Ahead of his final run as fan favorite character Mike Ehrmantraut inBetter Call Saulseason 6, Jonathan Banks has joined the cast of Bill Burr’s popular animated seriesF is for Family. Previously, Banks and Burr collaborated when Burr played a career criminal working alongside Banks' character in the AMC drama seriesBreaking Bad. Now, as revealed in a sneak peek video of Banks in the role, the actor can be heard as the voice of Big Bill Murphy - the father of Burr’s Frank Murphy - in the show’s upcoming fourth season. You can watch the preview video below.
In the profanity-laced clip, Frank can be heard lamenting over his rough childhood thanks to having Big Bill Murphy for a father. Clips of Frank as a child getting picked on by his old man sell his point, with Banks adding to the role as only he can. Recalling these memories, Frank doesn’t seem thrilled when an older Bill comes by to visit the family, but is surprised to see that his father is now far more kind than how he remembered him. “Did you have a stroke?” Frank asks him during the visit, noticing the drastic change in demeanor. Still, these changes haven’t affected Frank’s resentment for Bill, as he uses some choice words to tell his father to walk off a cliff when Bill tells him he should smile more.
Created by Bill Burr and Michael Price,F Is for Familyfirst premiered on Netflix in 2015. The series is based on the stand-up comedy of Burr and is set in the ’70s, following a dysfunctional family living in America during that era. Co-starring with Burr as the other members of the Murphy family are Laura Dern as Sue, Justin Long as Kevin, Haley Reinhart as Bill, and Debi Derryberry as Maureen. Trevor Devall, Mo Collins, and Phil Hendrie also star as various characters. Along with positive reviews, the series has achieved high viewership on Netflix, running for three seasons already on thestreaming servicewith another season set to arrive soon.
As for Banks, the Emmy-nominated actor isset to play Mike Ehrmantraut once morein the final season ofBetter Call Saulwhich is scheduled to begin shooting this fall barring any production delays. Though Banks is an accomplished veteran with dozens of movie and TV roles under his belt, it was Mike who made the actor a household name when the character was first popularized byBreaking Bad. Now, fans of the actor will always recognize his distinct voice in any of his voice roles as well. In addition toF Is for Family, some of Banks' other major voice roles include parts inMike Tyson Mysteries,Skylanders Academy, andTangles: The Series. He also voiced Commissioner James Gordon in the popular video gameBatman: Arkham Knight.
An officialpremiere date for season 4 of F Is for Familyhas not yet been revealed by Netflix, but the streaming giant says the show’s new episodes will be arriving soon. It’s not clear just how long Banks will be sticking around when his character is introduced inF Is for Family, but let’s hope it will involve regular appearances across multiple episodes. The sneak peek video of Banks as Big Bill Murphy comes to us fromNetflix on YouTube.
