Turns out, Bryan Cranston was just as dazzled by one of them Breaking Bad’s darkest twists as millions of viewers.
During a recent Variety actors on actors conversation with 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 received scripts one at a time, meaning he often had no idea where the story was going.
It became a problem during a pivotal showdown in Season 4, when Jesse Pinkman points a gun at Walter, convinced he poisoned young Brock Cantillo.
“I remember shooting 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 recalled.
Certain Walter was innocent, he threw himself into the scene and even blamed Gus Fring.
“I point the finger in the direction of Giancarlo Esposito’s character: ‘Gus Fring, he’s the one who could win at this!'”
Then came the next script.
“‘You think I did it? So kill me. Then shoot me right now if you think I did it!'” Cranston recalled performing. But after reading the following paragraph, reality hit.
“And then the next episode came out a few days later and I read it and I’m like, ‘Oh, I did.’ Oops. My bad!”
Despite the shock, Cranston said he wouldn’t have changed a thing about his performance.
“No, because he has to be trustworthy. But maybe I really thought it was Gus Fring who did it!”
If Walter White could fool Bryan Cranston, the rest of us might never have a chance.
