It has already been 10 years since AMC released a quirky drama series about a terminally ill middle-aged teacher who starts cooking meth. And it has been nearly five years since the critically worshiped, Emmy award-winning, Breaking Bad ended.
To treat the fans of the show, its cast members have reunited in the pages of this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, and it’s hitting us hard with nostalgia. The actors not only shared the memories from the set but posed for an exclusive photoshoot as well. Scroll down to check out how they talk about the show that made such a big impact on their careers.
The first season of Breaking Bad premiered on January 20, 2008
Recently, the cast has reunited to celebrate the show’s 10 year anniversary
They came together for a photoshoot and interviews with Entertainment Weekly
Bryan Cranston (Walter White)-
“It was the best script I’d ever read, but nowhere in the pilot’s script does it say where that journey is going to go or how far it’s going to go,” says Cranston. “Is he just going to dabble in it for a little bit and then get out or what? And when [creator Vince Gilligan] told me he wanted to change this character from good to bad, completely, we realize that this has never happened before. So what Vince Gilligan did was change the construct of what was possible in series television. He changed it. It was all about stasis before. Whether you’re Thomas Magnum or Archie Bunker or Ross and Rachel, you are those people — or Tony Soprano — you are those people and you are reacting to different stimuli. But this is completely different. And he gave every one of us our own individuality.”
Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman)
“We were all so fortunate to be able to play characters in the show where it wasn’t just a one color, one tone, throughout the entire series,” says Paul. “We all had these beautifully complex arcs that we didn’t know where our characters were heading. And Jesse, I really love this kid so much, but when I first read the script, I had no idea where he was going. I mean, he was supposed to die at the end of the first season. Vince didn’t know where he was going, the writers didn’t know where he was going. But where they took him was just such a brutal struggle — this journey that he went on, that we all went on — it was incredible.”
Anna Gunn (Skyler White)
“Vince wanted her always to be such a strong person, somebody who didn’t fall apart and who didn’t wallow in self-pity but really always took charge,” says Gunn. “That was always really fascinating about her. That a mind as brilliant as [Walt’s] mind was, her mind was as brilliant in her own way. She was always trying to figure out, ‘Okay, this is the situation, this is the challenge. Now what do we do? How do we go into action?’”
To treat the fans of the show, its cast members have reunited in the pages of this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, and it’s hitting us hard with nostalgia. The actors not only shared the memories from the set but posed for an exclusive photoshoot as well. Scroll down to check out how they talk about the show that made such a big impact on their careers.
The first season of Breaking Bad premiered on January 20, 2008
Recently, the cast has reunited to celebrate the show’s 10 year anniversary
They came together for a photoshoot and interviews with Entertainment Weekly
Bryan Cranston (Walter White)-
“It was the best script I’d ever read, but nowhere in the pilot’s script does it say where that journey is going to go or how far it’s going to go,” says Cranston. “Is he just going to dabble in it for a little bit and then get out or what? And when [creator Vince Gilligan] told me he wanted to change this character from good to bad, completely, we realize that this has never happened before. So what Vince Gilligan did was change the construct of what was possible in series television. He changed it. It was all about stasis before. Whether you’re Thomas Magnum or Archie Bunker or Ross and Rachel, you are those people — or Tony Soprano — you are those people and you are reacting to different stimuli. But this is completely different. And he gave every one of us our own individuality.”
Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman)
“We were all so fortunate to be able to play characters in the show where it wasn’t just a one color, one tone, throughout the entire series,” says Paul. “We all had these beautifully complex arcs that we didn’t know where our characters were heading. And Jesse, I really love this kid so much, but when I first read the script, I had no idea where he was going. I mean, he was supposed to die at the end of the first season. Vince didn’t know where he was going, the writers didn’t know where he was going. But where they took him was just such a brutal struggle — this journey that he went on, that we all went on — it was incredible.”
Anna Gunn (Skyler White)
“Vince wanted her always to be such a strong person, somebody who didn’t fall apart and who didn’t wallow in self-pity but really always took charge,” says Gunn. “That was always really fascinating about her. That a mind as brilliant as [Walt’s] mind was, her mind was as brilliant in her own way. She was always trying to figure out, ‘Okay, this is the situation, this is the challenge. Now what do we do? How do we go into action?’”
