Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston had a habit of trolling his co-stars on the set of the popular show, according to his on-screen partner-in-crime, Aaron Paul.
In the award-winning series, Cranston played Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who starts selling meth after he is diagnosed with lung cancer. Paul played his former student Jesse Pinkman, who initially aids Walter in his schemes before eventually becoming horrified by his descent into intense criminality.
“[Cranston] is the hardest worker in the room, the most lovable — I mean, he’s my best friend, my son’s godfather, I adore him, I spoke to him for an hour on the phone last night,” Paul shared on the YouTube series, Hot Ones. “But he’s also the most immature person I’ve ever met in my life, and I say that with just love and respect.”
Paul went on to explain that, during their time on Breaking Bad, Cranston would continuously trick him into believing he was being killed off the show. He recalled one incident in which Cranston approached him with a “long hug” and told him, “At least you go out in a big way, huh?”
“I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He goes, ‘Did you read the latest script?’ I go, ‘No.’ He goes, ‘Oh, well, just read it, and I’m here if you need me.’”
Paul said he “sprinted” to read the script but found that his character was actually fine, and hadn’t been killed off.
“He just made it seem like I died,” he said. “But he would not stop, and he would get everybody in on it, like the costume designers said, ‘Hey we gotta do your measurements for the casket, so if you could stay after work, that would be great.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Jesse was initially scripted to die at the end of the first season of the show, but Paul’s chemistry with Cranston led him to become a permanent fixture on the series.
Breaking Bad first premiered on the AMC network, which was responsible for the release of other acclaimed programmes including Mad Men and The Walking Dead. It ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2013, earning Cranston four Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and three for Paul as Supporting Actor.
