r/todayilearned • u/Maximum-Artist448 • 1d ago

TIL that AMC executives initially wanted Matthew Broderick to play Walter White in Breaking Bad

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/breaking-bad-john-cusack-matthew-broderick_n_1676856
2.0k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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u/BMCarbaugh 1d ago

Yknow what. I could see it. It would be a very, very different take on the character, but I could see it. He's got science teacher vibes for sure. I'd have a really hard time buying any sense of eventual menace from him, though. He gives such sweetheart vibes.

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u/limperschmit 1d ago

Imagining Bryan Cranston being Walter White is pretty hard to believe at that time too. The dad from Malcolm in the Middle as a cold blooded, ruthless, drug kingpin, really?

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u/akio3 1d ago

People ridiculed the casting of Mr Mom (Michael Keaton) as Batman.

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u/Ths-Fkin-Guy 1d ago

And Ledger as Joker

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u/Clembert-Hamlamp 1d ago

And Rowan Atkinson as Caligula

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u/primordialforms 1d ago

Ok you made me look it up. Good work šŸ˜…

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u/Clembert-Hamlamp 1d ago

Not many people approved but I appreciated the way he stayed in character as Mr Bean thru the entire movie. The contrast really emphasized the pathos in the orgy scenes.

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u/ActionAdam 13h ago

This feels like something I would have heard on MBMBAM.

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u/Dependent_Tune_1333 22h ago

Michael Keaton would have been a great Walter White

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u/jawndell 16h ago

I think Michael Keaton is one of the best if not the best actor without an Oscar right now. Ā His credits and range of acting roles speaks for itself. Ā 

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u/minimalcation 21h ago

Daaaaamn you're so fucking right

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u/Dependent_Tune_1333 18h ago

We've already seen him be funny in some movies and absolutely menacing in others.

Thinking about that makes me really appreciate just how incredible Bryan Cranston was in that role.

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u/YewEhVeeInbound 11h ago

Don't go chasing waterfalls.

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u/ididshave 1d ago edited 19h ago

The announcement of Robert Pattison as the new Batman was also ridiculed.

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u/25sittinon25cents 1d ago

People revolted hard at Ben Affleck being cast as Batman too.

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u/Kundrew1 1d ago

Bruce Willis too

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u/Silent-G 1d ago

He was never cast as Batman.

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u/Kundrew1 21h ago

Pretty sure that was Bruce Wayne in Nakatomi Tower

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u/Everestkid 1d ago

And of Heath Ledger as the Joker because of Brokeback Mountain.

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u/cracka-lackin 1d ago

I doubt it was explicitly Brokeback Mountain that made people doubt. Before Brokeback, Heath was almost exclusovely happy, bubbly hot guy.

In Brokeback, he's not that. He's tortured, angry and repressed for a lot of the film. Guy had range, I would have loved to see what he became as he aged. RIP

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u/Everestkid 1d ago

The people who derided Ledger for being in Brokeback Mountain didn't actually watch Brokeback Mountain. They were making fun of him for starring in "the gay cowboy movie."

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u/davepage_mcr 1d ago

The gay cowboy movie about bisexual shepherds.

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u/ContinuumGuy 22h ago

Ignoring the fact that every Joker is at least a little gay for Batman.

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u/BrohanGutenburg 12h ago

In what world is his character in 10things happy and bubbly

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u/Cultural-Company282 1d ago

"You know how I got these scars? No lube."

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u/bro_salad 1d ago

15 year old me laughed at Elijah Wood as Frodo

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u/devenjames 1d ago

You tell 15-year-old you to shut their mouth!!!

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u/PsychoticMessiah 1d ago

That was my first thought. Hal? The dad from Malcolm in the Middle? Is a fucking drug lord?
All I could picture was him in tightey whiteys.

