On the second episode of Better Call Saul, our titular schlub (still known as Jimmy McGill) spends much of his time pleading for amnesty from a group of Mexican drug dealers. Among them, none other than meth-snorting psychopath Tuco Salamanca, Breaking Bad's most colorful menace. How Tuco and Walter White's future attorney arrived at a standoff in the New Mexico desert boiled down to a genuine misunderstanding (who would have thought that Tuco's grandma would drive the same car as an embezzling soccer mom?). But as we know (or can quickly infer, if one hasn't seen Saul's predecessor), it would prove to be a fateful encounter for all involved. It also gave us another chance to enjoy the work of Raymond Cruz, the veteran actor who so memorably portrayed the volatile Breaking Bad baddie, and see him incongruously don an apron while whipping up a mid-day meal.

We caught up with the man who is otherwise busy as Detective Sanchez on TNT's Major Crimes a few hours before the premiere of "Mijo" (Spanish for "my son," or how Tuco's none-the-wiser grandmother affectionately references him) and discussed Salamanca's second act, why Tuco isn't a bad guy, and Cruz's high threshold for blood and bone.

ESQUIRE.COM: When did you first hear Better Call Saul was a go, and at what point were you looped into the process?

RAYMOND CRUZ: I heard they were makin' it, and I said, 'Wow, that's interesting,' cause I really liked Bob Odenkirk's character. And then when they were getting close to production, they called and asked if I would do the first two episodes. I was so excited. It was interesting to go back and revisit the character after a certain amount of time.

ESQ: Was it cathartic to take a break from Major Crimes and go back to being evil?

RC: I don't really look at him that way. I don't put those kinds of judgments on the character. I just allow him to breathe. What he thinks he's doing is right, so I don't really see him as being bad. I look at it afterward and watch the show, I'm like, "He's a badass," but when I'm doing it I really don't think of it that way. It's a really difficult part, because it's so demanding mentally emotionally, physically. I do pretty much all my own stunts, so I get drained by the time I'm done shooting a scene.

ESQ: So it must make sense to you that Tuco would be open-minded to Jimmy's negotiation of what's fair and just.

RC: To Tuco, it's interesting and amusing. Cause I'm so used to physically dominating someone, and to have to actually match wits and think about what he's saying, I find it amusing, so that's why I play along.

ESQ: How did you try and differentiate 2002 Tuco from 2009 Tuco, especially now that it's 2015?

RC: Well, it's physically impossible. The thing is, the difference between Tuco circa-2009 and what you say last is that he hadn't yet discovered the blue meth, the magic pill that alters his point of view because it heightens everything. So you realize he has anger issues, and his external display of how he feels he doesn't try to filter too much. But when he's on the drug in Breaking Bad, then you realize it's heightened even more. But you can see his base is just ferocious. It's an intense character.

ESQ: But physically, they didn't even dye your hair?

RC: Nope. I wore very little makeup. Even on Major Crimes, all I mostly wear is an anti-shine. That's all me. I'm just blessed. [Pauses to acknowledge a photograph-seeking fan.] My part on Major Crimes is very physical, so I always have to be in physical shape.

ESQ: Do you think Tuco's a smart guy?

RC: Yes, you have to be to survive in that kind of business. He's very street smart and he's got great common sense. He just doesn't take shit from anyone.

ESQ: It's a compliment even that the guy to eventually take Tuco down was, in fact, smarter than everyone.

RC: You see the battles they go through. He finds Walter White amusing and his approach to Tuco. So there's a lot of playfulness in the character. Every day he's dealing with life and death issues on a violent level, but all of a sudden he comes into contact with these people who want to talk to him. [Laughs.]

ESQ: He's probably studying and picking things up from them to.

RC: Oh yeah, cause you learn from every person you come in contact with. He's picking up negotiating skills from Saul.

ESQ: And it seems like encountering you and your crew is going to rub off on Saul just as profoundly.

RC: I think we teach him as much as he teaches us. There are lines all over the place. It's like, which line do you wanna step on which side of? How far toward the bad side, how far toward the good side? Where do you find a happy balance? Tuco's balance is a lot different than Saul's balance.

ESQ: Tuco's seems a bit more manic, swinging from doting grandson to cold killer. Speaking of which, who picked out that apron for him?

RC: That was Vince Gilligan. I thought it was great. From the very beginning, when I was first approached to do Tuco [on Breaking Bad], I'm very collaborative. I loved their ideas for the wardrobe. It was so what you would not expect him to wear, but it works.

ESQ: How have you avoided being typecast all these years?

RC: Ya know, there's nothing wrong with typecasting. I loved doing Blood In, Blood Out, I loved doing Training Day. I love playing these hardcore gang-bangers, but the thing is, you always want to approach it as a real person. It's so easy to get typecast when you don't have the ability to bring a full-blown character to life. It's like Tuco. It's so easy to see he's the bad guy representing the bad side, but I don't look at him like that. I always thought he was in the fight for his side. And wherever you delineate who's good and who's bad, that's up to you. Walter White, he was drawing lines all over the place.

ESQ: Is that through line between Breaking Bad and Saul? A lack of moral clarity?

RC: Well, the moral clarity is your point of view… without passing judgment. As an actor, you have to be open-minded and allow the character to dictate to you where he stands.

ESQ: Tuco does, inarguably, break a lot of bones and spill a lot of blood. Are you personally squeamish about gratuitous violence?

RC: I worked in a mortuary for four years, so I saw a lot. I've broken several bones, so I know how it feels. So I'm not as squeamish as a lot of other people are. Shooting movies I've dislocated both arms, I've broken a hand, I've damaged tendons, so it's like, "OK, let's keep shooting."

ESQ: And here only guys like Tom Cruise get lauded for doing their own stunts.

RC: I've never thought acting is easy. I'm amazed when people say acting is fun. I've always found it a huge challenge and demanding and damaging. Part of why you do it is people appreciate the work and you're helping to tell a story. And if people believe you, it makes the story real.

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