Michael Ehrmantraut (/ˈɜːrməntraʊt/)[1] is a fictional character portrayed by Jonathan Banks in the television series Breaking Bad and its spinoff prequel Better Call Saul.

[2] Mike is a United States Marine Corps veteran and former Philadelphia Police Department officer who works for Gus Fring—and, on occasion, Saul Goodman—as a private investigator, head of security, cleaner, and hitman.

While an officer in Philadelphia, he engaged in corrupt activities that indirectly led to the death of his son Matt, leading Mike to move to Albuquerque to watch over and financially support his daughter-in-law Stacey and granddaughter Kaylee through jobs in the criminal underworld.

The writers of Breaking Bad created the character of Mike Ehrmantraut as a substitute for Saul Goodman, when actor Bob Odenkirk was unavailable for the second season finale "ABQ" because of a commitment to appear in How I Met Your Mother.

Banks himself thought he would come on and do the role for "ABQ", but had been impressed by working alongside Aaron Paul in that scene, and with the overall direction that Vince Gilligan had provided for the episode.

Banks considered his character close to that of Max von Sydow's Joubert from Three Days of the Condor, an assassin that painted figurines on the side.

[4][5] Following Mike's death in the fifth season episode "Say My Name", Banks said this did not surprise him because he always believed the character would die at some point.

[8] Mike's military service is implied in the Better Call Saul second-season episode "Gloves Off" when he mentions his familiarity with a black market sniper rifle he intends to buy.

In an extended flashback in the Better Call Saul episode "Five-O", Mike is revealed to have been a corrupt police officer who took bribes.

After the deal is complete, Mike explains that he investigated Nacho beforehand and determined he was operating without the knowledge of his bosses in the Salamanca drug cartel, giving him an incentive to ensure that the transaction went smoothly.

Impressed by Mike's work for Pryce, Nacho approaches him with a request to kill his boss Tuco Salamanca, Hector's nephew.

[9] Mike finds his moves have been tracked by Gus Fring, the owner of the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant chain, which is part of the cartel's drug trafficking operation.

He asks for help to launder the $250,000 he stole, and Gus obliges by arranging for Madrigal Electromotive, the parent company of Los Pollos and a participant in its drug activities, to hire Mike as a contracted security expert and pay him monthly consulting fees.

Lydia Rodarte-Quayle informs him the consulting contract was supposed to be a paper transaction, but Mike argues that his inspections provide plausible cover if anyone questions the payments.

Gus secretly initiates construction of a meth lab under an industrial laundry as part of a plan to end his reliance on cartel cocaine smuggled from Mexico and puts Mike in charge.

While Mike watches and trains his rifle on the location, Gus, Tyrus, and Victor meet with Juan Bolsa, Hector Salamanca, and the Cousins to hand Nacho over.

Rather than attempt to flee, Nacho uses a piece of broken glass from Gus's trash to free himself from his restraints, seize Juan's gun, and kill himself.

He learns that two of Gus's local drug dealers were responsible for the death of his friend Combo and Tomás, the younger brother of Jesse's girlfriend Andrea.

Knowing he was recognized at Gale's house, and hoping to demonstrate that he can still be useful to Gus, Victor begins producing a batch of meth, revealing that he has learned the process by watching Walt and Jesse.

Mike increases security at the lab, including installing video cameras and personally standing watch over Walt and Jesse while they work.

During a party at Don Eladio's house to celebrate the rapprochement, Gus uses a poisoned bottle of tequila to kill most of the cartel leaders, taking the first drink himself to alleviate suspicion.

This inadvertently leads the police to discover hidden account numbers and access codes for the money Gus deposited offshore to be used to pay the members of his organization for their silence.

They arrange to steal a large quantity without detection, but Todd, an employee of the fumigation company who aids in the robbery, shoots and kills a young boy who witnessed it.

The police identify the attorney Mike has been using to make the payments to Gus' former employees, then locate the money he has been saving for Stacey and Kaylee.

Mike appears briefly in a flashback in the opening scene of the film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

"[17] Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a 9 out of 10 rating, calling it "mind-blowing", but stating that "I hate to see Mike go out like that.

[19] Jonathan Banks has received several awards and nominations for his portrayal as Mike Ehrmantraut in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

In 2012, he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for his role in Breaking Bad.

The videos feature a mix of live-action footage of Banks portraying Mike in providing training to new security employees of Madrigal and animated segments.

[25] The series had been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, but the nomination was pulled by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences after they discovered the episodes were too short for the category, stating "This decision is in no way a diminishment of the quality of Better Call Saul Employee Training or Mr. Banks' performance in it".