Bryan Cranston: How Love, Drugs, and Power Inspired My "Breaking Bad" Performance as Walter White
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ส.ค. 2017
- Bryan Cranston: How Love, Drugs, and Power Inspired My "Breaking Bad" Performance as Walter White
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As scary as it may seem, Bryan Cranston was deeply informed by personal experience in how he approached Walter White, the character he played on the hit television program "Breaking Bad." In what may be the 'crazy ex-' story to beat all 'crazy ex-' stories, Cranston explains how a series of dark encounters with a mercurial girlfriend helped him tap into Walter White's most menacing qualities. But Cranston is interested in more than the fictional roles he's given to play as an actor. He finds the roles that each of us play in life-from partner, to friend, to citizen, and so on-are what really defines who we are, what we do, and the shape our lives take over their long arc. His book on the subject is aptly called A Life in Parts.
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BRYAN CRANSTON:
Bryan Cranston won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad. He holds the honor of being the first actor in a cable series, and the second lead actor in the history of the Emmy Awards, to receive three consecutive wins. In 2014 he won a Tony Award for his role as Lyndon Johnson in the bio-play All the Way. In film, Cranston received an Academy Award nomination for his leading role in Trumbo. Among his numerous television and film appearances, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and three Emmys for his portrayal of Hal in FOX’s Malcolm in the Middle. He is the author of his memoir, A Life in Parts.
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TRANSCRIPT:
BRYAN CRANSTON: I mean the purpose of writing my book was to express myself, to continue being a storyteller. These are two stories. It’s called Life in Parts because of the parts we play. Not only the parts I played in my profession but also the parts we play as human beings. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a brother. I’m a citizen, a neighbor, and all those things. And we all are. We all present ourselves that way. I also wanted to write honestly because I thought if I’m not telling the truth then what’s the point. It’s masturbatory which has its place in your life but not in this case. I wanted to present it to say okay, here’s when I was afraid. Here’s when I was insecure. This is times when it was really trying on me or testing me. The two incidents that you mention I was married once before to a lovely young woman who we just, we weren’t suited for each other. And so we separated. We parted ways. And out of that four year togetherness I was newly single. And within a month or so I was on an audition and I met this woman named Ava whose name I changed. And she was aggressive and assertive and beautiful and I was kind of taken aback. And we got together quickly and we were boyfriend and girlfriend before I could blink.
And then I realized there was something off about her. And what was off about her is that she was addicted to drugs. But I never knew exactly what kind of drugs. I was really very ignorant about drugs because I was on that track to become a police officer and I just never indulged. I’d smoke pot once in a while but it was never my thing so it didn’t appeal to me. And I’ve never done any other drug than that. So I was very ignorant on that but I noticed her behavior was different. She would be sweating one moment and then she’s fine and then she’s down and then she’s up. IT’s like there’s something very strange going on. And I tried to get out of the relationship and she was so powerful she refused the breakup. When I decided I was going to breakup with her I thought of the possible scenarios. She could be angry. She could be pleading. She could agree with me. Yeah, I think it’s best we should breakup. There could be any number of things. And I thought about how I would react depending on what reaction she would give. The only thing that I didn’t count on is that she said no. Just calmly said so, we’re not breaking up. I don’t know what to do with that. And she was so aggressive and assertive that she just kept pulling me into her life and it was crazy. It’s a longer story but she started stalking me and showed up at work. I was working on a soap opera at the time in New York and she showed up at work and she was thrown out of the studio.
And she would leave these messages on my answering machine in those days. This is the early eighties. And threatening me that she was going to have me killed and when I lease expect it. She would say I can find...
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He's a fuckin great story teller.
Andy yes🙈
I hope he does an audio recording of his new book.
He has already! Check audible :)
He doesn't tell the end of the story though
This is how great story tellers keep you interested.
Wow, that was intense.
You should be resting, on account of your burnt eyes ya silly.
you're goddamn right, gus
oh shit it's my boy Gus
Gus Johnson the last person I expected to see here hahahaha love u Gus
hi
I am simple person: I see Bryan Cranston, I click.
