Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Brian Cranston. I am the danger. Brian Cranston. Wow. You know, it's very rare to have someone go from Malcolm in the Middle, which is a very funny show, very culty, funny, and flip into Breaking Bad. I mean, a million things in between, but...
the two yeah and then and now back to mountain yeah back to malcolm the show is back i've seen some running around his underpants yeah so he's like uh he's like he's totally like a regular guy like he doesn't wear brian kranz like any kind of ego he just sort of but man breaking bad was
Chapter 2: How did Bryan Cranston transition from comedy to drama?
i mean you know arguably one of the best acting things has ever been recorded yeah i talked to someone yesterday who says they're re-watching breaking bad For real. That's something just kind of like The Sopranos. Every once in a while you can rewatch it. But to be able to do broad comedy and get big laughs and then do Breaking Bad, which got so dark and so scary and weird is such a range.
But yeah, he's a fun guy to talk to. He's very real, smart guy. Yeah, very light, likes to laugh, likes the comedian world and just wants to crack up. So yeah. We had a blast with him, and I think Malcolm in the Middle is on presently, so you can see him in that. Here he is, Bryan Cranston. Don't say anything. He can't hear us yet. He can't hear us yet. I can't hear anything. Not one thing.
Look at this guy. Bryan Cranston. Bryan Cranston is a name you want to say. It feels good to say it. Bryan Cranston. Brian Cranston, our whole goal is not to bore you. So- How's that going so far? Uh, I think we're, you know, I just watched your monologue of Brian Cranston, Brian Cranberry, SNL mono. God. Oh God. Thanks for coming on. You're a, you know, you're, you're, you're Brian Cranston.
When did you first realize that? Like I'm fucking Brian Cranston. Yeah. When do you put fucking in it? When did you kind of go, hey, I'm Bryan Cranston. I'm Bryan Cranston. I'm Bryan fucking Cranston. Yeah. I want to know the moment Because we don't have a real structure here. I'm assuming sometime during Breaking Bad, it must have hit you at some point. This is fantastic. This show's great.
And I think I'm really killing it here. This is fucking, you know what I mean? You must have had a moment or maybe it was a gradual series of moments. When I got an SNL, it worked out for me. I was sort of like, oh, wow, I'm actually on SNL and it's doing pretty well for me. So the same kind of thing. Was it there or was it Malcolm in the Middle? Was it Seinfeld? Or I assume Breaking Bad.
I'll let you talk. There you go. Yeah, you know, I mean, those elevations along the way when you're hoping that you have opportunity. I think I started to talk to some young actors a while ago and also those of us who have been around a while. And I said, I think I realized what it was. When you first start out, you have tremendous ambition, but low opportunity.
And it's like, you want to conquer everything, but it's like the, you're struggling to find an audition. And, and then if you get really lucky, as we all have, I think the opportunities grow sometimes larger than the ambition. And that's where I find myself now is is putting out the same amount of energy, but going, oh, my God. OK, yes, I will read that script. I will get to that at some point.
You know, I instruct my agents now. I said, listen, please don't send me anything that you don't really love. So, you know, let them do that work to be able to say, no, this script is really, really great. So you should take a look at it. Um, but I think it's this question I actually had for you, uh, for both of you. Thank you. Can I do that? Can I, we love, we love that. We like it better. Yeah.
It's better for us. You know, the interesting thing of, of when you feel like you've, you've made it. When I was 25 years old, I got a job on a soap opera here in New York. And, uh, You know, it's churn, man. You're just one script. You do the script, you throw it out, read so hard the next day, next day, next day, next day. It's a lot of churn that you're going through.
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Chapter 3: What memorable experiences did Bryan Cranston have while hosting SNL?
And then I put the wig on and the dress, the church lay and stuff. It was like, this is, this is really fun. And we'll talk about when you host it, but, and also your LBJ, which is, I think is extraordinary. I was watching. You do one of the best LBJs out there. Well, the only one where you, you, Fred Travolina. Well, he was doing it as an actor. I mean, I know, I know Hollywood wanted to use me.
