt after removing the bugs, having saved his life from The Cousins
“
Walt: I'm gonna need some… some kind of assurance. Mike: I assure you I can kill you from way over here if it makes you feel any better.
„
~ Mike "assuring" Walt.
“
You know, I can foresee a lot of possible outcomes to this thing, and not a single one of them involves 'Miller Time.'
I used to be a beat cop a long time ago. I’d get called on domestic disputes all the time. Hundreds, probably, over the years. But there was this one guy, this one piece of shit that I will never forget. Gordie. He looked like Bo Svenson. You remember him? Walking Tall? You don’t remember? … Anyway, big boy, 270, 280, but his wife–or whatever she was–his lady–was real small. Like a bird. Wrists like little branches. Anyway, my partner and I’d get called out there every weekend, and one of us would pull her aside and we’d say: "Come on, tonight’s the night we press charges." And this wasn’t one of those deep down, he loves me setups. We got a lot of those, but not this. This girl was scared. She wasn’t going to cross him. No way, no how. Nothing we could do but pass her off to the EMT’s, put him in a car, drive him downtown, throw him in a drunk tank, he sleeps it off, next morning, out he goes. Back home. But one night, my partner’s out sick, and it’s just me. And the call comes in and it’s the usual crap. Broke her nose in the shower kind of thing. So I cuff him, put him in the car and away we go. Only that night we’re driving into town and this sideways asshole is in my back seat humming "Danny Boy." And it just rubbed me wrong. So instead of left, I go right, out into nowhere. And I kneel him down and I put my revolver in his mouth and I told him, "This is it. This is how it ends." And he’s crying, going to the bathroom all over himself. Swearing to God he’s going to leave her alone. Screaming–much as you can with a gun in your mouth. And I told him to be quiet, that I needed to think about what I was going to do here. And of course, he got quiet. Goes still and real quiet. Like a dog waiting for dinner scraps. And we just stood there for a while. Me acting like I’m thinking things over and Prince Charming kneeling in the dirt with shit in his pants. And after a few minutes, I took the gun out of his mouth and I say, "So help me, if you ever touch her again, I will" such and such and such and such, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. (…) Uh huh. Of course. Just trying to do the right thing. But two weeks later, he killed her. Of course. Caved her head in with the base of a Waring blender. We got there, there was so much blood, you could taste the metal. Moral of the story is - I chose a half measure when I should have gone all the way. I'll never make that mistake again. No more half measures, Walter.
„
~ Mike's speech to Walt.noicon
“
You… are trouble. I'm sorry the kid doesn't see it, but I sure as hell do. You are a time bomb, tick-tick-ticking. And I have no intention of being around for the boom.
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~ Mike to Walter on not becoming his business partner.
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Just because you shot Jesse James… don't make you Jesse James.
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~ Mike to Walt on his killing of Gus.
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The next time you bring a gun to a job without telling me, I will stick it up your ass sideways. You understand?
Well… You know how they say "it's been a pleasure"? It hasn't.
„
~ Mike parting ways with Walt.
“
All of this, falling apart like this, is on you.
„
~ Mike to Walter.
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We had a good thing, you stupid son of a bitch! We had Fring, we had a lab, we had everything we needed, and it all ran like clockwork! You could have shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you ever needed! It was perfect! But no! You just had to blow it up! You! And your pride, and your ego! You just had to be the man. If you’d done your job, known your place, we’d all be fine right now!
„
~ Mike explaining to Walt how he's responsible for their current situation.noicon
“
Shut the f*ck up… And let me die in peace.
„
~ Mike's last words after being fatally shot by Walt.noicon
El Camino
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Jesse: Start over, start fresh, put things right. Mike: No. Sorry kid, that's the one thing you can never do.
In the Better Call Saul episode "Talk", it begins with a flashback set in the 70s focused on a young Mike Ehrmantraut with his son, Matt, as a child. However, Mike's face is obscured during the flashback, and it is unknown who the portraying actor was.
Mike's debut as Saul's "cleaner" was originally written for Saul himself, but a scheduling conflict prevented Saul's actor, Bob Odenkirk, from doing the scene. In addition to necessitating the creation of the character of Mike, this changed Saul's characterization going forward.
The Breaking Bad writers created Mike's character as a substitute for Saul, as Odenkirk was unavailable for the season two finale "ABQ" because of a commitment to appear in How I Met Your Mother. They cast Banks because they admired his work in the 1980s police drama Wiseguy. Banks also considered his character close to that of Max von Sydow's Joubert from Three Days of the Condor, an assassin that painted figurines on the side. Following Mike's death in the fifth season episode "Say My Name", Banks said this did not surprise him, as he always expected the character to die at some point.
In an interview, Banks stated that in his vision, Mike wouldn't have left Kaylee in the playground when the DEA found him, which is what happened. Nevertheless, he accepted the scene as it was because he respected the writers.
Mike has used or owned various firearms throughout both series:
Mike's arsenal included a SIG Sauer P225 as his off-duty police weapon, which he continued using for some time after relocating to Albuquerque. He also possessed a Taurus Model 85, which he hid in Hoffman and Fensky's patrol car before using it to kill them in revenge for his son's murder. Later, he loaned a similar model to Jesse and used it himself during the Cartel sniper attack.
Mike also wielded a Heckler & Koch Mark 23 against Cartel forces, sometimes equipped with a silencer. After stealing a Beretta 92FS Inox from the Cartel, it became his main weapon until his death at Walt's hands. Additionally, he used a Beretta 84F to eliminate his traitorous former henchman Chris Mara and to threaten Lydia Rodarte-Quayle.
Among the weapons Mike disposed of in an old well were an AK-47 and a Colt Woodsman. He also kept a Taurus Model 605 revolver in his go bag, which Walt later stole and used to kill him.
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Heroes