Overview (4)

Born March 7, 1956 in Hollywood, California, USA Birth Name Bryan Lee Cranston Nickname Lee Stone Height 5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (2)

Trade Mark (1)

Powerful deep voice



Trivia (44)



Is the second of three children of Joe Cranston and Audrey Peggy Sell, who both acted. Younger brother of Kyle Edward Cranston

Once did voice acting for the English dubbing of Japanese animation (or anime), under the name Lee Stone.





In the original Armitage III: Polymatrix (1996) episode home video release (also know as an OAV),he's listed as "Lee Stone", but in the movie edition of the same name he's listed under his real name.

Became an ordained minister when he was in college as a part-time job.



Got his start at the Granada Theatre in the San Fernando Valley, CA.





Produced his KidSmartz (2003) safety video with his Malcolm mittendrin (2000) crew during one of their weeks off.

Such a huge fan of baseball that his wife threw him a surprise 40th birthday party at Dodger Stadium.





Always grew a beard and mustache during his hiatuses from Malcolm mittendrin (2000).



His favorite episode of Malcolm mittendrin (2000) is the first season episode, Malcolm mittendrin: Rollerskates (2000). He spent six weeks, before filming, learning how to roller-skate.



Impersonated Brad Garrett 's Alle lieben Raymond (1996) voice shortly after losing to him for the second year in a row at the 2004 Emmy Awards. The crowd laughed hysterically, as did Garrett himself.



Presented the category "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" at the 2004 Emmy Awards with his Malcolm mittendrin (2000) co-star Jane Kaczmarek



Was singled out by frequent Malcolm mittendrin (2000) director Todd Holland during his Emmy Award speech in 2001. Cranston had been overlooked that year, and Holland proclaimed that he would "stand up here soon". Cranston was subsequently nominated for the first-time the next year.



The last name of the first Blue Ranger on Power Rangers (1993) was named after him. He did various work as part of the crew (voice-overs, etc.), so the Blue Ranger's full name became Billy Cranston.

Has a dog named Sugar, saved from a Los Angeles pound.



Enjoys playing the drums and traveling to Hawaii.





Met his wife, Robin Dearden , on the set of Airwolf: Desperate Monday (1986). He was playing the villain of the week, and she was his hostage held at gunpoint.

Attended and graduated from Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park, CA, in 1974.





Honored as Grand Marshal of the 2006 Sherman Oaks, CA, Street Fair by the Chamber of Commerce for his leadership in the community and his protection of children through KidSmartz (2003).

At one point he considered becoming a police officer.



In his younger years he spent two years traveling around the US by motorcycle with his brother.





For his role on Breaking Bad (2008), he was named one of the "Eight Actors Who Turn Television into Art", in the cover story of the New York Times magazine (September 11, 2011).

Has run in four marathons.





His daughter, Taylor Dearden , studies Theater at the University of Southern California.



Was roommates with Javier Grajeda early in their careers.

His paternal grandfather, Edward B. Cranston, was of Irish ancestry, partly by way of Canada (Montreal). His paternal grandmother, Alice Rose Bower, was of half Austrian Jewish and half German descent. His maternal grandparents, Otto Frederick William Sell and Augusta Liza Marchert, were both German emigrants, Otto from Rendsburg and Augusta from Danzig.



Received an associate degree in police science from Los Angeles Valley College in 1976.



Spent part of his youth on a farm with his grandparents in Yucaipa, as his family lost their home in foreclosure.



Did not seriously pursue acting until he was in his late 20s as his parents, who were both actors, did not want him to follow them into the business.



Is a part-owner of the independent theater Cinemas Palme d'Or in Palm Desert, CA.





He called Mark Rylance a major influence. Both actors won Tony Awards in 2014: Cranston for "Best Actor in a Play" for "All the Way" and Rylance for "Best Featured Actor in a Play" for his performance in "Twelfth Night". One of Cranston's competitors for the award was Rylance for his performance in "Richard III".



Interviewed in 2015, he named Die Faust im Nacken (1954) as his favorite movie.



His Trumbo (2015) co-star Helen Mirren called him one of the greatest American actors.



Saw the face of his daughter Taylor Dearden projected onto Krysten Ritter in a pivotal scene on Breaking Bad (2008) as her character laid dying, which made him cry-- but he snapped back into character and the image went away.