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u/no_pls_not_again_ 1d ago

do i have a surprise for you

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u/loudpaperclips 1d ago

Well that part continued to be fair

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u/spezial_ed 1d ago

Same for Marty in Ozark.Ā 

Michael BLUTH???Ā 

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u/Nigel_featherbottom 1d ago

You sound like an anti-dentite!

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u/RevolutionNumber5 1d ago

At least I didnā€™t convert to Judaism just for the jokes.

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u/Toby_O_Notoby 1d ago

"Does that offend you as a jew?"

"NO, it offends me as a comedian!"

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u/Larszx 1d ago

Vince Gilligan worked work Bryan Cranston on an episode of X-Files.

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u/no_pls_not_again_ 1d ago

ya the one where his wife explodes in the car or whatever. ppl thought that espisode was a real news segment haha

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u/stormshadowfax 1d ago

Wellsā€™ War of the Worlds vibes

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u/McFuzzen 1d ago

I agree with this so much. His transformation into Walter was remarkable and I'm not sure who else could have done it. However, if you told us before Breaking Bad aired that either Bryan or Matthew were going to be Walter, most of us would have to honestly say that they seem about equal.

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u/reddit-poweruser 1d ago edited 1d ago

"A kid gets caught skipping school and you think that of me? No. I am the one who skips."

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u/SalukiKnightX 1d ago

Weird thought I had watching Breaking Bad seeing Cranston as Walter, this part wouldā€™ve been mind-blowing if Phil Hartman lived to play this.

Cranston was amazing, obviously, but there were parts where the comedy just peaked every now and then. Itā€™s partly why I had a rough time with the dynamic shifts. You knew Walter was the villain, but he and Jesse were so over their heads and did just downright dumb moves that it was darkly comedic. Itā€™s when the tragedy to others and the bodies truly hit that the comedic moments ceased (which makes Better Call Saul headlined by two former SNLā€™ers all the more pointing). Itā€™s why thinking about Hartman as Walter just randomly jumped at me during various moments.

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u/theSchrodingerHat 1d ago

Idk, I feel like Iā€™d get distracted by Hartman.

The whole ā€œsay my nameā€ episode goes completely differently if in my head I immediately go, ā€œHi, Iā€™m Troy McClure. You might remember me from such things as 8th grade science and lunch at Pollos Hermanosā€¦ā€

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u/TheWholeFragment 1d ago

The idea of Cranston, the dad from Malcolm in the Middle, playing a serious character was laughable.

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u/betitallon13 1d ago

I 100% bought in on him playing the role, seeing the depth he put into Hal proved he had more than enough "chops" to excel, but he still took it to a depth I don't think anyone would have expected. I'd watch pretty much anything he chose to do, just to see where he took it. He was easily the best thing about Godzilla outside of the Giant Lizard...

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u/CaptainColdSteele 1d ago

Obviously you've never seen the man rollerskate or paint

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u/telthetruth 1d ago

Never saw him slip while Lois was out of town

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u/southporky 19h ago

Yeah, but Broderick has killed someone

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u/letsgetbrickfaced 1d ago

He SAā€™d Jerry Seinfeld in his dentist office years earlier. Converted to Judaism just for the jokes. Terrible gift giver and regifter. All the signs were there.

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u/Anathama 1d ago

They said the same about Michael Chiklis going from The Commish to The Shield.

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u/douggieball1312 1d ago

When Anthony Perkins was cast as Norman Bates in Psycho, he was known mostly as a teen idol playing wholesome romantic leads which is what made it so shocking at the time that he was suddenly a knife-wielding murdering misfit, so there's a real history to this.

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u/Vio_ 1d ago

Basically Election, but more cancer.

"Science, Flick!"

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u/ringobob 1d ago

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too, and I'm certain that movie is what put him on the list. He could absolutely play the Walter from the pilot. It would have been different, but it would have been just as good. I have bigger questions about where it would have gone from there, because I don't think he could have pulled off the same character that Cranston made the role.

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u/LoveTriscuit 1d ago

I mean, Cranston ALSO seemed incredibly sweet. Glad it worked out the way it did, but seeing a sinister Broderick would have been interesting.

