Bryan Cranston | Interview outtake

Bryan Cranston

Photo illustration: Jamie DiVecchio Ramsay

Bryan Cranston was careful not to mention any spoilers when we discussed Breaking Bad, whose fifth season premiered last night. But when I asked the actor about drawing on his elderly father to help create the physical quality of his meth-cooking character Walter White, Cranston suggested that that aspect, along with Walt himself, will change in the new season. Here’s that outtake from our recent published interview:

“I wanted to have Walter White feel older than he was at the beginning. That’s what depression can do, and that’s what Walter was in. He was in a deep depression. Well, he’s not in depression anymore. [Laughs] I just thought of my dad’s physical nature of what happens over time, and so I wanted to bring that to him in the beginning stages. Now things are different. When you see this season—and last it was starting to happen—Walter’s not as hunched over anymore. He’s standing straight. Especially this season, I thought of how Gus Fring—I kind of took on some characteristics, what made him successful. He was always so beautifully postured and mannered. You’ll see Walter White standing more erect and being more in control, more in charge, and he feels it—his chest. When you stand up straight, your chest comes out, and it’s like, that’s right. [Laughs] I’m king of the jungle.”