Bryan Cranston, the star from 'Breaking Bad': where is he now?

Did Santa come early? Or is it Hollywood star Bryan Cranston deciding one day he wasn't going to shave anymore? What's the 'Breaking Bad' star up to these days?

'Breaking Bad' has ended nearly a decade ago, but people still remember Walter White and his companion Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) like it was yesterday. In fact, Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins only started watching the show in 2022 and called it "the best acting I have seen – ever."

Image: AMC

In the summer of 2022, the two actors' life-size bronze statues were revealed in the convention center of Albuquerque, the place where a lot of the series takes place. Visibly pleased, the bearded actor and his neatly trimmed colleague Aaron Paul went down there to attend the festivities.

What do you think, do their bronze versions look a lot like the real men? Of course, think of Bryan Cranston without hair when you make the comparison!

Many great roles have brought Bryan Cranston fame, awards, and millions of dollars: from Walter White in 'Breaking Bad' to Hal Wilkerson in 'Malcolm in the Middle' and doctor Tim Whatley in 'Seinfeld.' But what is the American actor doing now?

You may have thought he'd retired, after failing to see him on the big or small screen for so long, but nothing is further from the truth. He's actually been focusing on the world of theater.

In 2022, Cranston was a lead actor in Paul Grellong's play 'Power of Sail.' He played the role of distinguished Harvard professor Charles Nichols in a story that tells a cautionary tale about hate speech under the guise of free speech.

But Bryan Cranston's current work goes beyond the world of acting. Together with his former co-star in 'Breaking Bad', Aaron Paul, he has founded 'Dos Hombres', a brand of mezcal - a traditional Mexican treat - that comes directly from Oaxaca, Mexico.

To get the idea off the ground, Cranston and Paul traveled through a large area of Oaxaca until they found the ideal place to produce their drink. The place turned out to be San Luis del Río, in the municipality of Tlacolula de Matamoros, where the duo is now making varieties of mezcal espadín and mezcal tobalá.

Meanwhile, Cranston does what he loves to do: marvelous performances on the stage, on TV, and in cinemas. He's been on Showtime since 2020, playing Judge Michael Desiato in 'Your Honor.'

'Your Honor' has two seasons, the second of which Cranston and the crew began filming in the fall of 2022 in New Orleans. The actor announced in Dax Shepard's podcast in June 2022 that there would not be a third season of the drama series.

But there's so much more! In the HBO movie 'All the Way' (2016), Cranston starred alongside Anthony Mackie. He played the lead role in the biopic about US President Lyndon B. Johnson.

He's also starred in the movies 'Wakefield' (2016), 'Why Him?' (2016), 'Power Rangers' (2017), 'Last Flag Flying' (2017), and 'Jerry & Marge Go Large' (2022). The latter, with Annette Bening, came out on Paramount Plus in the summer of 2022.

And there's more to come! Cranston is set to appear in an upcoming Wes Anderson movie: 'Asteroid City.' It's a romantic comedy with a spectacular cast, including Tilda Swinton, Maya Hawke, Adrien Brody, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Matt Dillon, and Jeff Goldblum.

The shooting of 'Asteroid City' began in Spain in August 2021 and ended at the end of the same year. While still in the post-production phase, the movie is set to come out in late 2022 or early 2023.

Matthew Vaughn (known from 'Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch') is making a spy film and Bryan Cranston is part of its incredible cast. Get this: the actors include Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dua Lipa!

Image: Apple Plus

Here's the only image Apple Plus has released of the movie so far. The release date is not known yet either. But it is certain that Bryan Cranston has scored two amazing projects with 'Asteroid City' and 'Argylle.'

Cranston has been an actor, voice actor, screenwriter, producer, and director for many years. It was only after he turned fifty, however, that the astronomical success of 'Breaking Bad' arrived.

Cranston's career may seem like a long list of successes, but his life was a long and hard road that began with a very complicated childhood. As he recounted in his memoir, 'A Life in Parts' (2016), he grew up in a broken family.

Bryan Lee Cranston was born in Los Angeles on March 7, 1956, as the son of former boxer and actor Joe Cranston and radio actress Audrey Peggy Sell. After both failed in their respective careers, the couple started bickering at home until his dad left the family when Bryan was eleven.

As Cranston told the Sunday Times: "he chose not to be with us or see us or be a father... My mother chose to become an alcoholic and drown her sorrows and sadness and resentment. She was like a ghost of herself. And no one ever explained why he left."

