In "Young Sheldon," Ed Begley Jr. portrays Dr. Grant Linkletter, a physics professor who works with Sheldon and is something of a mentor. The veteran actor also played Clifford Main on "Better Call Saul" and appeared in 14 episodes over four seasons. Main was briefly the boss of Saul Goodman, née Jimmy McGill, though the job ends in disaster when Main's penchant for the rules rubs Jimmy the wrong way and he makes it his mission to get fired. Main continued playing an important role in "Better Call Saul" even after Jimmy's job doesn't work out, as they're both behind a nursing home lawsuit that could bring in windfalls of cash. He also acts as a mentor in many ways to Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), Goodman's eventual partner at home, work, and eventually in crime.
As good as Begley Jr. is as Clifford Main, it's not the role he originally auditioned for. The actor revealed in a September 2022 interview with Closely Observed Frames that he was a massive fan of "Breaking Bad" and wanted to be part of "Better Call Saul" from the beginning, so he auditioned for the role of Chuck McGill, Jimmy's brother.
"After I read for the part, Vince [Gilligan] said there was a problem. There was a wonderful actor and he had promised him a long time ago that they would work together again. He made up his mind and he rightly chose the better performance, Michael McKean," the actor said.
Luckily, co-creator Vince Gilligan didn't forget about Begley Jr. and called him in to take on the role of Cliff, a performance he'd kept up through the show's final season in 2022.
