“I Would Not Have Been Available.” If Malcolm in the Middle Had Not Been Canceled, Bryan Cranston Would Not Have Played This Iconic Character
Bryan Cranston has almost said goodbye to his best-known role. The possibility of taking on a new project could be blocked for him by the eighth season of Malcolm in the Middle, if it would be developed.
Fans of Breaking Bad will probably agree that Bryan Cranston was perfect for the role of Walter White, and now it's hard to imagine that this character could be played by someone else. But this would have happened if the actor's long-running project had not come to an end, because then the schedule would not have allowed him to take on a second leading role in TV series.
And the popular Malcolm in the Middle had a chance to continue after the seventh season. However, the decision was made to cancel the sitcom, which, as Cranston confessed during an interview with GQ, opened the door to his most famous role.
Had Malcolm in the Middle been picked up for an eighth season, someone else would've played Walter White, because I would not have been available. But that summer is when I first read his script, [Gilligan] Vince's script, for Breaking Bad.
So happily, the actor completed one project and was able to move on to the next, which went down in history as one of the best TV series. Walter White is a character that Cranston liked very much and he largely attributes his creation to the genius of Vince Gilligan.
I will say this upfront that the lion share of Walter White was really the imagination of Vince Gilligan. He's genius, and he laid out a beautiful template for me to step in.
Breaking Bad was quite a change for Bryan Cranston after years of appearing in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, but the actor found his feet perfectly in the criminal production, which brought him even more fame and allowed him to create an iconic character in collaboration with Vince Gilligan.
