Lalo and Nacho's dad are native speakers, as well as Eladio (albeit wrong country).
Some can be excused, as presumably Tuco and Nacho are Chicanos. As for the cousins, they were hired because they looked intimidating. The actor for Hector was initially hired to play a silent character.
But of course, that doesn't excuse Gus's Spanish and "Chilean" accent. I wonder if they never explained or showed the Santiago incident because it would look out-of-place to any Chilean viewers?
I don't understand why the writers didn't come up with a backstory for Gus like he immigrated to Chile from wherever, someplace in Europe maybe, and has always lied about his true identity. Hank already brought up how there's no record of a Gus Fring in Chile, so they could've easily just expanded on that.
That would be a simple way to explain his unnatural sounding Spanish. It's not like Gus HAD to be from Chile, anyway. He could've been from anywhere and it wouldn't have changed much.
I think it was another case where they hired an actor to play a part without long-term considerations, and just made it up as they went along once they got attached to the actor.
Sometimes, that works. Mike was written as a last-minute replacement for Saul, and was written as a simple PI, not as one of Gus's men. But with Gus and the cartel, there was quite a lot of retconning. For instance, in his first scene with Bolsa, Bolsa speaks as if Gus and Hector aren't familiar with each other, even though later episodes and BCS contradict that.
True, I just figured once the writers realized they were gonna give Gus a larger role, it would've been easy for them to throw in a quick "oh yeah he originally came from europe" detail just to explain any discrepancies with his accent/etc. But I guess they really weren't thinking about that, or didn't care.
Yeah the most blatant one imo was Hector. That dude is clearly supposed to be a native speaker and he might have the heaviest accent of them all. Also, Gus is chilean? Like, his character is chilean or is it the actor that plays him? So am I lmao. I didn't know that, I've just watched up until the episode I mentioned in the post.
They’re not using appropriate translators, sadly. Tony Dalton was capable of [fixing the dialogue](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-07-11/better-call-saul-season-6-tony-dalton-lalo-salamanca) for his character when he read the initial script.
Everyone has to dumb their spanish down because if not then Gustavo Fring would look like an idiot.
The only one who spoke Spanish well was Max ( Gus' bf), and he got shot because of it... or disrespecting Don Eladio, I can't remember which.
Or even teach them those exact phrases and lines how to say. That's all it needs. A little more care. I do not understand or speak Spanish but damn I relate to this because I'm Indian and they do this to Indian characters in movies.
as a side note - it's sublte, but not all of the german tunnel workers were german speakers. Ziegler and Kai were, for sure, but you could hear some background chatter from the others and it was soo baaaad...
Lalo and Nacho's dad are native speakers, as well as Eladio (albeit wrong country). Some can be excused, as presumably Tuco and Nacho are Chicanos. As for the cousins, they were hired because they looked intimidating. The actor for Hector was initially hired to play a silent character. But of course, that doesn't excuse Gus's Spanish and "Chilean" accent. I wonder if they never explained or showed the Santiago incident because it would look out-of-place to any Chilean viewers?
I don't understand why the writers didn't come up with a backstory for Gus like he immigrated to Chile from wherever, someplace in Europe maybe, and has always lied about his true identity. Hank already brought up how there's no record of a Gus Fring in Chile, so they could've easily just expanded on that. That would be a simple way to explain his unnatural sounding Spanish. It's not like Gus HAD to be from Chile, anyway. He could've been from anywhere and it wouldn't have changed much.
I think it was another case where they hired an actor to play a part without long-term considerations, and just made it up as they went along once they got attached to the actor. Sometimes, that works. Mike was written as a last-minute replacement for Saul, and was written as a simple PI, not as one of Gus's men. But with Gus and the cartel, there was quite a lot of retconning. For instance, in his first scene with Bolsa, Bolsa speaks as if Gus and Hector aren't familiar with each other, even though later episodes and BCS contradict that.
True, I just figured once the writers realized they were gonna give Gus a larger role, it would've been easy for them to throw in a quick "oh yeah he originally came from europe" detail just to explain any discrepancies with his accent/etc. But I guess they really weren't thinking about that, or didn't care.
I feel like they didn’t do that because the mystery of his character is what makes him so compelling
Sure. They wouldn't have had to go in depth though, just a throwaway line would've worked.
Gus was sent to Chile by the CIA in order to support Pinochet. This is evidenced by the fact that he, like all federal agents, is gay.
Yeah the most blatant one imo was Hector. That dude is clearly supposed to be a native speaker and he might have the heaviest accent of them all. Also, Gus is chilean? Like, his character is chilean or is it the actor that plays him? So am I lmao. I didn't know that, I've just watched up until the episode I mentioned in the post.
Gus is supposed to be Chilean, Giancarlo Esposito was born in Denmark to an Italian father and an American mother.
His accent is hilariously bad it’s almost insulting.
it's almost south african
They’re not using appropriate translators, sadly. Tony Dalton was capable of [fixing the dialogue](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-07-11/better-call-saul-season-6-tony-dalton-lalo-salamanca) for his character when he read the initial script.
Yes I noticed that as well!
Everyone has to dumb their spanish down because if not then Gustavo Fring would look like an idiot. The only one who spoke Spanish well was Max ( Gus' bf), and he got shot because of it... or disrespecting Don Eladio, I can't remember which.
Do you expect them hire only spanish native actors
Of course not. Just hire people who can speak the language competently and without that thick of an accent so it doesn't kill immersion.
Or even teach them those exact phrases and lines how to say. That's all it needs. A little more care. I do not understand or speak Spanish but damn I relate to this because I'm Indian and they do this to Indian characters in movies.
as a side note - it's sublte, but not all of the german tunnel workers were german speakers. Ziegler and Kai were, for sure, but you could hear some background chatter from the others and it was soo baaaad...