The young man was forced to find a life for himself and he did it by working in any job he could find: as a farmer, newspaper delivery boy, security guard, longshoreman, and painter, among other things.

All those childhood jobs he combined with the studies that were supposed to lead to a career as a police officer. However, in his sophomore year in college, Cranston also began taking acting classes. And this is how he discovered his true passion in life: acting.

Cranston began his acting career in local theaters, but he also appeared in TV commercials. His face may have been familiar to you thanks to brands such as Lay's, Excedrin, Honda Accord, and Coffee-Mate.

Cranston forged his career with small roles in numerous series and movies, such as 'One Life to Live' in 1985; 'Airwolf' in 1986; 'Falcon Crest' and 'Baywatch' in 1989; and 'The Flash' in 1991.

On the set of 'Airwolf,' Cranston fell in love with fellow actress Robin Dearden. They got married in 1989 and had a daughter who, by the way, is studying theater so she can follow in her parents' footsteps.

A special appearance by Bryan Cranston, and a breakthrough for him in comedy, was his role in 'Seinfeld' in the 1990s. The actor played dentist Tim Whatley in five episodes between 1994 and 1997.

Image: 'Seinfeld,' NBC / Amazon / Netflix

At the turn of the century, Cranston would get a well-deserved sitcom 'of his own.' In 2000, he started playing Hal, the funny father of 'Malcolm in the Middle.' The series was a big success and appeared on American TV for years.

In the series, which lasted until 2006, Cranston even took up the job of director in several episodes. He had a close relationship with all of his co-stars.

Cranston built a special relationship with Erik Per Sullivan who played the youngest son, Dewey. He guarded the child actor against the excesses of Hollywood and made sure he would not be overwhelmed.

While 'Malcolm in the Middle' was a big success, Cranston's most prestigious role, without a doubt, was that of Walter White in 'Breaking Bad'.

Starting in 2008, the crime comedy series told the tale of a chemistry professor who starts producing drugs after he finds out he has cancer and cannot pay the bills.

Image: AMC

'Breaking Bad' proved that Cranston was one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. He won the Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series four times - three of them consecutive - in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014.

For his work in 'Breaking Bad', Bryan Cranston would earn 225,000 per episode, Celebrity NetWorth reports. Thanks to this lucrative role, Cranston's fortune is currently estimated at 40 million dollars.

Cranston would return as Walter White in a few episodes of the series' marvelous spin-off, 'Better Call Saul,' and in the movie centering on Aaron Paul's character, 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' in 2019.

Among the odd trivia relating to Cranston's role as Walter White is the fact that he's got the 'Breaking Bad' logo tattooed on his finger.

In early 2022, Sir Anthony Hopkins wrote Bryan Cranston a personal email to say that he was binge-watching the show. "I have never watched anything like it. Brilliant!" he said. About Cranston's performance, the Oscar-winner claimed that it was "the best acting I have seen – ever." Now that's a nice email to receive!

Although it was a personal letter, the mail leaked onto social media after Cranston shared it with the other cast members of 'Breaking Bad.' As Hopkins wrote, "if you ever get a chance to – would you pass on my admiration to everyone — Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Aaron Paul, Betsy Brandt, R.J. Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Steven Michael Quezada — everyone — everyone gave master classes of performance... The list is endless."

Well, if Anthony Hopkins really likes Bryan Cranston's acting that much, he still has a lot of movies to catch up on! Cranston appeared in more than 50 productions, with titles to his credit like 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), Steven Spielberg's war movie in which he plays an officer in the War Department.

There's also 'Little Miss Sunshine' (2006), 'John Carter' (2012), and 'Godzilla' (2014), among many others. In this image, you see Bryan Cranston with Ben Affleck as two CIA agents in the Oscar-winning 'Argo' (2012)

'Argo' was one of the movies that got him positive reviews and rewards. Besides the four Emmys for 'Breaking Bad,' he can boast of three Screen Actors Guild Awards: one for 'Breaking Bad,' one for 'All the Way' (where he played President Lyndon B. Johnson), and one for 'Argo.'  He also got a Golden Globe for 'Breaking Bad' and two Tony Awards in 2014 and 2019 for the plays 'All the Way' and 'Network.'

Cranston's most acclaimed film role was that of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted for his alleged leftist political beliefs in the late 1940s. The role earned him nominations for an Oscar, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe.

Considering the film projects he still has ahead of him, it is difficult to say whether Bryan Cranston is past his high point. In any case, we can be certain that there's life after 'Breaking Bad'!