The First Time Jon Hamm Met Bryan Cranston: “We were simply two actors, in costume and out of context”

Looks like we’re not the only ones obsessed with Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of Walter White on AMC’s Breaking Bad.  Cranston was recently named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the world.  To write about his achievements, TIME landed no less than Jon Hamm to talk up Cranston’s talent.

First up was the first time the two met. “The first time I met Bryan Cranston, he was standing in his underwear. We were doing a photo shoot for a little-known network called AMC, and he was in a rubber chemistry apron, tighty whities and desert boots, while I was in an impeccably tailored 1960s suit, with slicked-back hair and a cigarette dangling from my mouth. Our shows hadn’t premiered yet. We were simply two actors, in costume and out of context. He was friendly, funny, gregarious, humble and lovely.” Read more

Bryan Cranston: “Without luck you will not have a successful career”

Few actors have the career trajectory of Bryan Cranston, who, after decades of supporting roles has suddenly, in his mid-fifties, found himself the star of a critically acclaimed television series, Breaking Bad, and roles in several high-profile movies, including Drive and Argo.  In a lengthy interview with The Guardian, Cranston talks about the affect Breaking Bad has had on his career and how he looks at his current success.

Though Cranston has been working solidly for three decades, he has finally received wide acclaim for playing Walter White — and has put him in demand as an actor.  He says, “Breaking Bad has certainly raised the bar.  There’s been an effect on my career, there’s no question about that. I can’t just accept anything that comes along. It has to be at a level that’s different but matches the level of writing of Breaking Bad. It takes a tremendous amount of work because you read massive amounts of product in order to find the nugget of gold.” Read more

Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks: “Vince Gilligan couldn’t have given me a greater gift than the character of Mike”

Jonathan Banks always knew what would happen to his character, Mike Ehrmantraut, on Breaking Bad.  But even though things didn’t turn out great for Mike, Banks’ career is better than ever.

Banks found out about the fate of Mike around nine months ago at costar Aaron Paul’s engagement party.  But the actor remains grateful for the chance he was given to play the baddie hit man.  “Vince Gilligan couldn’t have given me a greater gift than the character of Mike,” Banks told Yahoo! News.  “And these writers have been so good.  And hopefully I brought a little of myself to it.”

The actor has had a long career in the business, but always remained somewhat in the background until he joined the cast of AMC’s hit drama in season two.  “I thought, how great that I got to do this role at 65 years old.  Because it’s a great character.  And I love the character.  I’ve been around long enough that my expectations about fame or work, any of it—I’m not jaded, but I just take it as it comes.  And I think a lot of that’s age.  There are a lot of wonderful, wonderful, wonderful actors out there.  And a great example is Bryan [Cranston].  Coming from Malcolm in the Middle to this nuanced, raw-nerved character that he plays magnificently.  I daresay there are a lot of people out there who didn’t know Bryan was that great an actor.” Read more

Bryan Cranston’s Advice to Actors

Bryan Cranston knows a thing or two about acting.  After all, he’s won three Emmy’s for his portrayal of chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin, Walter White, in Breaking Bad.  So his advice about his craft is probably worth listening to.

In an interview with The Winnipeg Free Press, Cranston said actors should place the utmost importance on the script.  “The best thing they can learn is to identify well-written material,” he said.  “The writing in our industry, in a story, is the most important element, bar none.  It is always about the writing first.

“So what I’ve been able to do…the thing I’m good at, really, is to identify well-written material.  Now that doesn’t mean the product is going to end up that way.  It’s a recipe, and sometimes it doesn’t work, and you’re thinking, ‘Wait a minute, I had all the ingredients, how did this happen?’  That’s going to happen.” Read more

Bryan Cranston on His ‘Total Recall’ Role and What It’s Like to Go Bald for ‘Breaking Bad’ Every Season

Bryan Cranston is best known as a television star, having two successful series in the last decade, Malcolm in the Middle and the current Breaking Bad.  He also stars in the remake of Total Recall as the villain Cohaagen, but his work on Breaking Bad caused a visual issue: Cranston’s character on Breaking Bad, Walter White, is completely bald, but Cohaagen has what Cranston refers to as a “lion’s mane” of hair… and shooting on Total Recall started shortly after he wrapped on the latest season of Breaking Bad.

Of course, it’s nothing that a wig can’t fix, and in an interview with HitFix Cranston elaborates on exactly what putting a wig on does to help him portray different characters, and how freeing it actually is to go clean-shaven to play White.  He also talks about how his portrayal of Cohaagen compares to Renny Cox‘s, who starred as Cohaagen in Paul Verhoeven‘s original 1990 film and how the new film compares to the source material, Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.”

Check out the HitFix interview with Cranston below: Read more

Comic-Con 2012: ‘Total Recall’ Panel Featuring Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale

Comic-Con 2012: The panel for the remake of Total Recall was a lively one but that has Colin Farrell and Bryan Cranston appearing in front of an audience of 6,500 is bound to be just that.

The film follows a factory worker named Doug Quaid (Farrell) who starts to suspect that he’s a spy after visiting Rekall, a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led. when the visit goes all haywire, he goes on the run to find out what is real and what isn’t.

Along with Farrell and Cranston, the panel featured Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Director Len Wiseman.

Check it out below! Read more

TV Dramatic Actors Roundtable with Bryan Cranston, Kelsey Grammer, Jon Hamm, Peter Krause, Damian Lewis & Kiefer Sutherland

Rounding out the last bits of things I wanted to post while I was on vacation are these Hollywood Reporter videos. 

Every year, the magazine interviews a set of actors for their Emmy Roundtables videos. These are actors who have a great chance to get an Emmy nomination for their work for the previous TV season.

The interviews are always funny and full of interesting stories and these new videos are just that.

In this interview, THR talks with TV dramatic actors Bryan Cranston, Kelsey Grammer, Jon Hamm, Peter Krause, Damian Lewis and Kiefer Sutherland.

Check it out below! Read more

Trailer: ‘Argo’ starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman

This looks great. It’s got a huge cast of great character actors – look below at the cast members – and Ben Affleck just keeps getting better and better as a Director. Can’t wait to see this!

Argo: Based on true events, Warner Bros. Pictures’ and GK Films’ dramatic thriller “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis–the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades.

Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, Zeljko Ivanek, Richard Kind, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina, Michael Parks, Taylor Schilling
Writers: Chris Terrio, Joshuah Bearman

In theaters: October 12th Read more

Trailer #2: ‘Rock of Ages’ starring Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Ackerman, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise

Even though I really want to see this, I have to admit, the first trailer for Rock of Ages sucked. It was almost embarrassing how bad it was.

This new trailer though makes it look pretty damn good. Can’t wait to see this!

Rock of Ages tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock ‘n’ roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more.

Director: Adam Shankman
Cast: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Ackerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise
Writers: Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo, Allan Loeb

In theaters: June 15th, 2012 Read more

Trailer: ‘Total Recall’ Starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho & Bill Nighy

Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.

Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho, Bill Nighy
Writers: Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback

In theaters: August 3rd, 2012 Read more

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