Former Dixon resident grows acting career, lands role on 'Better Call Saul'

DIXON – Those watching the latest season of “Better Call Saul” were likely to see a familiar face on screen.

Former Dixon resident Hans Obma landed a role as Adrian, a member of the German crew on the “Breaking Bad” spinoff on AMC.

It’s one in a long line of foreign characters Obma has played on TV.

In the last year, Obma had Hungarian, French, German and Croatian roles, and his passion for performing as well as affinity for languages and accents came from his years growing up in the Petunia City.

Some of his favorite memories of Dixon were from the junior high school Swinging Patriots choir led by Cindy Basler.

“I loved the Swinging Patriots. We were performing at elementary schools and nursing homes, but it felt like we were stars,” Obma said.

He started studying French and Spanish at Dixon High School and later jumped into German and basic Russian.

Basler, Julie Profitt and Louise Corken are a few of his teachers in junior high and high school who inspired him, and likely would get a mention if he ever gets to make an Oscar acceptance speech.

Obma studied journalism and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and moved to Los Angeles about 11 years ago.

“One of the greatest parts about L.A. is the possibility of knocking it out of the park, the possibility of enormous success,” he said.

Some of his past roles include a French war hero on “TURN: Washington’s Spies,” a German villain on “NCIS: New Orleans,” a Croatian patient on “The Resident,” a crooked Hungarian businessman on the TV series “Get Shorty,” and a Czechoslovakian warlock on “The Vampire Diaries.”

This year, he was named Outstanding Featured Actor by the LA Scene Awards for his portrayal of British Christopher Wren in “The Mousetrap” at Crown City Theatre in Los Angeles.

His parents are Bob and Patty Obma, who have since moved back to Wisconsin, and his siblings are Padraic, Sarah and Kari.

“I really can say that I’m going after what I want to go after, and I’m not living life on accident,” he said.