Bryan Cranston’s Breaking Bad Stand: Why He Fired a Crew Member
Bryan Cranston opened up about a tense moment on the Breaking Bad set, revealing he demanded a crew member be sacked for behaviour that crossed the line. Find out what happened behind the scenes.
Bryan Cranston’s journey to the top wasn’t a quick one, and he’s never been one to put up with nonsense. Growing up without any showbiz connections, he slogged through the 1990s, picking up roles wherever he could. Aussies might remember him popping up in classics like Seinfeld and The X-Files. He really started to get noticed for his offbeat dad act in Malcolm in the Middle, but it was his knack for going dark that landed him the gig of a lifetime.
When Breaking Bad first came along, no one expected it to blow up the way it did. Big networks like FX gave it a miss, but once it landed on AMC, word spread fast. Punters couldn’t stop talking about it, and Cranston’s performance quickly became the stuff of legend. The show slowly turned into one of the biggest cultural touchstones of the century.
From Comedy to Grit: Cranston’s Transformation
Most viewers knew Cranston for his comic chops, so seeing him as Walter White was a real surprise. While TV was full of anti-heroes like Tony Soprano and Don Draper, Walter was different. He started out as a bloke you’d feel sorry for, but as the series went on, he became more ruthless and cunning. Cranston wasn’t just the face of the show—he was a driving force behind its creative direction, often chatting with the writers and even stepping in to direct a few episodes.
He took a lot of pride in the project and wanted everyone on set to have a good experience. That’s why, in a chat with GQ, he shared a story about a time he had to take a stand.
“He was incredibly inappropriate and inebriated, and he made a lot of people on our show feel very uncomfortable,”
Cranston recalled.
“When I went in to talk to my producer about it and said, ‘We’ve got to let him go. We’ve got to fire him. It’s inexcusable behaviour’, he said, ‘It’s already done’.”
Setting the Tone on Set
It’s a shame, but dodgy behaviour on set isn’t unheard of in the industry. Some productions have been marred by crew or cast who don’t show respect for their mates at work. But Breaking Bad built a reputation for being a place where everyone’s voice mattered and the environment was both creative and productive. That positive vibe was a big part of why so many of the same faces stuck around for the spin-off, Better Call Saul.
Vince Gilligan’s prequel followed the slippery lawyer Jimmy McGill, played by Bob Odenkirk, as he slid into the world viewers first saw in Breaking Bad. Cranston even returned for the final season, stepping back into Walter’s shoes—proof that the character still means a lot to him.
Cranston’s Ongoing Impact
Since his days as Walter White, Cranston’s kept busy on the small screen. He’s starred in the legal drama Your Honor, popped up in the crime series Sneaky Pete, and there’s even talk of a Malcolm in the Middle revival. But it’s clear that his time on Breaking Bad remains a highlight, not just for the accolades, but for the standards he set behind the scenes.