Ivo Teixeira same
Me too. I see Love + Drugs , I click
Honestly, Cranston and Aaron Paul are the only actors whose movies I will watch simply because they are in it (provided that the movies are passable).
exactly ... who cares and who is this guy?
He was the reason I saw Godzilla, but we know what happened there :P
Bryan Cranston is an amazing story teller. Undivided attention throughout.
amazing actor, breaking bad will always be one of the greatest series of all time.
Birlzey i
Birlzey the greatest*
I agree Breaking Bad the best show ever
Brian Cranston's new show - "Breaking Up"
Great talk! Male domestic violence survivors don't often get to share their stories.
Our world isn't gynocentric, it's actually ruled predominantly by men.
Ruled by men who favors.....oh, that is right, WOMEN! Have you seen the laws lately? Just the word of a woman is enough to get a man thrown in jail. Divorce laws are abhorrent and so on. That is what happens when you let emotional creatures vote and be in positions of authority.
Very true right!!!! Forget in real life just in school it’s always the boy who gets in trouble
Bryan, that story about the girl saying no happened to me. I was extremely shy, had just turned 18 and lost my virginity to this beautiful woman I met on the bus. She was a 25 year old Mexican girl going to college and happened to live a few blocks from me. On our first date she told how horrible her roommate was and that he was her fiance and he abused her so I had her living with me whithin a week. A couple months later and I realized something was wrong with her so I decided to break up with her. And just like you, I thought of all these scenarios to prepare myself because I had never been in a relationship as deep as that and to my surprise she just said.. No. And that was it! A month after that and we were married, the whole time I was trying to break up with her, but I just couldn't say no to people when I was at that age so even though I told her no I begrudgingly went to the court house and got married. Then she became very violent and abusive, started copying my signature and using my credit. Finally she got a job and the owner was rich compared to the mess I became after what she put me through. I came home and everything was gone, it turns out she told her boss that I was abusive and he decided to get her out and moved her into his place. But he was Mexican too and where it took me quite a while to notice she was manipulative, it took him a week before he tracked me down to apologize and told me she said I was abusive towards her and etc.. He wanted my help to make her leave his apartment. I shrugged and said I had been trying the entire year to make her leave and coming home that day to find everything I owned missing was actually a relief. He ended up just leaving his apartment and getting a new one leaving her in the old one, so she started coming back to me. I kept her locked out so I started finding her following me with a knife and slashing my tires. I got a restraining order against her shortly after 9/11. (Yes, that 9/11) That day she decided to make death threats to my friends and family.... again.
Even though I never saw her again, she still is messing with my life. 5 years after the separation I got served child support papers and even though the child was born well after a year since I had seen her, since we were still married at the time the child was considered mine. I lived a distance from the courthouse I had to get to in order to dispute this and the day of the trial my ride didn't show, so I called the court asking for an extension or over the phone or anything and that all I want is a paternity test. They told me if I don't show up (which was impossible at that point since the court house opened at 8:00 am and I had to be there at 9:00 and I was 4 hours away) but because of my missing that moment I've been paying child support for someone elses kid who I've never met, I'm assuming because she knows the first thing I'd do is get the paternity test she doesn't want. But life has been a living hell making 50 percent of what others make, having to walk to jobs because I can't drive since my child support started at negative 35,000 dollars. It's about 45,000 now I assume. I don't know, there's nowhere close enough for me to walk to, to work except a gas station that I did work at until the owner learned I didn't believe in gods.
So, it's now my responsibility to subpeona her (Basically forcing her to court) to get the paternity test which costs more than I have ever owned since it happened and the kid's gotta be close to 18 now, I'm still barely getting by and can fit all I own into a backpack. My credit was destroyed before I was 19 and is probably worse now since I've had to move so many times because I can't afford to pay more than a couple months rent before I break down from the stress. Except when working in national parks where they give you a dorm room with kids to live with for cheap and cheap food. That was how I managed to survive for most of my life. I can handle only making a 150 dollars per paycheck when I don't have to worry about my food or housing.
