Brian Cranston became a household name for his portrayal of Breaking Bad’s Walter White, but his career started long before that famous role.
Here are 10 interesting facts that shed some light on the award winning actor that you might not know.
10. He was once a murder suspect
Cranston and his brother once worked as waiters at a Florida restaurant with an extremely callous chef named Peter Wong. When Wong was found murdered, the Cranston brothers were initially suspects, however, they were on a cross-country motorcycle trip when the murder occurred and were cleared as suspects.
9. He once worked as a carny
On that same cross-country road trip with his brother, the two ran out of cash while in Texas. Cranston picked up any odd jobs including working as a game booth operator at a carnival.
8. His parents were both involved in show business
His mother, Peggy Sell, worked as a radio actress, and his father, Joseph Louise Cranston worked in Hollywood as both an actor and a producer.
7. He got the Breaking Bad logo tattooed on his finger
After finishing filming the final episodes of Breaking Bad, Cranston got the show’s logo tattooed on the inner part of his finger to celebrate and remember the series.
6. He did not always plan on being a professional actor
Cranston graduated with an associate degree in police science from Los Angeles Valley College in 1976. Cranston had previously performed as an actor as a youth, but his parents had mixed feeling about their son being involved with the profession.
5. He learned how to cook real meth
In an interview with Howard Stern, Cranston revealed that DEA agents taught him the real process for cooking meth to prepare for some of his scenes on Breaking Bad. Cranston claims he never got to make a batch despite being taught the steps.
4. He based his portrayal of Walter White on his own father
In an interview with GQ, Cranston claimed to have based part of his portrayal of his character Walter White on his own father. “I actually thought of my father, how he stands hunched, burdened,” Cranston said.
3. He has worked under the pseudonym ‘Lee Stone’
In the 1990’s, Cranston worked as a voice actor for English dubbing of Japanese anime such as Street Fighter II, Macross Plus, and Royal Space Force under the name Lee Stone.
2. He almost didn’t get the part of Walter White
Originally, the role for Breaking Bad’s Walter White had been offered to both John Cusack and Matthew Broderick, however, both turned down the offer. The show’s executives were still skeptical about casting Cranston because of his background in comedy with Malcom in the Middle, but changed their minds after Vince Gilligan showed them an episode of the X-Files in which Cranston had a guest role.
1. The Blue Power Ranger was named after him
Cranston worked as a voice actor for several monsters on the show earlier in his career. The creative team decided to name the Blue Power Ranger, “Billy Cranston,” in honor of the actor.
Were you surpassed by any of these facts? Let us know in the comments below.
10 Things You Never Knew About Bryan Cranston is a post from: LifeDaily