We wrote about the life of Bryan Cranston, who worked in many different business areas, wanted to continue his acting career, and became famous with the "Breaking Bad" series.
His full name is Bryan Lee Cranston, he was born on March 7, 1956, in Hollywood, Los Angeles. He was born to his mother, radio actress Annalisa "Peggy" Sell, the daughter of German immigrants, and to his father, actor and former amateur boxer Joseph Louis Cranston, who is of Irish, Austrian, and German descent. Cranston has an older brother named Kyle and a younger sister named Amy. Growing up in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, Cranston's father worked in different jobs before deciding to become an actor. However, his father, who was not acting enough to support his family, left the family when Cranston was 11 years old, and they never saw each other again until 22-year-old Cranston and Kyle decided to find him. Cranston appeared in a movie called "The Big Turnaround" directed by his father in 1988. Later, he maintained his relationship with his father until he passed away in 2014.
Raised by his maternal grandparents after his father died, Cranston lived on a poultry farm in Yucaipa. A graduate of Canoga Park High School, Cranston earned an associate's degree in police science from Los Angeles Valley College in 1976. At this time, Cranston, who took acting classes as an elective, decided that he wanted to continue his acting career.
Cranston began his acting career by appearing in local and regional theatres. However, his parents had mixed thoughts about their son's involvement in this profession, so Cranston did not act in years. Later, he was appointed as a minister by the Universal Life Church. Cranston, who did weddings for money to help her income, also worked in many jobs as a waitress, security guard, truck loader, camera operator.
Having started working regularly in the late 1980s, Cranston has appeared mostly in cameo roles and commercials. He played Douglas Donovan as one of the original cast members of the ABC soap opera "Loving" from 1983 to 1985. He then appeared in the 1988 sitcom "Raising Miranda". The following year, he played Tom Logan in an episode of the first season of the action drama TV series "Baywatch".
He was the voice actor of Cranston in the theatrical movie "Macross Plus" and the animated movie "Armitage III: Poly-Matrix". He did the most important voice acting as Fei-Long in the anime film adaptation "Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie". He then did voice work in the 1993-94 first season of the superhero children's TV series "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," portraying characters such as Twin Man and Snizzard.
That same year, Cranston played the role of Jerry's dentist, Dr. Tim Whatley, in the TV sitcom "Seinfeld" until 1997. In 1996, Tom Hanks directed the comedy "That Thing You Do!" He also played the first of his two biographical roles as an astronaut, playing Gus Grissom. While Elephant was nominated for many awards in various categories, it also managed to become a musical hit with the song of the same name.
The following year, he appeared in a supporting role in the action movie "Strategic Command" starring Michael Dudikoff, alongside Richard Norton, Paul Winfield, and Stephen Quadros. Later that year, he starred in the space opera TV series "Babylon 5" as Ericsson, a starship captain who sacrifices himself as part of his plan to save the galaxy.
In 1998, he starred in the "Drive" episode of the science fiction drama TV series "The X-Files" written by Vince Gilligan. That year, he also reprized his second astronaut role, playing Buzz Aldrin in the HBO docudrama tv mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon." That same year, he made his second appearance in a recurring role as Tim Sacksky in the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens." Later in the year, he starred as one-armed War Department Colonel IW Bryce in Steven Spielberg's epic war movie "Saving Private Ryan." The film, which received great acclaim, became one of the most successful films of the year. In addition, he has made a successful commercial profit.
Among the theater roles; the play "The God of Hell", the autobiographical play "Chapter Two", the comedy play "The Taming of the Shrew", the play "A Doll's House", the romantic comedy play "Barefoot in the Park", the play "Eastern" Standard" and "Wrestlers". Additionally, he appeared in "The Steven Weed Show" for which he won a Drama-Logue Award.
In 2000, Cranston appeared in the comedy series "Malcolm in the Middle" as Hal and remained in the role until the series ended in 2006. It received great acclaim from the critics and was among the best TV and sitcom series of all time. He earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performance.
He appeared in the TV series "The Flash" as a white-collar criminal looking for his estranged wife and daughter. He also guest-starred as a lawyer in the TV sitcom "Young Witch Sabrina." In late 2006, he made a guest appearance on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," playing the role of Ted Mosby's obnoxious co-worker and former boss, Hammond Druthers. Also that year, he played Lucifer in the ABC family miniseries "Fallen" and starred as Nick Wrigley, an irresponsible uncle in the 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie "Twas the Night." That same year, he voiced Gary's father in the adult animated comedy sitcom "Gary & Mike." He then starred as the more successful co-worker of Greg Kinnear's character in the tragicomedy road movie "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006).
From 2008 to 2013, Cranston starred as Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, in the AMC crime drama television series "Breaking Bad" created by Vince Gilligan. After Walter died, he teamed up with former student Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) to manufacture and sell methamphetamine to ensure his family's financial well-being. He received widespread critical acclaim for his performance and earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in each of the series' first three seasons. It was nominated for the same award for the fourth and fifth seasons of the series in 2012 and 2013, and won the same award again in 2014 for the second half of the fifth season of the series. Cranston was among the players who won the award three times in a row. He also directed three episodes during the series' run, as well as producing the fourth and fifth seasons of the series. Thus, he made his name known to everyone with this series.
