Actor Bob Odenkirk can boast of having some blue blood, even if it is a tiny part. At least now that he knows that King Charles III of England is part of his family, as revealed by tests carried out on the successful North American public television program, Finding Your Roots.
The program, hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., is a huge success, helping celebrities learn about their ancestors and family history. Odenkirk was the last guest of Gates, who was astonished when they revealed to him that the British sovereign and he are eleventh cousins.
“This is crazy!” Odenkirk managed to say, laughing, after discovering that he was related to British royalty through his paternal family. The Breaking Bad star explained that he didn’t know much about his family, since his father, Walter Odenkirk, abandoned them when he was only 15 years old.
As Gates explained, the actor was related to the British Royal Family through his paternal family. Specifically, because of his father’s fifth great-grandfather, who was born out of wedlock to the third Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön, he had an affair with a young woman, Maria Catharina Bein.
“I’m American, I’m not a monarchist,” Odenkirk was quick to clarify, amused, before learning of his relationship to the current monarch, for which the program normally dedicates hours of study. “We have reached a better place with democracy and we must continue on that path.” Now, after finding out about his family relationship, he joked about his new “status”: “Well, maybe I’ll change my mind about that.”
The program enjoys great audience success, although it has not been without controversy. One of the most talked about visits was that of actor Ben Affleck, who did his best to hide that he was descended from the slaver Benjamin Cole, as the program’s investigators discovered.
The actor came to present himself as the new Batman and feared that this information would damage his public image, so he tried to negotiate with the producers so that the information would never come to light. However, everything ended up being discovered and the actor was forced to apologize publicly.
“I didn’t want any television program to associate my family with a guy who had slaves. I felt ashamed. Just thinking about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth,” he explained. “I condemn what this person did, but it is a great opportunity for Americans not to lose the memory of what happened in our country not so many years ago.”
