Written by JEBUS. I just finished watching both seasons of Breaking Bad and man oh man is Bryan Cranston good. I am nominating him for President of Acting. Right now, you are probably saying, who is Bryan Cranston. He is the lead actor in AMC’s tough and extremely compelling chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin series Breaking Bad. You may know him from his days as Dr. Tim Whatley on Seinfeld or as Hal (the dad) on Malcolm in the Middle.
A Happier Time
Well the times have changed and Cranston is now playing one of the most challenging characters on television.
One bad motha SHUT YO MOUTH
I love that juxtaposition. Given Cranston’s history as a comedic actor, I had my doubts about his ability to lead a strongly adult-themed drama. Let me tell you this, I am stupid. Cranston is an absolute tour-de-force day in and day out. He plays a loving family man who for reasons unmentioned here feels the need to turn to a life of crime. He uses his training as a chemist to start cooking methamphetamine. And the show takes off from there. We see an absolute transformation take place and it is a chilling one. Cranston plays starts out with a kind of black and white delineation between his two lives, but quickly we see his struggle to keep the two apart affect him and the results are riveting. Cranston manages to be one of the most pitiable, unlikable, and lovable characters I’ve ever watched. He can be loving and ruthless, funny and overbearing; you name it, it’s in his repertoire. All this while acting like he has an physical infirmity. For all of these reasons and for his ability to carry a show which features several great performances and challenging storylines, I nominate the one and only Bryan Cranston for President of Acting.