In 2011, Cranston appeared in supporting roles in three successful films. The first was with the legal thriller "The Lincoln Lawyer" based on the novel of the same name. He then followed up with the action drama movie "Drive" based on the novel of the same name. Finally, he followed up with the medical thriller "Contagion". The following year, he appeared in the science fiction action-adventure movie "John Carter" based on a novel. In the same year, he voiced the tiger Vitaly in the sequel animated circus comedy "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted". He later had a supporting role in the musical comedy film "Rock of Ages" directed by Adam Shankman. Later that year, he played a major role in the Ben Affleck-directed historical drama thriller "Argo," alongside Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman. The film, which was acclaimed and praised in every category, received many nominations in various fields.
In 2012, he appeared as Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen in the remake of the 1990 sci-fi action movie "Total Recall". Despite mixed reviews, the film was successful at the box office. That same year, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
From September 2013 to June 2014, he played US President Lyndon B. Johnson in two different productions of "All the Way", American Repertory Theater and Broadway. He received critical acclaim for his performance and won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. At the same time, he reprized the role of scientist Joe Brody with the 2014 reboot of the monster movie "Godzilla" alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, and David Strathairn. The film, which received generally positive reviews, achieved a box office success with its revenue.
On July 16, 2014, it was announced that Cranston will star in the HBO adaptation of the hit play "All the Way," for which Steven Spielberg will executive produce the film. The film, which premiered on May 21, 2016, was well received by critics and Cranston's performance was widely praised. Additionally, his performance earned his eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations and Television Critics' Choice Award nominations.
In 2015, Cranston starred as screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the biographical drama film "Trumbo" directed by Jay Roach. Released on November 6, 2015, the film was widely acclaimed and received its first Academy Award nomination for his performance. The following year, he voiced Po's biological father, Li, in the animated martial arts comedy "Kung Fu Panda 3". Also that year, he landed the lead role in "The Infiltrator," a biographical crime drama thriller directed by Brad Furman. The film, which was liked by the critics, did not achieve the same success at the box office. Later that year, he took the lead role with Jennifer Garner in the comedy-drama film "Wakefield," written and directed by Robin Swicord. Towards the end of the year, his memoir "A Life in Parts" was published. The book, which managed to enter the New York Times bestseller list, received positive reviews.
In 2017, he voiced Zordon in the superhero movie "Power Rangers," based on the series of the same name, released by Lionsgate, and returned to the series after performing the voiceover in its first season. In November 2017, Cranston starred as Howard Beale in the stage adaptation of the 1976 film "Network" directed by Ivo van Hove. Later, the play transferred to Broadway and premiered at the Belasco Theater on December 6, 2018. For his performance, he won the 2019 Drama League Award, Outstanding Performance Award, and his second Tony Award for best lead actor in a play.
That same year, he appeared in the comedy drama movie "The Upside," directed by Neil Burger, as Phillip Lacasse, a wealthy paraplegic, with Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman. The movie, which was planned to be released in 2018, was released on January 11, 2019, as a result of delays. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a successful box office hit. He voiced Chief, the stray dog, as part of the cast of the animated film "Isle of Dogs"(2018), which premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival and was written and directed by Wes Anderson. Released on March 23, 2018, the film was both critically and commercially successful, earning several award nominations.
In 2019, Cranston's production company, Moonshot Entertainment, signed a deal with Warner Bros. In 2020, he appeared in the Disney fantasy drama movie "The One and Only Ivan" as the lead character Mack. He also appeared in the lead role in the drama TV series "Your Honor", playing a judge and the father of a boy who accidentally killed someone. The series received mixed or average reviews.
In 2022, Cranston reprized the role of Walter White in the final season of "Better Call Saul," the prequel to Breaking Bad. The series received great acclaim, as well as many awards and nominations in various branches. In 2023, Cranston appeared as Walter White in a Super Bowl LVII commercial for the Popcorners, making another appearance as Tuco Salamanca. He said this might be his last appearance as a character.
Personal life
Cranston married writer Mickey Middleton in 1977 and the couple divorced in 1982. He met Robin Dearden on a set in 1984. The couple got married on July 8, 1989. The couple has an actress daughter named Taylor Dearden, who was born on February 12, 1993.
Playing baseball as a student, Cranston continues to be a collector of baseball memorabilia. Additionally, Cranston is a die-hard fan of both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Rams. He is also a motorcycle enthusiast.
Cranston has released an educational DVD called "KidSmartz," designed to teach families how to protect themselves from kidnappers and internet predators. This DVD also raises money for the "National Center for Missing and Exploited Children" by donating half of the proceeds from sales. In October 2018, Cranston became the voice of a new Ford automaker commercial.