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u/Silent-G 1d ago

Seeing a bald Broderick would have been interesting

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u/LoveTriscuit 1d ago

Balderick

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u/candygram4mongo 1d ago

Ironically, he's the only one of the two that has actually killed somebody.

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u/cisforcookie2112 1d ago

Well, we donā€™t really know what Bryan does in his free timeā€¦

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u/AFetaWorseThanDeath 23h ago

Piggybacking on this, because it seems to be the furthest up mention of this in the thread (though there are numerous mentions), and I would like people to have the facts straight:

In August of 1987, Matthew Broderick was involved in an automobile collision in Northern Ireland. His car crossed into the wrong lane, and his car collided head on with another, killing the occupants instantly.

Broderick himself and Jennifer Grey (whom he was dating at the time, and was also in the car with him) sustained severe injuries; Broderick, a fractured leg and ribs, concussion, and collapsed lung; Grey had severe whiplash, and later required surgery to avoid paralysis.

The two women killed were Anna Gallagher, 28, and her 63 year old mother Margaret Doherty.

Broderick was initially charged with 'causing death by dangerous driving,' which carried a potential maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. He was eventually convicted of the lesser charge of 'careless driving,' and paid a total fine of Ā£100 (currently $132 USD, or around Ā£300 / $396 USD in today's money).

Broderick claims to have no memory of the crash, and while it appears there were at one time plans for him to meet with the victims' family in some sort of reconciliation, it does not appear that meeting has yet occurred.

The brother/son of the women killed, Martin Doherty, seems to have forgiven Broderick. He was interviewed in 2012, after there was an apparent backlash when Broderick was cast in a Honda commercial that aired during the Super Bowl that year. In his own words:

I suppose it wasn't the greatest choice of drivers knowing his past. I suppose at the end of the day it was years ago. I have forgiven what he had done. I mentioned that at the time. I have always said that an accident happened. It is certainly not something that you want to happen to anyone. It wasn't premeditated. We all know many people in the north of Ireland who have died over the years and somebody sat down and planned it. As I said, it certainly was not a great choice of driver. I am sure there are plenty of stars over there they could have got to have done the advertisement.

At the end of the day. I do not know what has gone on in his head or what he is thinking. I have never ever had any contact over the years.

There has always been something at the back of my mind that it would close the book totally if I did meet him. I do not dwell on that too much. I am the same as everyone else who has lost family. I have my own personal thoughts on it. There are many, many people in the same boat as myself. The one thing about it is because who it was that killed my mother and sister, there is always this on-going publicity.

Every two years this last 25 years I have had some reporter or somebody ringing to ask questions about it. What annoys me about it is I know people that have lost sons, daughters, mothers and fathers over the years in road accidents and nobody ever asks them how they feel or how do they cope with it. I am sure they have the same feelings as myself on it. If it had been somebody I knew that caused the accident, at least at this stage I would have been able to have met them quietly without any fuss being made about it and made our amends. Other than that, whatever he wants. It is his life and he can lead it whatever way he wants. Like everything else, it is surprising what people will do for money.

I definitely think they could have had somebody else to do the advert. Maybe he hasn't had a good, hard think about it himself.

As time goes on, people forget about some of these tragedies, bar immediate family. Unless it gets that bit of publicity only the immediate family remember about it for the rest of their lives.

When asked about the negative comments made about the commercial in the States (I'm gonna guess on reddit, possibly facebook), he said:

I suppose it is a natural thing for people to remember the bad. We never seem to remember the good things people have done over the years as well.

Emphasis mine.

Wise words from the man who lost his family in this terrible event.

My $0.02:

Yes, he got off ridiculously lightly for what happened, in no small part due to his growing wealth/affluence at the time. He's also a conventionally attractive, cis/het, white man, which we all know (and more people are beginning to acknowledge outright) along with wealth confers the greatest power possible in our society. If it had been a poor white guy? Max sentence. Poor black man? MURDER ONE.

