Better Call Saul - Why Tony Dalton Is So Captivating As Lalo Salamanca

This video essay analyzes Better Call Saul's Lalo Salamanca, played by Tony Dalton. Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad have no other character like Lalo Salamanca. He feels different to everyone else? But why? This video will clarify the key elements of Tony Dalton's performance that make Lalo stand out.

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Music used:
The Loner by DJ Williams
The Sound of a Dollar by DJ Williams
Cancun by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena
Tumbleweed Texas by Chris Haugen
Falling Rain by Myuu
Cumbia City by An Jone

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:37 Smiling
5:20 Physicality
9:01 The Stare

#bettercallsaul #lalosalamanca #tonydalton

[godamoon]

To come on the show as late as he did, and still be one of the most memorable characters in the whole universe, is insane.

[vflytrap]

The casting of Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca is pure perfection

[brianmorales]

From a throwaway line, "did Lalo send you?"
To the most enjoyable villains this side of Ledger's Joker is PURE ART!

[wilks]

I don't think his smile is a bluff, I think it's scarier than that. He IS having a good time. He likes who he is and THAT is what is scary about it.

[jimbo]

Dalton's portrayal was pure genius. Even though Lalo was the sort of guy who'd stab you in the back in an instant if it served his best interests, you couldn't help but think "yeah, I'd like to drink a beer with this dude." Now _that_ is evil incarnate.

[tnuhknaks]

He, nachos dad, and a small few other actors were the only ones who genuinely spoke Spanish with a Mexican accent. Outstanding!

[zFrizzi]

The fact that Lalo was smart enough to outplay both Gus and Mike is amazing. At fist I didn't like the way he got killed, but after a while I understood that the only way he was getting killed was by a stroke of luck

[revelare_xvii]

The fact that even Gus Fring was afraid of this guy is another level of scary

[dylanstott]

Tony Dalton was born to be in a Tarantino movie. As Tarantino is reaching his 10th and final film, I’m worried that collaboration will forever be left to the imagination. He gives off a savant killer energy very similar to Christoph Waltz.

[chinua]

Something has to be added about his physicality. His physical feats bordered on superhuman. For me thats one of the main things that made him terrifying. We constantly see him using agility and strength to get things done. 

Besides leaping down onto Saul's abandoned car in a gulley like a boss, he crawled through a fan duct, hid and then shot four trained armed guards that Mike trusted. He casually slaughters five hitmen by physically dodging, running, and hanging upside down and shooting them one by one like a virtuoso. Remember Lalo started with no weapon, while they had assault rifles, body armor, radios, and were trained killers with the element of surprise. Who can do that?

And the one that blew my mind so much I rewinded it over and over while standing up and shouting at the screen in shock; He vaults himself into a ceiling, climbs over a bulletproof barrier, drops effortlessly to the floor and murders the attendant without being even slightly winded. Contrast that with Nacho, who is very physical, but grunts, sweats and has to gather courage to start moving. Nacho feels like everyman overcoming challenges with physical strength. But Lalo feels diabolic, infused with otherworldly energy, slick and effortless.

His raw strength physicality was awe inspiring, some of it feeling olympian or even superhuman. He was about as perfect a villain as I have ever seen, rivaling Anton Chigurh. I cant think of a better compliment.

[creeperinvasion]

One thing I love about Lalo is he is the complete antitheses of Gus. Gus being smiley and friendly is him putting on an act, but Lalo is quite genuine with his upbeat persona. Even when he’s alone and has no one to try to gain the trust of or manipulate, he is all smiles. He also just happens to be a drug lord murderer

[tadeojablonski]

His eyes are just so soulless on certain scenes. His movements and chatter are in line with a charismatic persona, but his eyes reveal that he is just dead inside.
I can’t even tell you what makes his stare so chilling, it just does. You can tell from a subconscious level. Tony really gave an incredible performance.

[donfontaine]

Lalo is the Hans Landa of Better Call Saul. He's a charming, unnerving and terrifying. He's a detective of the highest order who can sniff out the tiniest lie and make you so uncomfortable that you couldn't hide it any longer.

[elijaprice]

I think perhaps the most chilling/telling moment for Lalo's character is when he's in court as Jorge De Guizmann, and he asks Jimmy who the traumatised people in the public gallery are, and Jimmy/Saul tells him they're the family of (name of the guy who was murdered). And Lalo curiously asks who that person is, and when Jimmy/Saul explains to him (ya know, he's the guy who was murdered - by you), and Lalo just kinda nods along indifferently, as if his curiosity only lasted as long as it took for him to ask the question, and now he's thinking about something else already. It's eerie AF.

I always figured they showed Lalo with his hands dangling by his sides as a tribute to the old westerns, to put the other character (and the audience) in mind of the way the gunslinger would always be quick on the draw.

[mudshrooze]

Rest in piece Howard. You were a good person who truly cared for those around him even your enemies.
You were one of the best and good hearted people in this universe

[michaelwong]

The word "mercurial" describes part of what makes Lalo scary. He's not just pretending to smile. He's genuinely smiling, because HE ENJOYS THIS. Even if he's about to kill you. His smile isn't just some calculated technique to disarm you and allay your suspicions. It seems more like a genuine reflection of how he's feeling, but it's unnerving because he is fully capable of enjoying himself while he kills you.

[barakaobama]

I think whats terrifying is how Lalo treats other characters like children. To him, all of them are just children playing around and are no threat to him.

[jacksonmay]

Howard's story is BY FAR the most heart breaking in BB and Saul. He did not deserve that at all.

[ocfjavier]

Showing a clip of Lalo’s last smile as he’s dying would’ve been the icing on the cake to this video

[monumentlandscapeservicesl]

Lalo was scarier than Hector, Tuco, and the cousins put together. Like a shark, he shows you a toothy grin--just before he bites. The comparison of Ron Burgundy, Dick Dastardly and Anton Chigurh was spot on. Nothing worse than a smiling, amiable psychopath with that predatory stare. One of the best performances in a show full of stellar performances. Dalton nailed it.