I, I screen tested for Amadeus. You know, for real. Yeah, yeah. I did a sitcom with Mickey Rooney and Nathan Lane in New York City when I was 25 years of age at Studio 6A in Rockefeller Center. And then eight years later, I got on there. So to answer your question shortly, it's like once I got in SNL, I felt like a fish in water. Like I really belong here, you know? And so that was it for me.
How old were you then, Dana? I was 51. No, I was 31 in my first set in a shitbox comedy club where these comedians came up and I thought, well, they're not that great. It was in Berkeley. And I, and I, I scrolled on a napkin. I do a Howard Cosell. I do John Wayne, you know, and then a guy came up and levitated the room and it was Rob Williams.
Chapter 4: When did Bryan Cranston realize he had made it as an actor?
And then I crumpled the paper or the napkin, put it back in my pocket. Cause I didn't know there was only one of him, but basically it was the classic 10 years of this, but the standups always have a baseline, like a band. You just go back to the clubs, go to the theaters, do standups. So it's, it's a nice little side job. It is foundational for you.
I did stand up for about nine months back in 1980, 81. And I did it only because it scared the shit out of me. Yeah. What you guys do was something that terrified me. So I thought, wow, the only way I'm ever going to get over this is
fear of it is to dive in so i rose from being terrible to being mediocre in in those that's a big jump yeah there's a big jump it is in standard it is big now i'm not just walking everyone do the job get a consistent laughs you know was it new york it was in la Back in 81, when they had, there were plays like the Playboy Club was there in Century City.
The Laugh Stop, of course, the comedy store and improv. Is Laugh Stop in Newport? There was. There was one in Newport, right? Then there was one in the Valley where I had a great night. My best night was in the Valley.
Chapter 5: What challenges did Bryan Cranston face in his early career?
I did, you know, about eight minutes or something and killed I got in my car. I drove to the improv. I begged the guy, you've got to get me on. I'm on fire. I'm on fire. And he says, well, I could stick around because someone may not show up. And so you're blowing it. I know. So so he says, I think I think what's his name is not going to show up. So in about 45 minutes, you can go on.
Okay, okay, 45 minutes, 45 minutes. I walked around the block in that neighborhood. I walked around the block in that neighborhood doing my set, just trying to recall it exactly as I did it. That got such a great reaction. And I felt great, and I got up. It wasn't the same. Not the same, yuck. It's so weird. Crowds are like fingerprints. They're all a little bit different.
And then you go, I just was on the road. And I'm like, one night, these three jokes worked the best. The next thing, these three. So overall, it's about the same. But you go, why? Why didn't they bite on that? Did I say it wrong? Is it a different attitude? Something about it. It just didn't work. And you could drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out.
Anyway, and I started turning down auditions because I was drinking too much. I was in the clubs and if I had a good night, someone would offer me a drink. If I had a bad night, someone would offer me a drink. Oh, yeah. And they're all free, which is great. Yeah. And you're just going and then sleeping until noon or one and turning down auditions.
And finally, I just went, wait a minute, wait a minute, what am I doing? And I realized that what you guys had
innately was not me it was not in my being i was trying to overcome a fear and all of a sudden i realized wait a minute i did that oh let me go back that was the point yeah you did that which was a huge thing i remember does it scare you with acting does it scare you or is it the fact you have a few takes so it's a little easier well it's it's just a different muscle right you you and you
you're attracted to certain types of performing and you find something that you do well and it's you know inspiring i i i didn't i didn't wake up thinking oh i've got to get on stage and try to tell this joke um i i love being different people and getting into their skin and doing the research and figuring out what made that guy tick and why was he important and all that
So what are the police coming to your house right now? That's usually a, that's from our parent company. It's just saying, pick up the podcast a little bit. It's a little bit. I'm just curious for a second, because you become one of our great actors. It's sort of maybe happened secretly or whatever, but I know you would never put yourself probably with your, your nature.
into the people you watch growing up, you know, and then you realize, you must realize at some point you're doing work as good or better than a lot of your heroes. Right. I'm talking, I know what age group we're in, you know, there's, you're the people, Spencer Tracy would have loved you, Jimmy Stewart. I just, so that's kind of surreal, isn't it? To realize that.