I know exactly what you went through except it's still happening to me. I'm afraid to be near her because she has no problem lying. She's the type of person who has no trouble accusing someone of rape or abuse, I know she's done it to other men after me. It's been years since she's last stalked me, but she found me in Idaho once and started her death threats again until a co-worker told her they were going to turn her into the police. (She was calling to try telling my co-workers lies about me, like I abused her and etc, which almost worked until she started threatening to kill my co-workers too.) But she's not someone I would ever want to be alone with because I know she would do.
And like your vision, I've had dreams. I still have dreams, most of them are of her getting thrown in jail, but some are of when I was younger and she would grab my hair and slam my head into whatever was around, but instead it was me doing it to her. Which would have seriously hurt her, she couldn't hurt me as much. She tried. I've had to dodge plates, shoes. I had a cheap katana blade I kept beside the bed for security ( don't like guns and we lived in Minneapolis) and I woke up with her hitting me with it and every time she did any of these crazy things she would calmly say she didn't. Even if I saw her do it, she would then act like she didn't know what I was talking about. It really messed with me.. Hell, I'm still a mess. Suffering from depression, unable to drive with no credit or money... Shortly after she first hit me with the child support and I found my pay checks cut in half I ended up at a party where the people I was with broke into an empty elementary school and I guess I thought I could pay my rent with a computer I took, but instead I got a felony which still makes it hard to find work to this day. But there are other thefts on my record for the times I got caught trying to steal food the few times I was homeless.
It's tough. And there's this unspoken rule about men being tough and not being abused, but she did such a number to me that last Thursday I nearly tried attempting suicide, which I would have if it wasn't for the fact I'm taking care of my Mom and she'd do the same if I did... but that's beside the point. My depression feels normal now but I was on some new anti-depressants and it was about a month since I started and I quit after that Thursday I felt compelled to kill myself and yesterday I started feeling back to my normal manageable depressed self. I need to move to a weed legal state, it's the only anti-depressant that works immediately and doesn't cause weird side effects like wanting to kill myself or memory loss or fear of open spaces or nausea.
I'm getting off topic. It's sad that people like that exist and that they can get away with using others for their own gain. It's sad that we live in a system where I can get it all fixed, but I need money to fix it. I've written too many lawyers and the closest I got to one helping me pro-bono told me I was divorced (something else she didn't want but somehow did) and he went on saying that the paternity thing will cost me a few thousand in filing costs and that he himself doesn't want to invest the time it would take unless I pay him. So, I've been basically trying to win like... I hope 5 grand can fix it. It might not be enough, but hopefully, someday I'll meet the right person who can help or I'll maybe win a few thousand.
Oh and if anyone reading this needs someone who's great with computers and electronics and has a lot of skills I can't use because of my felony and is willing to give me a good paying job and a place to live I'll work my ass off for you. I've got major depression, but I've scored very well on intelligent tests and can usually learn new things, especially computer infrastructures or whatever system or mainframe you need maintaining. My last job managing the gas station I set up their computerized scanning system so they didn't have to keep using their old cash register and scan the products and order directly from the distributor, something they had been working on for a year until i showed and got it done in a week. But since they found out about my lack of faith and my old felony they demoted me then reduced my hours to one day every two weeks until I saw my name was off the schedule completely which was the top manager's way of firing people. She can't handle confrontation. I wish i could use them as a reference, but I do have a letter of recommendation from a cafe I worked at in Glacier NTL park for 3 years. Okay, I'll shut up, I've told this story so many times, I wish it was someone elses.. well.. no.. that's mean. I wish it was fiction. There.. That's better. But Cranston, if you're reading this, I know exactly how you felt. I'm glad you got out before what happened to me happened to you.
That story puts everything in perspective for me. I've been depressed because I found out some ugly truths about my closest friends and don't want to go out and I've been wasting my summer and decided not to play football my senior year of high school but have been home all day which makes me even more depressed so I lost most of my friends but your story really helps me realize that many, many other people have it way worse off than me.
Goldyray Yeazle hey man shoot me a message
Goldyray Yeazle omggg that's horrible
Goldyray Yeazle,
please share your story here: www.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
Much love man
Why would it take you so long to get a paternity test? I'm having trouble believing this whole story.
WTF Brian, what happened to Ava at then end?
Aaven Chen he did what he envisioned. It was all over the news and Facebook back in the 80's.
