It turns out that Bryan Cranston was just as blinded by one of the breaking Bad the darkest twists and turns than millions of viewers.
During a recent Variety actors on actors conversation with You better call Saul star Rhea Seahorn, Cranston shared a hilarious behind-the-scenes confession about the moment he realized Walter White had gone even further than he thought.
Like many actors in Vince Gilligan’s universe, Cranston was given scripts one by one, meaning he often had no idea what direction the story would take.
This became an issue during a pivotal confrontation in season 4 when Jesse Pinkman points a gun at Walter, convinced he poisoned young Brock Cantillo.
“I remember filming 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 on the show, and I’m like, ‘Why would I do that?'” Cranston recalls.
Certain that Walter was innocent, he threw himself on the scene, even accusing Gus Fring.
“I point the finger at Giancarlo Esposito’s character: ‘Gus Fring, he’s the one who would have everything to gain!'”
Then the next script arrived.
“‘You think I did it? Then kill me. Then shoot me right now, if you think I did it!'” Cranston recalled. But after reading the next episode, reality set in.
“And then the next episode came a few days later and I read it and I’m like, ‘Oh, I did that.’ Oops. My bad!
Despite the shock, Cranston said he wouldn’t have changed anything about his performance.
“No, because it has to be credible. But maybe I really thought Gus Fring did it!”
If Walter White could fool Bryan Cranston, maybe we wouldn’t stand a chance.