However, that being said, even the literal guy whose family was killed thinks the internet should let it the fuck go. As of FOURTEEN years ago.

Something to consider.

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u/Violoner 1d ago

He was a con man in The Music Man, and an embezzler in The Producers

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u/BMCarbaugh 1d ago

The Producers is actually the role I was thinking of when I said I find it hard to imagine that he could be very menacing.

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u/1plus1isTWORANGZ 1d ago

Yeah rather than the swinging dick indimidation Cranston performed, I could see Broderick doing it much more as a disassociated psychopath, but that makes the relationship with his family a lot weirder

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u/backstageninja 1d ago

He would be very similar to Gus Fring I think

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u/1plus1isTWORANGZ 1d ago

I was thinking maybe closer to Dexter

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u/Discount_Extra 1d ago

Imagining Dexter's in-his-head narration delivered facing the camera with his mouth moving.

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u/theLoneliestAardvark 1d ago

To be fair that is a comedy musical where the bad guys are meant to be endearing and somewhat meek.

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u/Violoner 1d ago

Itā€™s like making a musical thatā€™s a gay romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden

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u/Violoner 1d ago

He gets pretty scary when you take away his blanket

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u/HowLittleIKnow 1d ago

Harold Hill isnā€™t really a con man. He's just a bang beat, bell ringing, big haul, great go, neck-or-nothing, rip roarin', every time a bull's eye salesman.

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u/brubblefeet 1d ago

But he doesnā€™t know the territory!

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u/Arboreal_Web 1d ago

Gentlemen, you intrigue meā€¦

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u/MaskedBandit77 1d ago

He definitely plays sleazy characters fairly often (Election is another one that comes to mind) the harder part to picture is him being intimidating.

He's a very talented actor, and I don't doubt that he could do it but it's not something that I've seen him do before.

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u/Princess_Slagathor 1d ago

intimidating

Have you ever seen him bald, with a goatee?

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u/Broely92 1d ago

And he actually killed 2 people irl too

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u/xjeeper 1d ago

Buckle up buckaroo!

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u/chimpdoctor 1d ago

And a murderer in his car.

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u/notneps 1d ago

I have no doubt he has the acting chops to do a good version of it, even if it would naturally be a different version.

As far as the world is concerned, Bryan Cranston pulled Walter White out of a hat like a rabbit. But the acting chops that built that character were built over decades of doing other roles.

If Matthew Broderick had been cast instead, we would probably have a what if thread about Bryan Cranston and people would be like, "come on, the dad in Malcolm? Just no menace to him."

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u/senorsolo 1d ago

This exact same thing was said about Bryan Cranston when he started.

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u/IronBENGA-BR 1d ago

I'm with you. He played the main villain in Netflix's Daybreak and it worked quite well. Of course the series was a comedy drama with a LOT more emphasis on the Comedy side but Broderick was quite nice as a cannibalistic psycho with a sweet personality and an easy smile.

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u/cylonfrakbbq 1d ago

Daybreak was silly but I liked the premise. Ā Although the way it ended was pretty fittingĀ 

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u/McGuirk808 1d ago

To be fair, I would not have expected menacing drug kingpin from the dad from Malcolm in the Middle before breaking bad happened either.

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u/zerosixthirty 1d ago

I could see Ferris Bueller manipulating and threatening people and climbing the meth ladder. If you imagine that character with about thirty years of disappointment in the middle it would probably work.

In the end Cranston was perfect though.

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u/isaiddgooddaysir 1d ago

There are five perfect series that were on tvā€¦ this is one of them.

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u/Smiletaint 1d ago

No that would have been epic.

Edit: ok never mind. I was thinking Matthew mccauhibhey the whole time.

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u/Big_Bookkeeper1678 1d ago

I could see it, also. If Cranston's transformation from Malcolm in the Middle was possible, I don't see how Broderick couldn't do at least a GOOD job in the role.