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Chapter 6: How did Bryan Cranston's perspective on auditions change over time?
I, I, I still don't feel that. I don't know. Maybe it's just the way I was raised, but, um, There is that imposter syndrome that I think many people go through that you go, Hey man, I don't, I don't always know what I'm doing, but people think I do. You can get away with a lot. Oh my God. Your acting choices are like so genius. I forgot my line. It's throwing a dart. Yeah. That stutter you did.
I was searching for the word. Oh, when you spaced out, you looked off. So real. when did bob odenkirk first come to you go oh that was a great take oh brian you're killing it oh my god that's so great people are gonna love it yeah that's funny that's so funny we love bob when he was hired for breaking bad he hadn't seen the show yet
and i just ribbed him about that i go so he got hired to be on a show and the episodes were readily available to you but you chose readily you chose not to be so anyway but he he uh he learned quickly and uh boy what a what a lovely thing that's happened to him you know yeah um and i you know when he when he was offered a better call Saul, he asked if he can go out to lunch with me.
And I said, sure. And he said, I'm not that guy. I'm not the, Hey, follow me. I'll lead you to the promised land kind of guy. And I said, you know, I didn't know that I was that either, but there is the need for that person to kind of take care, to kind of be the dad of a Of a company. Of a show. Of a show. You're number one on the call sheet. It's kind of saying, there it is for you to take.
It's like quarterback. Yeah. They look up to you even whether you know it or not. Exactly. So I said, there's going to be a vacuum. If you don't take it, someone else will, or it'll be taken up by someone who you don't necessarily think is the right person. So it's just... I said... When I first started getting some comments of my work, I used to push back. Hey, you're really good. No, no, no.
I used to say that. Oh, you're really becoming a television star. Oh, no, no. No, no, no, no. I'm just an actor. And I found it did terrible things. First of all, it made the person wrong. which is not a good thing. Feel bad, yeah. And feel bad. It forced them to then continue the fight. No, no, no. More compliments. I'm being serious. It's a good trick. So what do you say now? Thank you. Yeah.
Yeah, thank you. That's it. You don't want to go on a set and be run by number nine on the call sheet. I'll tell Bob. Let me ask you a question about, and I don't know, I know the Malcolm in the Middle is in that, but you were the lead lead in Breaking Bad and you were in the flow all day long.
I mean, the pacing of yourself, but also when you're someone who comes in and does a guest spot or has one line, you're waiting all day. I mean, you get into a flow, right? Where you're just that character. For so many hours, is it harder, better? Obviously, it's how do you handle the sheer exhaustion?
And do you get almost hypnotized even deeper into the world because you're just doing so much of it?
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Chapter 7: What insights does Bryan Cranston share about working on Breaking Bad?
Well, as you guys know this, so for the listeners, it's basically you find your rhythm. when you're needed when you can rest you you develop a system of how and when you're going to rise to an occasion or when you can shut down a little bit um but i always thought and we've all been on shows where you have the the person coming on the show who has one line and they know nobody
And they have to come in and nail that line. And that's one of the hardest things to do. Yes. So I would always try to greet every co-star. Sabotage them. No, go ahead. And just try to make them feel at ease because number one, it's the right thing to do to help this person. But number two, it also helps your show. They're very important.
Those people that come in, it's so important to get, they get it right. And they're in a vibe that they don't know. They're just getting in the current going, are we playing everything like this? And you're like, no, no, no, no, no. We're all down here. Like, but they don't know. And then you go, okay, let's make it all. It's late in the day.
All the makeup's kind of wearing down on the people have been filming all day long. The crew looks wasted. They're exhausted. They're coming in to land that line. Yeah. It's, it's. Yeah. They bring them in, you're up. It's like, ah, right before we wrap. Now just relax. Okay. Never thought of it. Oh, I didn't think of that. Great. So how old were you when you really made it, made it in your mind?
