Here at JOE we’re huge fans of Bryan Cranston and who could disagree?
There’s nothing the man can’t do.
His role as Hal, the oddball dad from Malcolm In The Middle, forever earned him a place in our hearts. But it was his turn as the crystal meth-cooking chemistry teacher, Walter White, in Breaking Bad that solidified him as one of the best actors of his generation.
In anticipation of the release of The Infiltrator in Irish cinemas (which also stars Love/Hate’s own Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) we’ve looked of the rise and rise of the man who would be Heisenberg.
Clip via morrisonAV
Not all actors get to play iconic characters straight out the gate and most cut their teeth in the commercials game. Have a gander at this ad from the early ’80s.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Christopher Reeves?
No, it’s a very young Cranston selling hemorrhoid cream. We’ll take two packets please.
Clip via Daniel Welch
With his hemorrhoid problem now under control, a very dashing young Cranston was ready for his first major role in the soap Loving in 1983.
He played a rogue called Doug Donovan and began a trend of playing characters with alliterative names.
Clip via Shout! Factory
Fans of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers may remember the bad guy Snizzard. Cranston provided Snizzard’s voice for the first season of the beloved children’s franchise. He departed the programme in 1993 but the writers named one of the heroes “Billy Cranston” after Bryan in tribute to the actor.
Cranston and the Power Rangers are coming full circle with the actor signed on to be a part of the new Mighty Morphin movie scheduled for 2017.
Clip via okidokivideos
Between 1994 and 1997, Cranston did his best to complicate the already complicated lives of the characters from Seinfeld. His turn as Jerry Seinfeld’s despicable dentist Tim Whatley is a thing of beauty. Whatley inhales CO2 before tending to his patients, has sex with his nurse on top of a knocked-out Seinfeld and continuously fails to woo Elaine.
Clip via jssmrenton
The character of Patrick Crump isn’t Bryan Cranston’s best known role, but it’s probably his most important. He appeared in only one episode of the seminal sci-fi show The X-Files in this 1998 episode written by future Breaking Bad creator, Vince Gilligan.
In the episode, Crump is a bad man whose head will explode if he doesn’t keep moving west. Gilligan was so impressed with the humanity that Cranston brought to the role that he wrote the role for a one Walter White with the actor in mind.
Clip via jules11788
One of the best TV Dads of all time; Hal is a man trying his best.
Between 2000 and 2006, Hal did his best to be a good father and husband as he could be, whether his family wanted him to or not. His wife is a control freak with trust issues and he couldn’t love her more. His children are uncontrollable monsters, but he’s utterly devoted to them. Just check out the cracking clip above for a taste of Hal’s no nonsense approach to parenting.
Clip via Dan Lysiak
Walter White is a man at war with himself and the world.
The story of a meek chemistry teacher who slowly begins dabbling in the drug trade, Cranston gave an acting masterclass in transformation and desperation. Between 2008 and 2013 the world started to sit up and take notice of the former sitcom Dad who was fast becoming one of the most dynamic performers in drama.
Breaking Bad started small and its future hung in the balance for the first few seasons, that was until the rest of the world eventually caught up with one of the best series of modern times.
Brilliant writing and an excellent ensemble cast deserve a lot of credit, but the show simply wouldn’t work without Cranston’s towering central performance.
Clip via corky20
2011’s Drive is mostly remembered for Ryan Gosling’s minimalist leading role as the titular stunt driver, but it’s Cranston who manages to inject the film with heart.
Playing Gosling’s mentor, Shannon, Cranston provides the hero with guidance and warmth in a world populated by cut-throat criminals.
Clip via Magel Sanchez
Bryan Cranston’s role as CIA boss Jack O’Connell in Ben Affleck’s 2012 Oscar-winning Argo is a small, but pivotal role.
The true story of a US government coup to extract six US diplomats from Tehran, O’Connell was instrumental in navigating his way through a bureaucratic red tape nightmare in order to secure vital plane tickets to the escapees.
Clip via Movieclips Trailers
In 2015 Cranston earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance as the screenwriter Donald Trumbo.
The film tells the story of Trumbo’s battle against The House Of Un-American Activities who blacklisted writers and actors in the 1940s and 1950s. Trumbo corralled his fellow blackballed writers and helped them to survive.
Clip via Warner Bros. UK
Cranston’s already earning a lot of award buzz for his portrayal of federal agent Robert Mazur who, in 1986, went undercover to infiltrate the trafficking network of Colombian drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar.
The film is released in Irish cinemas on 16 September and we’ve no doubt it’ll feature another acting mastercalss from the man of the moment, Bryan Cranston.
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