Bryan Lee Cranston, born March 7, 1956, is an American actor, producer, and director who is mainly known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad.
Cranston has claimed that he based his portrayal of Walter White on his own father, who had a slumped posture "like the weight of the world was on his shoulders". Before becoming an actor, Cranston's father held many jobs but did not secure enough roles to provide for his family. When Cranston was only 11 years old, his father walked out on the family, and they did not see each other again until Cranston and his brother Kyle decided to track him down when Cranston was 22 years old. In 1988, Cranston starred in a film directed by his father, entitled The Big Turnaround. After that, he maintained a relationship with his father until the latter's death in 2014.
After his father left, he was partially raised by his maternal grandparents and lived on their poultry farm in Yucaipa, California. He has described his parents as "broken people" who were unable to parent effectively, resulting in the family losing their house to foreclosure.
Cranston graduated from Canoga Park High School, where he was a member of the school's chemistry club. In 1976, he earned an associate degree in political science from Los Angeles Valley College. It was during his time at Los Angeles Valley College that he took an acting class as an elective, which inspired him to pursue a career in acting. He said, "And at 19 years old, all of a sudden, my life changed.”
After college, Cranston began his acting career in local and regional theaters, starting at the Granada Theater in the San Fernando Valley. Although he had performed as a youth, his show-business parents had mixed feelings about their son being involved in the profession, so he did not pursue acting until years later.
In the late 1980s, Cranston began working regularly, mostly in minor roles and advertisements. He was an original cast member of the ABC soap opera Loving, where he played Douglas Donovan from 1983 to 1985. Cranston also played Tom Logan in an episode of the first season of the TV series Baywatch in 1989.
From 2008 to 2013, Cranston starred in the AMC series Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan. He played the show's protagonist, Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. To ensure the financial well-being of his family after he dies, Walter teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) to manufacture and sell methamphetamine.
Cranston's outstanding work on the series was highly praised by critics, earning him the prestigious Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the first three seasons of the show. He was also nominated for the same award in 2012 and 2013 for seasons four and five. Cranston's exceptional talent even won him the award again in 2014 for the second half of season 5, making him one of only two actors to have won the award for three consecutive years, alongside Bill Cosby. Additionally, Cranston served as a producer for the fourth and fifth seasons of the series and directed three episodes during its run, showcasing his remarkable versatility and expertise.
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