Isaac Campos Facebook in the 80s, huh? 😂😂😂
He just raped her instead.
Was it really all in his head? Ava was never seen or heard from again.
Deathbringersora woahhhh
when he started to described the blood and brain matter i was like wha t t h e f u c c o hh sh i t t h o ww
He's such a great storyteller/actor i believed him until he said he was actually on his bed.
sameeee
Oh my god wow, when he got into the simulated-murder I had tunnel vision, it was like "w-wait..what????" Just like in Breaking Bad. This man is an incredible storyteller and this whole message shows incredible and very REAL growth of a human being.
There are A LOT of 'Ava's' in this world, and many of them are not even on drugs.
"Do not harbour your feelings, purge them" - Bryan Cranston 😊
If Bryan ever reads his book as an audio book, boy am I buying that. Just the way he tells stories, in this extremely calm, relaxing, deep voice is so incredibly soothing.
Who's the danger? Me.
Say My Name: Heisenberg You're goddamn right
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
Well, this video explains how Bryan Cranston is such an amazing artist. He truly uses art as a way of externalizing his feelings -- he does it so well, though, that it's truly impressive. You can see the brutal honesty bleeding through his eyes. Made me emotional.
Damn.. just amazing, Bryan is such an amazing actor and such an interesting person, I love to listen to basically everything he has to say, be it about his life, his work as an actor, anything.
He's by far one of my favorite actors and this video just enhances my point.
Great work Big Think, keep it up.
A masterclass in storytelling. Every word, pause, gesture and facial expression was there for a reason. Brilliant really.
For those of you wondering what happened to Ava, he let her in his appartment and tricked her into thinking he loved her again so he could hug her. As soon as she started embracing the hug he grabbed her neck with both hands and repeatedly slammed the back of her head against his brick wall until brain matter gushed out. He then called his best friend, Aaron Paul to come over with a plastic barrel and 50 gallons of hydrofloric acid. He came over with a bathtub and well...you know the rest
I'm glad Bryan shared this story with us, I have a lot more respect for his acting now and for him too cause he turned his bad experience in life into something great! 😊
He's a great actor.
I hope he chooses better roles in the future.
"Why Him" was below him.
So many thanks for that video! You have no idea (well maybe you do) how it's helping me!
Wow, so powerful to hear him tell that story. I've been in a similar and it really hit home
"She said no to the breakup, very calmly" reminds me of George Costanza hahaha
Heisenberg in realife - really inspiring.Interesting is a better word choice.
greeting from germany
First video I've watched of you guys. Great. I'll subscribe, we'll be in touch!
Cheers
Seriously one of the most powerful things I've ever heard/seen. Very captivating.
Bryan Cranston after all the things I heard coming out of your mouth. This. This was the most intensifying story I have ever heard from you. You hold so much intense feelings that acting really did help pursue those feelings out. You truly are a great actor my friend .
when he jolted from his vision i jolted with him too looool he is an amazing storyteller
I just love listening to this man speaking, wise with a great style of story telling.
Holy shit, I knew the video was about how he got into character for breaking bad but I completed forgot and got drawn in by his story! I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat
Brilliant storytelling. I could listen to him all the day.
Say My Name
Tapadeep Chakraborty ... Heisenberg
Noob noob
you are god damn right
My Name
Tapadeep Chakraborty
Great story and very well told, gonna buy his book now lol
he's such a great storyteller, i was so enthralled
WOW!! Thank yooou Brian for openly sharing about your self (although you IT scared me a little), I want you too know that your Character on Breaking Bad became a part of my paper on The Normalization of Psychosis, the transition proses of your Character was brilliant Acting Brian, I've never seen IT done any better anywhere, I hope you got an Oscar and Sag Award for Mr.White, Thank you Breaking Bad Family, I've never watched a complete Series before that so captured my attention because of Its concept and for the first time I felt the deep emotions we feel when something that you feel connected too ends, peace and love Brian :):):), Doug. PS Not too make you feel uncomfortable or anything but I got a picture of you on my wall.
Best Show Ever.
Breaking Bad really flashed me and now I know why, beyond the plot. I'm at a point in my life where this story comes in very helpful. Gives me a lot to think about. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I already bought the book, by the way^^
Well that was a rollercoaster of emotions.