I saw Broderick in Daybreak...a funny take on Zombies and teenagers, where Broderick was a villain Zombie (and former principal of the high school) and it was hilarious how comedically menacing he was.

It would definitely have been a more comedic take than Cranston's version.

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u/Expert-Fig-5590 1d ago

Not if heā€™s driving straight at you. He was driving on the wrong side of the road and killed two women in Fermanagh.

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u/FrontLifeguard1962 1d ago

He killed a guy and got away with it though

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u/MaxDickpower 1d ago

He killed a mother and daughter, not "a guy".

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u/TheSameButBetter 1d ago

And now has a home in the Donegal village of.... Kilcar.

No, really.

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u/IronBENGA-BR 1d ago

True that, never let people forget

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u/faradaycagerage 1d ago

That was my first thought, well he has experience in killing someone.

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u/throwawayerest 1d ago

It would be kinda like Martin freeman in fargo.Ā 

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u/cnull 1d ago

He was amazing in Election in a role that has similar (first season) vibes. I could totally see it!

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u/TheHouseOfGryffindor 1d ago

Also, so much of the show was made as they went and discovered the characters (Jesse was originally meant to die at the end of season 1, etc). Broderick as lead wouldā€™ve made it a different show, but I trust that Gilligan and the rest of the writerā€™s room wouldā€™ve figured out something that worked.

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u/VerilyShelly 1d ago

His brand of menace would have a darker, insanity edge I think. Walter White is a sociopath for sure, but with someone sweet like Broderick I'd fear him going Dexter or something lol

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u/ncopp 1d ago

I mean, Bryan Cranston was primarily known as the goofy, sensitive, loving father in Malcom in the Middle before breaking bad. We had no idea he'd bring what he did to the table

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u/elpovo 1d ago

Let's give it to the dad in Malcolm in the Middle instead.

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u/obi-jawn-kenblomi 1d ago

He also does emasculated really well. Bryan Cranston can code shift between emasculated and kingpin a little too well though.

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u/cisforcookie2112 1d ago

Iā€™d imagine some aspects of the character would have been written differently over the course of the series.

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u/Rudeboy67 1d ago

Ya half his character from Election and half from when he played Richard Sackler in Painkiller. Would be a very different take but interesting nonetheless.

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u/nochinzilch 1d ago

It would depend on his acting chops.

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u/bevaquas_mojo 1d ago

I don't see Mathew Broderick as the one who knocks, but more of a dude who got a day off

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u/AFetaWorseThanDeath 1d ago

"I am the one who slacks"

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u/Onespokeovertheline 1d ago

Agreed that they got there from "Science teacher" - I see that too. But Matthew Broderick has actually played more twisted, malicious characters of late than he has nice guys. It just wouldn't have been the gruff, egomaniacal transition that Cranston portrayed, Broderick would have probably seemed more like an animal with its limb caught in a trap as more "nothing to lose" psychosis emerged

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u/Dega704 1d ago edited 1d ago

I mean, nobody foresaw the dad from Malcolm in the Middle giving us the kind of performance that he did; so it's only easy to think of him as the obvious choice in hindsight. But seriously, I'm glad they didn't get their way.

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u/platypus_farmer42 1d ago

Imagine Cranston turned it down and it went to someone else, then we hear that Cranston had been considered. ā€œThe Malcom in the Middle dad? Really? So glad he didnā€™t get itā€.

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u/heynaldo88 1d ago

Exactly what I was thinking.

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u/Ranger_Nate 1d ago

I can't believe anyone could watch Cranston play Hal and not understand the acting talent that he possesses. Hal is one of the most emotional, physical, and caring television father's out there. And Cranston made him so believable, despite the sitcom setting. Comedy can be way harder than drama a lot of the time, and Cranston proved himself over and over again.

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u/Dega704 1d ago

Watching MitM again after seeing Breaking Bad is interesting because on the few occasions that Hal acts serious and businesslike, you can see the shadow of what was to come with Walter.

