Michael Ehrmantraut is a character created by Vince Gilligan and portrayed by Jonathan Banks in the crime drama television franchise Breaking Bad. He appears as one of the main characters of Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and its spin-off series Better Call Saul (2015–2022), in addition to a brief appearance in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). He is one of only five characters to appear in both series and the film.
Appearances
editBackstory
editWithin the Breaking Bad franchise's fictional universe, Michael Ehrmantraut is a former Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) officer who works as a private investigator, hitman, and fixer for criminals in Albuquerque, New Mexico to financially support his widowed daughter-in-law Stacey (Kerry Condon) and granddaughter Kaylee. According to Jonathan Banks, Mike is a Vietnam War veteran. The Better Call Saul episode "Five-O" (2015) reveals Mike was a corrupt PPD officer who took bribes. His son Matt, who also worked in the PPD, was offered a bribe by other corrupt officers and asked Mike for advice; Mike advised Matt that not taking the money would label him a whistleblower and endanger his family, so Matt took it. Matt's partner and another officer killed Matt anyways because his hesitation caused them to distrust him. Stacey and Kaylee left Philadelphia for Albuquerque after Matt's funeral. Mike identified the officers who killed Matt and arranged an ambush to kill them, after which he also left for Albuquerque.
Breaking Bad
editIn Breaking Bad (2008–2013), Mike is introduced in "ABQ" (2009) as Saul Goodman's (Bob Odenkirk) fixer. After the methamphetamine cook Jesse Pinkman's (Aaron Paul) girlfriend Jane Margolis (Krysten Ritter) dies from a heroin overdose, Jesse's partner Walter White (Bryan Cranston) calls Saul for help. Saul dispatches Mike to remove all traces of drugs from Jesse's apartment. "Caballo sin Nombre" (2010) reveals that Mike is a top enforcer for Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), a businessman who runs the fried chicken restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos as a front for a vast drug trafficking operation.
Gus is in conflict with the Mexican cartel, and he and Mike work to protect their operation. Mike hides in a Los Pollos Hermanos truck during a drug run so he can learn the cartel's tactics and implement countermeasures. He prevents Leonel and Marco Salamanca (Daniel and Luis Moncada) from killing Walt, who begins working for Gus as his chief meth cook, and kills Leonel when he is hospitalized following an attempt on the life of Walt's brother-in-law, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris).
(season 4)
(season 5)