“It wasn’t me, it was Ignacio. He’s the one!”
Fans of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul know the line well by now. Uttered by Bob Odenkirk’s character, Saul Goodman, in the eighth episode of Breaking Bad‘s second season, it set up a character that would enthrall fans for years.
When Goodman shouted his claims in an attempt to save his own life in that original Breaking Bad episode, there wasn’t much — if anything — we knew about Ignacio — a man we have now come to know more endearingly as Nacho Varga, played expertly and with great emotion by Canadian actor Michael Mando.
Audiences waited a long time (13 years in fact) to get answers as to why Goodman was spouting out lines blaming Nacho (and Lalo, for that matter) way back in April of 2009. We finally got those answers — and more — during the final season of Better Call Saul.
In fact, we got to know the man known as Nacho pretty well during his run on the hit prequel show. By the time it came about, many a fan came together to mourn his unexpected death in the second episode of the sixth season. Even die-hard fans, who’ve watched every episode of the original series that set up the now-revered Better Call Saul, may struggle to recall if Nacho Varga was ever a part of Breaking Bad.
Was Nacho Varga in Breaking Bad?
To cut straight to the answer without any more ado — no, Nacho Varga was not in Breaking Bad.
In fact, Nacho isn’t really even mentioned as a character in Breaking Bad, after that initial instance of Goodman using him as a scapegoat. Even then, it was his proper name, Ignacio, and not his moniker from Better Call Saul, Nacho. If not for what seemed like a throwaway line from Breaking Bad, however, fans would never have gotten to know the truly great character and from Mando as Nacho. The same can also be said about Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca.
The reasons behind fans’ adoration of Nacho, as well as Jonathan Banks’ character, Mike Ehrmantraut, come down to his loyalty and respect for trying to be an honorable person, even as he does illicit and dishonorable things. It’s why Ehrmantraut continually pushes for Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) to treat Nacho with respect and honor, and why Mike keeps his word to Nacho even after the latter’s death, ensuring that his father is kept safe in his son’s absence.
Though Nacho was never in Breaking Bad, the future could see him someday reappear in the Breaking Bad Cinematic Universe. Perhaps he could appear in his own spinoff or another Better Call Saul/Breaking Bad spinoff or prequel to come.
What else has Michael Mando been in?
The name Mando might be more associated with a certain Disney Plus series these days, and the budding actor has more than made a name for himself after his run as Nacho in Better Call Saul.
Mando’s actually been on the scene for a while now, taking home numerous awards for his leading performances in Montreal theater productions before founding his own company, Red Barlo Productions.
He’s perhaps most easily recognized for his turn as Mac Gargan (AKA Scorpion) in Spiderman: Homecoming, a character who appeared to be left for dead before meeting up with Michael Keaton’s Vulture in prison in a post-credits scene. Mando became well recognized before his Spider-Man stint, thanks to a nine-episode arc in the show Orphan Black.
His stint as Vic Schmidt in Orphan Black may have set the stage for his performance as Nacho, as he played an abusive drug dealer in the TV series and even won a Canadian Screen Award for his showing. He also played a big part in two of the Far Cry video games, as Vaas Montenegro in 2012’s Far Cry 3 and last year’s Far Cry 6.