Mr Cranston your writing, narrative here and acting is Sterling! You had me nailed to two seasons of BB like a magnet. Your gaunt, emotionless interpretation of Walter evoked a chill in me I cannot ever describe. Here your emotional display contrastingly demonstrated your depth as individual - thank you! 🍚🍚🍚
Great story teller.
where can i buy this book
Ava sounds like Lila from Dexter
Probably my favourite person on the planet.
Max Beckett completed watching breaking bad today and I approve your statement.wow!!! What a series.
We want more CRANSTON!!!
Actors are frequently encouraged to go out and experience life in order to draw on these experiences while performing. I'm grateful Bryan was willing to relive this traumatic period of his life for the sake of giving as authentic of a performance as possible.
Delightful talk.
Utterly absorbing story telling. Astounding!
That's a fantastic story, Cranston is one of the finest actors of our time.
I can hear that voice the whole day! Amazing!
Great Story, Mr. Cranston. Keep making great things.
@Big Think: Where is the video about traveling with Bryan Cranston?
amazing story. I need this book.
4:20 when Bryan Cranston changes to Heisenberg.
This guy looks a lot like that Waltman dude from Breaking Back.
waltman? yeah he’s that breaking bread dude
Hahahaha good one breaking bread it’s breaking bad you mean Walter White Walt Whitman is just a person they referred to in the show.
This is what your mind's like talking about drugs
Whoa... this took a turn.
Amazing storytelling
That fucking plot twist though
One of the most important life lessons is, "Life is weird"
Never mess with Heisenberg
What a great story teller
What an amazing story teller.
“I want those taaaaaapes!” Ava, better call Saul season 3
This gave me goosebumps. I think I might actually buy his book
Calmly saying "no" in such a situation and disregarding the other person's stand is precisely what assertiveness is not. Other than that, finally a decent Big Think video.
i could listen to this guy telling stories like every day all day.. wanna buy his book after watching this
Dude who else thought he did it before the hook. Because he had me going.
Awesome. Thank you.
I thought Brian was a solid actor actor before watching these two Big Think interviews. Now I see how genuine and thoughtful of a person he is.
that 10 minutes passed in 30 seconds. amazing storytelling
"Madness is like gravity"
Hold shit I actually thought he was telling the story of how he murdered someone. Great storyteller.
I'm happy Hal is his default look
Oh boy, this is the perfect actor to fit Joel’s shoes in a The Last of Movie
I'm totally going to binge Breaking Bad now. See you in a couple days.
What a powerful and imaginative description of human behavior under challenging conditions created by our frictional human interactions!!
He is a good storyteller. One of the best of our time.
Ahhhhh, I love it! Love it, love it, love it!
So what ever did happen to Eva...has anybody seen Eva around after the events of that anecdote? xD
I thought he was serious for a moment!!!
jordan peterson needs to see this
The 80s.. what a time to be alive.
4:28 How I met her mother.
At the climax of his story, my flu.x app (which I set for 'disable for 1 hour') came back into its dark red color. A surreal experience.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For I am the MEANEST SONOFABITCH in the valley.
damn i was only half watching until he started describing killing ava and i was so thrown by his realistic story telling, I had to remind myself that he would be a convicted murderer by now, and then he said it was just a vision and I let out all the breath I hadn't realized I was holding
"There are three things all wise men fears: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." -Patrick Rothfuss
imagine if there was a version of breaking bad where walter made DMT instead of Meth
great story ....it does carry some meaning which is you never know when you could turn into a murderer
Least controversial Big Think of all time?
Bryan, you know what they say...the crazier they are, the better the &$@@&
Nice Datejust!
Omg! So intense!
Bryan Cranston is so awesome.
I don't even know what to do in my life anymore....that cut me so deep; slicing right through every layer of irony I cover myself and my online personality in. What's the point anymore? How am I supposed to continue being in it for the lulz when the lulz don't mean the same to me anymore?
hell of a story
What a great guy; I'll have to latch on to his book to find out if he includes getting yelled at by Jane Kaczmarek on MITM influenced his acting....:)
Why do I feel like I watched this a year ago...
He's truly one of a kind