"Thank God I hadn't seen a billion episodes of Breaking Bad like everyone else, otherwise I would have been too intimidated to walk to work [on Godzilla (2014)] with Bryan. I had seen him in a few, but the real reason I wanted Bryan was because of Malcolm in the Middle - and an episode of Airwolf from 1986."
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor most famous for his Emmy-winning role as morally gray, cancer-stricken chemistry teacher-turned-meth kingpin Walter White in Breaking Bad note and as hapless suburban husband and father Hal Wilkerson in Malcolm in the Middle. During his youth, he started acting in theaters such as the Granada Theater, though he stopped for a bit until the late 80's since his show business parents weren't too keen on Cranston being in the acting business.
Cranston has also done work as a voice actor, providing voices in English dubs for Japanese anime such as Macross Plus and Armitage III (sometimes going under the pseudonym "Lee Stone"), though he isn't exactly a big name in the anime industry and he considers his early dubbing work an Old Shame. His more recent involvements with voice acting were in the animated movie adaptation of Batman: Year One and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. He also won a Tony award for his debut Broadway performance as President Lyndon Johnson in All the Way, and he reprised the role in an HBO movie based on the play.
Film Roles
- 1998 — Saving Private Ryan as War Department Colonel
- 2000 — The Big Thing as Roberto Montalban
- 2003 — National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion as Woodrow Snider
- 2004 — Seeing Other People as Peter
- 2004 — Illusion as David
- 2006 — Little Miss Sunshine as Stan Grossman
- 2011 — The Lincoln Lawyer as Detective Lankford
- 2011 — Drive (2011) as Shannon
- 2011 — Detachment as Richard Dearden
- 2011 — Larry Crowne as Dean Tainot
- 2011 — Contagion as Haggerty
- 2012 — Red Tails as Major William Mortamus
- 2012 — John Carter as Colonel Powell
- 2012 — Rock of Ages as Mayor Mike Whitmore
- 2012 — Total Recall (2012) as Vilos Cohaagen
- 2012 — Argo as Jack O'Donnell
- 2013 — Cold Comes the Night as Topo
- 2014 — Godzilla (2014) as Joe Brody
- 2015 — Trumbo as Dalton Trumbo
- 2016 — All the Way (HBO movie) as Lyndon Johnson
- 2016 — The Infiltrator as Robert Mazur / Bob Musella
- 2016 — Why Him? as Ned Fleming
- 2017 — Power Rangers (2017) as Zordon.
- 2017 — Last Flag Flying as Salvatore "Sal" Nealon
- 2017 — Wakefield as Howard Wakefield
Television Roles
- He did indeed guest star in Airwolf.
- 1986, 1990 and 1996 — Murder, She Wrote as Brian East (ep. "Menace, Anyone?"), Jerry Wilber (ep. "Good-Bye Charlie") and Parker Foreman (ep. "Something Foul in Flappieville")
- 1988 — Raising Miranda as Uncle Russell
- 1994-1997 — Seinfeld as Dr. Tim Whatley
- 1997 — Babylon 5 as Ranger Ericsson.
- 1998 — The X-Files episode "Drive" as Patrick Crump
- 1999-2001 — The King of Queens as Tim Saksky
- 2000–2006 — Malcolm in the Middle as Hal Wilkerson
- 2006–2013 — How I Met Your Mother as Hammond Druthers
- 2007 — Fallen as Lucifer / The Light Bringer
- 2008-2013 — Breaking Bad as Walter White
- He reprised this role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
- 2015 — Sneaky Pete as Vince
- 2020 — Home Movie: The Princess Bride as Count Rugen
- 2020 — Your Honor as Judge Michael Desiato
Voice Acting Roles
- 1987 — Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise as Marty Tohn
- 1989 — Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari as Theodore 'Laurie' Lawrence
- 1993 — Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers as Snizzard and Twin Man. The original Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston, was named for him.
- 1993 — Moldiver as Launch Control
- 1994 — Macross Plus as Isamu Alva Dyson
- 1994 — Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie as Fei Long
- 1994 — Tekkaman Blade as Sgt. Miles O'Rourke
- 1996 — Eagle Riders as Joe Thax
- 1997 — Armitage III (the OVA and Poly-Matrix) as Eddie Barrows
- 2003-2006 — Lilo & Stitch: The Series as Mr. Jameson
- 2011 — Batman: Year One as James Gordon
- 2012 — Archer as Tony Drake
- 2012 — Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted as Vitaly
- 2015 — SuperMansion as Titanium Rex
- 2016 — Kung Fu Panda 3 as Li Shan
- 2017 — Injustice 2 as Ra's al Ghul (Trailer only)
- 2018 — Isle of Dogs as Chief
- 2020 — The Stand (2020) as the U.S. President (uncredited)
Associated Tropes
- Badass Baritone: His voice is deep, smooth, and can pack a lot of authority.
- The Cameo: He reprised his role of Walter White for a scene in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
- The Cast Showoff: Cranston was willing to do whatever crazy thing the writers of Malcolm in the Middle came up with — to the point that the game the writers had doing this had its name changed from "What Will Bryan Cranston Do?" to "What Won't Bryan Cranston Do?" after he allowed himself to be covered with bees.
- Celebrity Resemblance: With his full head of hair, no goatee and wide smile, he is this to Darren McGavin of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, especially with their penchant to capture both humor and seriousness in their acting performances.
- Directed by Cast Member: He directed seven episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, most notably the fifth season premiere, as well as three of the season premieres on Breaking Bad (specifically 2, 3, and 5B).
- Game of Nerds: Is an avid collector of baseball memorabilia and a noted fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Large Ham: He can be quite the scenery chewer when he wants to be, as Malcolm in the Middle often illustrated.
- No Stunt Double: A lot of the stuff Hal did in Malcolm in the Middle was really Cranston himself, including the handstand, the cartwheel, and being covered with bees (and only one stung him).
- One of Us: He was offered a chance to direct an episode of Better Call Saul, but he turned it down because he enjoys being an unspoiled fan of the show like the rest of us.
- Playing with Character Type: Breaking Bad is essentially taking Cranston’s previously most famous work, Bumbling Dad Hal, and twisting it completely on its head.
- Romance on the Set: Cranston met his wife, Robin Dearden, when they guest-starred together in Airwolf.
- Running Gag: If something has Bryan Cranston in it, there is a huge chance he will lose at least most of his clothes at some point.
- Star-Making Role: His performance as Hal Wilkerson in Malcolm in the Middle made him famous, but it was his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad that truly made him a household name.