Because you struggled for a while. No, but you know, I expected to struggle. So I guess I didn't feel like I was struggling. After the soap opera, were you saying like that was 25? So you kind of consistently worked after that. So that's really making it, right? Yeah, very consistent after that. I never had to do anything but act after that point.
And that kind of confidence going into whatever you're doing next is brilliant. And it was a savior. And then about 30, I guess 35 years ago or so, I stumbled upon a philosophy that I realized, oh, I was doing everything wrong.
I was, I was thinking that an audition was a job interview and that because I'm an actor and they're casting for a movie or a TV show or something, that's, that's a job and I'm going to go in to try to get something. And I realized by doing that, you're putting, you're giving up your energy and you're, you're, you're sending it away from you. And so I thought, oh,
Whenever anybody wants or needs something, they don't have control.
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Chapter 8: How does Bryan Cranston view the evolution of television acting?
They're giving up control because they need something. They need a job. They need validation in something. So I thought, oh, I'm just going to hold on to that. And I'm not going to want some. I'm going to give them something. I worked on this scene. I think I can do it. But, you know, it's their option here. Here's an idea. You take it. That works for you. Fantastic. It doesn't.
We'll see you later. Oh, like we're 50-50. I'm going in. This is good. You want my product? Take it. Exactly. Goodbye. And in the modern era. I like that. You can audition with your phone or with a friend, which is kind of nice. Like, here's how I'd play it. You can see me. You know, a lot of people get roles that way as well. You can tweak it a little bit. That helps.
I hated going in those rooms and I always bombed and it was horrible. I bombed in front of Paul Newman terribly and Joanne Woodward. What did you do? Holy shit. Well, I had no- Paul Newman, the superstar. Take a shit in front of them or something? Were you there? I think Robbie Benson got the part. I had no training. I, you know, at all. I was just a stand up. And so acting terrified me.
So I went in. They put us off in pairs. They auditioned. So I was a lovely young woman. We read the scene. I was all over the place. I knew I was bombing. Joanne Wood was there with the dog. Paul Newman with red socks, really tall red socks. And then Paul Newman was so sweet. We just bombed. And then he spent 10 minutes saying, well, I appreciated that.
He was just so nice about it, but the air was thick. And so I walked out with my partner. I just met and I said, well, that didn't go well. And she was like, yeah, yeah, it didn't go well, did it? You know, I mean, I really ruined her audition. Yeah. So anyway, what you just said, I hope young actors listen to that, that you're just showing them something. You're not really trying to get a job.
It's the difference is, Do not go in there to get a job. Go in there to do a job. Yeah. That's it. If you can just say, this is my job. I'm going to create something. It's either funny or it's appropriate to this character. Here's my idea. There it is. Yeah. If you like it, great. If you don't, that's okay. I like that. You don't look so desperate and thirsty. Narrow desperation.
That's my angle is desperate and thirsty because when I would go in. I would try to joke them. I didn't know what I was doing. So this is Dana probably does too. We spend eight minutes talking about the four Oh five and how the crazy drive, and then they're laughing. And then I read it. And then when it stops laughing, he goes, Oh, forget it. I'm trying to win them over with the meeting.
I made Suzanne Plachette laugh so hard. I spent, I had 15 minutes I'm doing for, I'm doing everything. And well, let's, Oh, I'm excited to hear you read. And then it was just dead silence. Yeah. And, you know, I mean, so I'm just curious. I thought again, I'm curious about our guest today. I think I heard you say at one point that I'm just going to do this show business.
This is you made a decision wherever it goes. I'm just going to do this. And what was that after the soap opera? No, no, I was I was actually going to a junior college in L.A. I had no money. So I was studying police science. I was going to become a cop. And you look like you could play a detective. Yeah, you look pretty cool. We'll get to that. You must have played a cop or detective.
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