10 Scariest Characters In Non-Horror TV Shows
3. Lalo Salamanca (Better Call Saul)
While the Breaking Bad prequel unsurprisingly leaned heavily on its parent show, its best moments came from the entirely new creations. As far as antagonists go, Better Call Saul’s Lalo Salamanca is one of the finest additions to the Gilligan-verse to date.
Played with suave, sinister charm by Tony Dalton, Lalo came onto the show with a family name to fear. For the most part, the Salamancas we’ve seen have been scary in a hotheaded, violent, unpredictable fashion.
Lalo was a different cat altogether. Dalton’s handsomely moustachioed portrayal was seductive, silver tongued. While Hector and Tuco Salamanca scowled and bellowed, Lalo smiled and purred, reassuring you that everything was alright - before the killing started.
In a show piled high with arch schemers, Lalo seemed a cut above the rest. He moved with total and utter self belief, swanning into Albuquerque and playing the game like a pro, even going toe to toe with Gus Fring.
Better Call Saul is the sedate character study to Breaking Bad’s thriller, but Lalo Salamanca was something altogether different, a figure of total fear who brought death and destruction wherever he went - and did so with a fetching smile.