Giancarlo Esposito recreates a Do The Right Thing scene years later. A Spike Lee joint from 1989, Do the Right Thing featured a standout ensemble cast that included Lee himself, Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Martin Lawrence, Rosie Perez, Ruby Dee, John Turturro, Bill Dunn, and Richard Edson, among others. One of such cast members was Breaking Bad’s Esposito, who played Mookie’s eccentric friend Buggin’ Out.

In an Instagram video with lethalshooter, Esposito recreates an iconic Buggin’ Out scene. In the video, Esposito sees his white Air Jordan shoes run over by a biker, who in this case, is plodding slowly along the sidewalk. The actor repeats several of the real lines from Do The Right Thing, including sentences like “what are you doing in my block, in my neighborhood, on my side of the street?”

Esposito does a great job capturing the essence of his characteristic Buggin’ Out character from yesteryear. Certain details from the original film are altered, including doubling the price of the Air Jordans from $100 to $200. The redone scene also leaves out the gentrification lines from Do the Right Thing, for the original scene, unlike the lethalshooter video, sees a white man in a Larry Bird t-shirt running over the shoes.

Where Has Giancarlo Esposito Been Since Do the Right Thing?

Even decades later, Esposito’s articulately delivered monologue is a great reminder of his beloved character. Do the Right Thing came fairly early on in Esposito’s career, when he was just establishing himself as an artist. Prior to the Lee film, Esposito was recognized for his recurring role as Mickey in a few episodes of the hit PBS series Sesame Street. He also collaborated with Lee before Do the Right Thing in the 1988 feature School Daze.

Do the Right Thing substantially helped to propel Esposito’s career forward. He worked with Lee again on the films Mo’ Better Blues and Malcolm X shortly after the success of Do the Right Thing. Throughout the 1990s, Esposito had a role in many other films and TV series, including The Usual Suspects.

Esposito got his biggest mainstream break when he played the chillingly calculated Gus Fring in the hit series Breaking Bad. Esposito was nominated for an Emmy for the role, which he later reprised on the spinoff series Better Call Saul. Now, Esposito is one of the most sought-after actors working on television, contributing to popular series such as The Boys and The Mandalorian. As the veteran actor continues his hugely successful career, it is charming to see him revisit the Do the Right Thing role that first gained him attention.

Source: lethalshooter / Instagram