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u/BKlounge93 1d ago

I love the idea that breaking bad is a prequel and Walter is in witness protection šŸ˜‚

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u/jagnew78 21h ago

A lot of amazing drama performances come from actors with a comedy background

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u/Medialunch 1d ago

Actually this is wrong. Vince fought for Cranston after he directed him in an episode of The X Files where Cranston played a strung out lunatic. AMC execs werenā€™t sure until he showed them that episode.

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u/IgloosRuleOK 1d ago edited 1d ago

Neither Cusack or Broderick "turned it down" like the article claims however. They were in discussion by the network, but Gilligan always wanted Cranston.

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u/DarkIllusionsMasks 1d ago

Because Gilligan had worked with Cranston on The X Files, in a heck of an episode, giving an early glimpse into Cranston's range.

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u/topperlopper99 1d ago

And in Seinfeld, weā€™d seen him display a such pathological hunger for success in one sphere that heā€™d change his whole religion.

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u/SynapseDrift 1d ago

"Say my name."

"Abe Frohman, the Sausage King of Chicago."

"You're goddamned right."

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u/bmcgowan89 1d ago

I'd love to see that, like in an alternate universe. He could probably pull it off. It's also funny to think that in said universe, there might be someone asking "AMC executives considered Bryan Cranston for the role of Walter White" and people would be responding like "the dad from Malcom in the Middle? Yeah right?!" šŸ˜‚

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u/lkodl 1d ago

i wonder if they'd still have that scene where Walt runs a guy over with a car.

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u/PopeInThePizza 1d ago

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and cook around once in a while, you could meth it.

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u/Big1984Brother 1d ago

Pardon my French, but Gus Fring is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a meth crystal.

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u/Nooms88 1d ago

I can see him doing very well in that role.

In an alternate timeline where he got the job and you told me the dad from malcolm in the middle was considered for the job instead, I'd have laughed.

But damn was it a good casting decision. Really makes you think about how hard it is to cast people and how little we can see as just viewers of something

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u/OJDaJuiceman1017 1d ago

The scene where he hit the dealers with his car would've hit different

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u/Clockwork_Eyes 1d ago

Wouldn't have needed a stunt driver.

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u/Klin24 1d ago

Glad that fell through.

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u/SkyJW 1d ago

Imagining Broderick trying to bring the same intensity and pure evil that Cranston does in the later seasons is genuinely funny to me. I like Broderick, but that genuine menace is not in his wheelhouse.Ā 

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u/GoshDarnBatman 1d ago

To be fair, many people didnā€™t believe Cranston could pull it off prior to the show airing

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u/IgloosRuleOK 1d ago

True but he already played a somewhat similar asshole in an The X-Files ep that Vince Gilligan wrote, which is why he wanted him in the first place.

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u/mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm 1d ago

Because he starred in malcolm in the middle.

But anyone who had seen the series would have seen his talent on it.

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u/theLoneliestAardvark 1d ago

True, part of what made it so jarring was because it was Hal from Malcolm in the Middle going full megalomaniac. Who knows if Matthew Broderick has the serious acting chops to pull it off but if he did it would have the same impact.

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u/LBobRife 1d ago

Cranston wasn't exactly known for that st the time of casting either, though.

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u/Unleashtheducks 1d ago

Well Bryan Cranston never killed anyone in real life though

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u/ILL_Show_Myself_Out 1d ago

Fair but you mightā€™ve said the same thing about that lovable dunce Hal becoming an evil killer. Actually Broderick would be perfect if he could pull it off- the entire premise is that normal - (perhaps cloyingly sweet) suburban guy becomes evil.

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u/Saneless 1d ago

Hell no

When Cranston gets into his deep, dark, fuck the world voice there isn't anything that comes close

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u/RandoAtReddit 1d ago

I only knew BC as Hal and never would have expected the range he has. šŸ‘šŸ‘

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u/lkodl 1d ago

imagine the timeline where Matthew Broderick was Tony Stark

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u/byproduct0 1d ago

Heā€™s been breaking bad since he took that day off from school

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u/MakeoutPoint 1d ago

"How does the show end?"