When asked what his favorite thing is about his wife Robin Dearden , he replied, "She still gets giddy when she sees a firefly.".

He won the 2017 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Network" at the National Theatre in London.



He won the 2018 Laurence Olivier Award Award for "Best Actor in a Play" for his performance in "Network" at the National Theatre in London.



Of Clan Cranstoun.



Personal Quotes (32)

I've got a whole mantel just waiting for those awards to come, a whole big mantel. There's just so much available space. I've got the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, all ready to shine on them. I dust it off every day.



The only thing I say a prayer for is for health and safety for my family. Some people even include happiness and a hope for something else. Not me. I think everything else is on your own. That's the way I look at it. If you can just maintain health and safety, you're in good shape. And anything else, you have to create.





My wife, Robin Dearden , is the cook, really. I'm a good helper and I clean like nobody's business. I can load a dishwasher like nobody else.

I don't want to say it's not important to win [an Emmy], because it is. Would it be important to me personally to win? It would be wonderful; I would be delighted. Is it important for an actor's career? I would say Yes.



You know, this business is pure luck. It truly is. There is a tangible amount of luck that is necessary for a successful career, and the only way that luck happens is if you're prepared for it and you stick with it. If you drop out of the scene, your opportunity for luck diminishes greatly. No one's going to say, "Hey you're an insurance salesman. Come and do this movie.".





I think the best-written films or television series have a measure of the opposite of what they are. We have some darkly comic moments sprinkled throughout Breaking Bad (2008), as we had some sweet sentiment or serious drama sprinkled throughout Malcolm mittendrin (2000). I think any good movie does that, any good play. You have to break it up. You can't have one train going in one direction all the time. Audiences are more sophisticated than that.

I love playing pompous asses. I think I would like that on my tombstone: "He was the definitive pompous ass".





I love playing the know-it-all guy who is also kind of stupid. That guy who thinks he's great, but he's not. That's a wonderful character to play. Kind of the Barney Fife type. He'll tell you what's going on, but inside he's very insecure. That's always a fun character. And I loved, for pure fun and enjoyment, my character Hal on [ Malcolm mittendrin (2000)]. Because I found his emotional core, and once I found that, I could leap off from that and the writers started to write for it. And that core was fear. Hal was afraid of everything. Every single thing. He was afraid of heights, he was afraid of failing as a father, he was afraid of getting fired . . . Someone would walk into the room and surprise him, and he'd yelp, because he was afraid of noise--afraid of a lot of things. That lent itself to a lot of humor, but it was also a true emotion that you could lock in on.

I don't even think about the money when I consider roles, I turn it over to my agency. Money will come. I respect it but I don't thirst for it. I wish Americans thought more like Europeans when it comes to money and work. They take time off, they do what they love. We think work is the most valued commodity. Really, the most valued commodity is time.



. . . I don't really relax. When I sleep I relax. I don't have hobbies, I don't collect things. I enjoy creating.





Stars have much more power. I'm the star of my show Breaking Bad (2008), and I have the power to try to sway opinions. Absolutely. And that's the reason you want to become a star as an actor, to be able to have more control of your destiny. Actors basically are the type of person that with three seconds left, we want the ball. Give us the shot to make it or miss it. We'll take the lumps if we miss it, but we want the chance to get the glory. An acting coach of mine, Shirley Knight --a great actress--said that it's the actors' arrogance. We want the chance. Give it to me. We know plenty of people in life, back in Little League or whatever, who'd say, "Oh, please don't hit it to me. Please don't hit it to me. Oh dear God, please don't make me have to make this decision. Please don't make me get onstage." There are those people, and then there are those of us that say, "Give me the shot. Let me take it.".

