bryan cranston

Born in the San Fernando Valley (California), on March 7, 1956, Bryan Lee Cranston has always lived close to the world of television, since his father, actor Joe Cranston, played fixed characters in various series of the 50s. , while the mother, Peggy Sell, was a radio actress. During his childhood he spent a lot of time with his grandparents, whom he helped with chores on his poultry farm. He studied political science at Los Angeles Valley College.

At first his parents – who knew the ins and outs of ‘show business’ in depth – were quite reluctant for him to dedicate his life to acting, but he felt such a great vocation that he decided to try it anyway. After making his debut at the Granada Theatre, in his hometown, from 1982 he began shooting various commercials and playing minor roles, especially on television.

Until the end of the 20th century, Bryan Cranston went largely unnoticed, except for his recurring role as a dentist on Seinfeld , where he gave a lot of play in several episodes due to the panic that the protagonist had to go to his office. At that time he received the support of Tom Hanks , dazzled by his talent after hiring him for a small role, the real astronaut Gus Grissom, in The Wonders . In the Hanks-produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon , he could be seen as another space race legend, Buzz Aldrin – the second person to walk on the moon. He also accompanied the famous actor in Saving Private Ryan, where his appearance is minimal, as a colonel of the War Department who insisted at the beginning on the importance of the mission.

Starting in the year 2000, Bryan Cranston’s career took a turn after playing Hal, the bizarre father of Malcolm ‘s dysfunctional family , an imaginative and fresh comedy. Despite the talent of all the leads – the young Frankie Muniz also gained notoriety – Cranston became the king of the show. After the series ended, he could be seen in some other role, such as that of the insufferable Hammond Druthers, Ted Mosby’s boss in an architecture studio, in a couple of episodes of How I Met Your Mother .

At that time, Bryan Cranston was in danger of being pigeonholed in his comic register, and ending up forgotten, like other sitcom protagonists. But one day his agent sent him the script for the drama series Breaking Bad , which was being prepared by AMC, with a note that made it clear that it was from a writer he had worked with when he appeared in an episode of The X -Files . Although he didn’t understand the meaning of the title, he loved the script. “I called my agent, who told me that auditions were starting the following week. I told him that I had to get seen before, because by then other big-name actors would have seen it, and I wouldn’t have a chance. recalls Cranston.

After the test, they did not hesitate to hire him to play Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher with financial problems, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. With a former student he decides to launch into the manufacture of methamphetamine, to ensure the well-being of his family when he dies, starting a dangerous path to the dark side of life through the sale of drugs.

Breaking Bad , a true television masterpiece, as crude as it is realistic, obtained the unanimous support of critics from the outset for several reasons, including the careful evolution of the characters, worthy of the best novels, and the assembly of small details. of each chapter, which always seem to make sense later on. But above all because of the courage of its creator, Vince Gilligan, and the rest of the writing team, capable of taking the series along almost suicidal paths, for example in the famous chapter of the fly, where only the two protagonists appear. , locked in a laboratory, with this insect, to which Cranston dedicates a high-profile monologue. Quite a challenge for the actors, the scriptwriters and the director, who undoubtedly shine.

For the interpreter, the complex and nuanced Walter White has been the character of his life, which has earned him not only the three Emmys and a fourth nomination previously mentioned, but also three Golden Globe nominations among other awards. “I’m more grateful for this character than anyone will ever know,” says Bryan Cranston of Walter White. “It’s almost a version of Tony Soprano, except that Tony was comfortable being a criminal, and Walter White is like a fish out of water. Vince, the whole team and myself are trying to do something that has never been achieved in television history, which is changing the lead character from one person to another. I’m grateful to people like David Chase for paving the way for characters like this.”

In his fifties, Cranston has gained the prestige that until now had eluded him in his three-decade career with Breaking Bad , and has become an object of desire for directors to polish secondary characters. He was a detective in The Innocent (The Lincoln Lawyer) , Julia Roberts ‘s husband in Larry Crowne, It’s Never Too Late (again with Tom Hanks , protagonist and director), a teacher in The Professor (Detachment) , an army officer in John Carter and Contagion , the evil chancellor Cohaagen in Total Recall and mayor inRock of Ages (The era of rock) . He also briefly shined as Greg Kinnear ‘s literary agent on Little Miss Sunshine . Two roles stand out in his film career, agent Tony Mendez’s ( Ben Affleck ) supervisor in Argo , and the lead’s charismatic mechanic and boss ( Ryan Gosling ) in Drive .

Director of a totally unknown drama, Last Chance , Bryan Cranston gained a wealth of experience as a filmmaker working on various episodes of Malcolm . He continues to serve as such, on Breaking Bad and on competing shows like The Office and Modern Family .

Divorced in 1982 from his wife, Mickey Middleton, he joined actress Robin Dearden, whom he met while filming an episode of the Airwolf: Helicopter series . Bryan Cranston was the villain and she was his hostage. Both have had a daughter, Taylor Dearden, who appeared in an episode of Breaking Bad and in a short, so she could follow in the footsteps of her parents in the acting field.