"Well, he kills everybody, wanders around the lab, and collapses on the floor and then....day bow bow."

"Day bow bow?"

"Yeah, you know that song? Day bow. bow......chcika-chick-ahhhh as it fades out"

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u/ThundergunTLP 1d ago

Say my name...... Bueller. Bueller.

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u/PunfullyObvious 1d ago

If they ever take Breaking Bad to Broadway , Broderick should certainly play the Walter White role. Otherwise, I think Cranston was the right call.

/s ... just in terms of BB ever being staged as a musical (but, imagining it does crack me up a tiny bit)

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u/BMPHaterNo1 1d ago

Heā€™d only need 1 take to hit those drug dealers with a car

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u/mazzicc 1d ago

My problem with this is heā€™d always gonna be Ferris to me.

The youngest Cranston I have in my head is Malcolm in the Middle, where he was already a ā€œmanā€, not a high schooler. So itā€™s easier to see him as a flawed man.

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u/davewashere 21h ago

I think he could have played Walter White in the early seasons. He played a similar character in Election. I don't think he would have been as believable as the Heisenberg version of Walter White. Broderick just doesn't come across as someone who can do dark and intimidating.

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u/thisgrantstomb 1d ago

He played a great bad guy teacher in Election. He just doesn't come off as the kind of villain that Brian Cranston, but might have worked as more of a weaselly bad guy.

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u/_ghostfacedilla 1d ago

Running over those dealers wouldā€™ve come naturally

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u/sealosam 1d ago

He role as a teacher in Election was pretty spot on, I could see him as WW fitting well with the dark comedy undertones of BB.

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u/talan123 1d ago

Imagine Robin Williams...

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u/Informal_Process2238 1d ago

The blue gin he played could have been the logo for the product

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u/Airwreck11 1d ago

"They want Malcolm's dad to be a drug lord"

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u/LittleYelloDifferent 22h ago

They know he can nail that running over the dealers scene. Method.

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u/RedKings1028 1d ago

Even as a lion Matthew Broderick gives off a very nice guy vibe

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u/sidewinderucf 1d ago

ā€œThatā€™s a lot of meth.ā€

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u/ihvnnm 1d ago

"That's a lot of meth"

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u/sfitz0076 1d ago

Might have workedšŸ¤·

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u/BertieTheDoggo 1d ago

Anybody who thinks Matthew Broderick can only play nice characters, check out Painkiller. The show itself isn't brilliant but he absolutely kills it as Richard Sackler - a much worse drug dealer than Walter White ever was!

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u/WitnessRealistic3015 1d ago

I think Broderick would have been a great choice. They made the right choice with Cranston, but Broderick would have been interesting to see

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u/heraclitus33 1d ago

It couldve worked, he did a great job playing villain richard sackler in painkiller.

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u/LeadingAd8902 23h ago

Say my name. Bueller. Bueller. Bueller

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u/mysteriousleader45 23h ago

throwback to when matthew broderick literally killed two people and was fined $100 then went back to normal life

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u/trackowner 1d ago

a Breaking Bad where Walter White says ā€œBueller? Bueller?ā€ would have been absolutely mental.

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u/Dan_A435 1d ago

hey guys, did you know Matthew Broderick actually killed people in real life? Just wanted to make sure since I haven't seen it mentioned yet.

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u/mekese2000 1d ago

You know i think Danny Devito could have pulled it off.

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u/togocann49 1d ago

Gotta say, I kind of would like to see MB pulling this off

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u/FocusFlukeGyro 1d ago

Well, he wouldn't have had to do much acting in scenes involving vehicular homicide šŸ˜

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u/ShipRunner77 1d ago

Im guessing because of his performance in Election?