[2011, on spending two years riding motorcycles around the United States with his brother when he was younger] It was just two confused boys running away. My brother was on the verge of becoming a deputy sheriff, and I was grappling with whether I wanted to be a police officer or an actor. So we got on our motorcycles and just left California with no plan. I had $70 in my pocket, and that soon ran out. We got odd jobs wherever we could. We worked at cafés, in carnivals, at beachfront hotels selling suntan lotion, earning just enough to get back on the road. We camped everywhere, the cheaper the better. Just a patch of grass was all we needed. A few times we stayed at midnight missions, in Texas and Louisiana, and those were always scary. They were like prison . . . First of all, they take all your clothes, because they don't want you to leave before the sermon. You're standing naked with all these alcoholics, getting a cold shower with a bar of soap the size of a quarter. Then you're given a blanket and a bunk, and you try to get some sleep in a room full of people with the worst gas in the world. All night they're farting and belching and coughing up blood. The next morning, you get your clothes back, but they all smell like booze and shit. And then you listen to proselytizing while choking back melba toast and canned orange juice. Honestly, after sleeping in a mission, I bet prison would be a breeze.



[2011, on getting into acting] When I was 16 I joined the LAPD [Los Angeles Police Dept.] Explorers in the West Valley. Then I went to L.A. Valley College to study police science, and my counselor told me I needed to take some elective courses. So in my second year I took classes in acting and stagecraft. On my very first day, I walked into class, and there was this 17-year-old girl sitting on the floor, wearing only a tube top and hot pants. I was like "Oh . . . my . . . God." From that moment on I was done with police work. The girls in theater arts were so much prettier. I changed the course of an entire life based on the libido of an 18-year-old boy. During my first acting class, I did a scene with a girl--a girl I'd never met before--and we were supposed to be making out on a park bench. I was really hesitant about it, but she attacked me. She wasn't just kissing me, she was deeply tonguing me, arms and hands everywhere. I was so flummoxed, I forgot my lines. Afterward, I was thinking, "I need to ask this girl out; she's obviously really into me". So during the break, I asked her if maybe she wanted to go out sometime, get some lunch or dinner. And she looked at me as if I were a puppy. She was like, "Ooooh, sweetie, no, no, I have a boyfriend." I was devastated, but at the same time, I was like, "What a great actress! She totally had me fooled".



[2011, on growing up in the San Fernando Valley] I grew up in Canoga Park, which is in the west end of the Valley. On the East Coast, people had snow days, but we had smog days. I'm not kidding. Every so often, there'd be a smog advisory, and parents would get warnings like, "Don't let your kid go outside!" That's a weird thing to hear from your parents: "Don't go outside because there's too much smog". But sometimes we'd go out anyway. We'd put on our big smog shoes and go traipsing through the smog. We'd throw smog balls and have smog fights. Or we'd build smog men, using carrots for their noses. It was great fun.



[2011, on his income as a successful actor] Honestly, I don't have a clue how much money I make. It really doesn't matter to me. My agents know, and sometimes they ask me, "You want to know how much you make?" I don't care. I'm sure it's fine. I mean, I don't want to sound glib. I know money is important, but ever since I stopped worrying about finances, I've made more money than I ever thought I'd make in my life. The fact that I make a dependable income at all is just amazing to me.





[2011, on his sex scene with Julia Roberts in Larry Crowne (2011)] Oh, definitely intimidating. Before we shot the movie, I went on a diet and bleached my teeth and got one of those spray tans. I wanted it to seem like we were at least viable as a couple. So we're doing the scene, and right away I'm lying on top of her. I met her maybe a month before, and now I'm lying on top of her. Our noses are touching, we're waiting, and we hear Tom Hanks , the director, say, "Okay, we need to make an adjustment on the camera. Hang on." So there I am, lying on top of Julia Roberts, and we're making small talk. "So . . . how are you? You have kids, right?" We're talking about family, whatever, just passing the time. It was probably more awkward for me, because under the sheets, she was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Tom kept tugging on her shirt. "Aw, Julia, Julia. Come on, we've got to show something. We've got to show a little skin." And me, I'm just wearing a cock sock.

[2011] I think actors have a tendency to want to hang out with other actors, and there's a reason for that. When you're out there with civilians, you get the same kind of questions again and again: "How do you memorize all those words?" or "Have you ever met so-and-so?". But when you're around other actors, you can talk about other things. Nobody's asking, "What's it like to be in movies?". Because we all already know.



