Bryan Cranston admits he was stunned by one brutal Breaking Bad twist
The Emmy-winning actor has revealed he was left stunned after discovering one of television’s most infamous plot developments only after filming a pivotal scene.
Bryan Cranston was left stunned by one of the most shocking twists in Breaking Bad.
The actor, 70, discussed the long-running hit series during Variety’s Actors on Actors conversation with Rhea Seehorn, who starred as Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul and currently leads Vince Gilligan’s latest series, Pluribus – revealing he had no idea his character Walter White had poisoned a child on Breaking Bad until he read the script himself.
The interview revisited the unusual way creator Vince developed both Breaking Bad and its spin-off, with actors receiving scripts one episode at a time and often being kept in the dark about future storylines.
Rhea explained: “We only get our scripts one at a time on Vince Gilligan’s shows, and you don’t generally even get told an outline of what the whole season will be. So you have no idea what the character’s going to do. And I will say it was a new way to work.”
Bryan said the same approach had been used throughout Breaking Bad.
He added: “You’re going through so many twists and turns that are hard to fathom, you can’t possibly plan ahead. I just thought, ‘This is kind of good for Walter White just to step into what’s next for him’, because it was such foreign territory – just like it is for you.”
Breaking Bad, which aired from 2008 to 2013, transformed Bryan from sitcom favourite to one of television’s most celebrated dramatic actors.
Before playing chemistry teacher-turned-drug kingpin Walter White, he was best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle.
His portrayal of Walter earned him four Emmy Awards and helped establish the series as one of the defining dramas of the 21st century.
Reflecting on one storyline, Bryan recalled filming a tense confrontation between Walter and Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, after Jesse became convinced Walter had poisoned Brock Cantillo, the young son of Andrea Cantillo, played by Emily Rios.
Bryan said: “I remember shooting an episode of Breaking Bad where Aaron Paul’s character, Jesse, comes at me with a gun because he thinks I poisoned the little boy in the show, and I’m going, ‘Why would I do that?’”
He continued: “And I point the finger in the direction of Giancarlo Esposito’s character: ‘Gus Fring, he’s the one who would stand to gain by this!’”
Bryan added: “And then, ‘You think I did it? Then kill me. Then shoot me right now, if you think I did it!’”
The actor said he genuinely believed Walter was innocent while filming the scenes.
He said: “And then the next episode came a few days later, and I’m reading it, and I go, ‘Oh, I did do it.’ Oops. My bad!”
Despite the surprise, Bryan said the lack of advance knowledge ultimately benefited his performance.
He said Walter “has to be believable”.
Rhea said some viewers assume Vince and Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould deliberately withhold information from actors to influence performances, but insisted that was not the case.
She said: “They also like to plant a lot of seeds, and see which things are blooming.”
Rhea recalled Vince telling her: “Oh yeah, we love to paint ourselves into a corner and then freak out trying to figure out how to get out.”
Bryan agreed, saying: “Every season of every show, he’s done that. Your show, your other show, Breaking Bad, it’s always, ‘I don’t see how he’s going to get out of this.’”
Rhea received Emmy nominations for her performance as Kim in Better Call Saul, which ran from 2015 to 2022 and became one of television’s most acclaimed spin-offs.
She recently starred in Pluribus, with a second season of the Apple TV+ drama expected to begin filming next year.