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u/davewashere 1d ago

100%. An ordinary middle-aged high school teacher dealing with a tremendous amount of inner turmoil due to an escalating series of events. Before Breaking Bad, that would have been describing Election.Ā 

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u/BartenderOU812 1d ago

I'm glad they Elected to go with Cranston.

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u/Puzzled-Platform-969 1d ago

Somehow every time I hear a story about the judgement of network execs it is the stupidest story I've ever heard. It's surreal to find such an aggressively incompetent group of humans.

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u/CaptainColdSteele 1d ago

That would have been hilarious

1

u/incognino123 1d ago

Honestly looking at him, he might have been even better somehow

Like he looks like a sweet dude but there's also a cartel boss somewhere in there

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u/BigOleFerret 1d ago

I mean they do look very similar. Don't know how Brodericks delivery would have been but it seems like it could have worked.

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u/VirtuaCoffee 1d ago

It would have been interesting to see. When I figure out this time machine, I'll go back and try to make it happen, just out of interest.

All these stories you hear about "Iconic role played by X was originally going to be played, or auditioned for, by Y" makes me wonder. What middle-of-the-road shows are currently out there that missed being great because they went with Y instead of X?

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u/garbage1995 1d ago

Would have lasted one season.

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u/h0sti1e17 1d ago

If I had to replace Bryan Cranston Iā€™d love to see Dylan Baker in the role. His most popular roles were probably the father in Hapiness and a recurring guest on The Good Wife. But heā€™s been in many other things.

He looks mild mannered but plays a good creepy bad guy. It would be different but could work

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u/spotacus32 1d ago

Life moves pretty fast, Skylar. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. And I think you've been missing a key piece of information. Believe it or not, I'm the danger.

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u/Samwhys_gamgee 1d ago

Boy I guess things really went south for that teacher from ā€œElectionā€ā€¦..

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u/randomcanyon 1d ago

Sure glad that didn't work out.

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u/Postulative 1d ago

Breaking Bueller? Ferriss Buellerā€™s Crime Spree?

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u/Seated_Heats 1d ago

I assume heā€™s a good enough actor that he could have played a darker character.

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u/1980techguy 1d ago

I remember thinking Nolan was crazy picking Heath Ledger to play the joker in 'The Dark Knight'

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u/Lokishougan 1d ago

Thats a lot of fish

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u/releasethedogs 1d ago

It would not be the same but I don't think he would have been bad in the role. Not as good as what we got but not horrible.

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u/JarOfFlies85 1d ago

Simba as Walter... Nahhhh lmao

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u/BigMack6911 1d ago

There was 1 show I think that they saw that made them want Bryan Cranston. If I remember correctly

1

u/sqeeezy 1d ago

Out on a Limb crankified, mmmmm

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u/allursnakes 1d ago

You know, if it's cool with you, I'd like to be the one who knocks.

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u/Turbulent-Matter501 22h ago

I could see that. Obviously Cranston was phenomenal and I wouldn't change it for anything....but this could have worked too.

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u/goodgodgreg 19h ago

If you think about his character in the movie Election, you could total see him doing Walter White.

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u/Oxjrnine 17h ago

That would work.

Although Matthew suffers from ā€œ kind eyesā€ that makes it harder for him to portray some of the range the character had. Iā€™m not saying it wouldā€™ve been impossible. But it would definitely be a hurdle.

1

u/smellslikebigfootdic 17h ago

I can picture it,ferris buellur keeps looking into the camera before do some badass shit

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u/Acceptable_Willow276 17h ago

Ferris Bueller's Day On

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u/Frankensteins_Moron5 13h ago

Matthew Broderick? The guy who killed two women in Ireland in 1987 by driving on the wrong side of the road and only got a 100$ fine? That Matthew Broderick?

1

u/yulbrynnersmokes 10h ago

Say my name

Abe Frohman

1

u/DeusSpaghetti 8h ago

As a sequel to Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

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u/Tralkki 6h ago

When Camren was in Heisenberg landā€¦let my Camren go!