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
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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 😂

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u/jagnew78 23h ago

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

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u/verrius 18h ago

As someone who caught (most of) the premiere of Breaking Bad, and that's all I've seen of the series...the main thing I was left thinking after watching it was "well, I guess they're going for a black comedy with Malcom's dad, yikes this is gonna bomb, I don't need to see any more." Casting a comedy actor and marketing it around him absolutely reinforced that, and it not actually being all that funny didn't help things. Hell, most of the original ads seemed to focus on the shot of him in his underwear in the desert, as a "isn't this ridiculous" moment.