[2011, on being an ordained minister] When I was in my late teens I spent my summers on Catalina Island. I met this guy named Reverend Bob, an older guy in his 40s who made a living doing wedding ceremonies. One time he said to me, "Bryan, I messed up. I booked two weddings on the same day. Would you help me out?". I jokingly said okay, and he typed up a certificate and sent it to the secretary of state, and just like that, I was a minister. Since then I've married maybe a dozen couples.





[2011, on if he's experimented with drugs as his Breaking Bad (2008) character has] Never meth, but I've had several drug experiences. Pot always just made me sleepy. As a teenager I had friends who wanted to get high and go to concerts. But if I smoked a joint, I would pass out before the first song. As I've gotten older, I don't even like drinking, anymore. I had a big birthday not long ago, double nickels, and the metabolism of your body changes when you get to this age. Interestingly, it's the exact opposite problem I had with pot. If I have more than just one glass of wine with dinner, I'll wake up in the middle of the night, not to pee but because of the sugars in the wine. Then I'm not well-rested and the rest of the day is ruined. It's just not worth it.



[2011, on Breaking Bad (2008)] We have a DEA chemist on the set. He taught us how to make methamphetamine, which is a very detailed process. I still have my notes. I didn't want to learn about the back-­alley process. I wanted to know how to make it perfectly, the absolute purest meth, and what equipment and chemicals to use, because that's what my character does. So if I had to, I could make more than just meth; I could make really, really good meth. It has created a very healthy sideline for me if this acting thing ever stops working.



A lot of people think, "This guy does that really well. Here is a role just like that for him." When I left Malcolm mittendrin (2000), I got two offers to do television pilots and they featured fun, goofy dads. I said no, and one of the producers said, "Why would you say no? You're perfect for it and it's exactly what you do." I said, "It's exactly what I did for seven years, but I am not going to help anyone put me in a pigeonhole". So I won't be looking at scripts about a teacher who becomes a drug dealer for a while.

I don't need to work, but I love to work and I will make the movie if I would want to go and see it. But if I hear about a story that you could do in a sketch--and a lot of films should be just sketches--then I am not interested in it. I think too many movies attempt to stretch a very small idea. They will make something about a kid trying to lose his virginity while going to college. It's like, "Really, there is a whole movie about that? You are asking me to spend almost two hours to see some kid trying to get his rocks off?".





[2013, on his character, Walter White, from Breaking Bad (2008)] His soul is calloused.



[on the death of James Gandolfini ] I'm saddened by James Gandolfini's passing. He was a great talent and I owe him. Quite simply, without Tony Soprano there is no Walter White.

My face, in repose, is mean. I scare people. You know how some people have a built-in smile? I look like I'm going to eat children.



[on winning the 2014 Emmy Award] I happened to stumble on finding a passion that bloomed.



[2009] When you walk into a room for an audition, a big chunk of an actor getting a job is confidence. It's talent and confidence, and if you can convey both of those things, you're in great shape.



[2009, on working in features versus television work] It's all about the written word. Whatever's well-written. It doesn't matter if it's features, or children's stories . . . it's all about the written word. And it could come in any different form, but that's the criteria. That's it for me.





[2009, on Let's Talk About Sex (1994)] That was a risqué one. I wanted to do something that got me out of my comfort zone, and I had this opportunity, and it was a very sexy script. It was testing the bounds. How far would I go? There was a masturbation scene and me feeling up a girl . . . I almost kidnapped her, basically. And it was kind of a risqué thing. I haven't seen it in years and years, so I can't really remember all the details. Let's just let our imaginations take care of the rest.



[2009] Actors take on all kinds of characters. Like with Breaking Bad (2008), I've never felt like "Uh-oh. Is this going to offend people?" No, you take the role because you feel that you can do a good job with it. This isn't high school, where you can get cast as the grandfather even though you're 17. When you become a professional, you learn quickly what you're good at and what you're not good at, so hopefully you can focus on those things and then expand to see what works well for you. But no, I don't think I owe anybody any apologies or anything like that. Viewers can determine what they want to watch and what they don't want to watch.

[2016] I'm on a campaign of my own. I'm trying to instill a sensibility in America that we all love this country and we all want what's best for this country--we just have different ideas about how to go about it.



The thing is, everyone needs a champion. You get that from your family members or your wife, but everyone needs that. And along with that, you need someone who's going to hold the door open for you.



Salary (1)