Bryan Cranston’s Breaking Bad Reunion Exposed A Big Injustice From His 42-Year TV Career

Bryan Cranston is one of the 21st century’s biggest names in television, due in no small part to his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad, and his recent reunion with former co-star Aaron Paul confirmed Cranston’s status in an interesting way. Despite Breaking Bad being a drama through and through, the show’s leading man came from an established comedy background. Since Breaking Bad ended in 2013, Cranston has found his way back to his comedic roots while also finding time to remain in more serious roles.

The Breaking Bad cast had tremendous chemistry, and the award-winning formula was often on display during Cranston’s fraught interactions with Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman. Some of the best Breaking Bad episodes were incredibly character-led, so the show always hit the mark in these situations due to the talented actors at its disposal. While there’s no doubt that Bryan Cranston’s tenure with the legendary crime drama is what took his career to the next level, what he achieved before Breaking Bad is impossible to ignore. As such, a 2023 cameo appearance confirmed this.

Bryan Cranston’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 16 Cameo Proves He Deserves Recognition For Way More Than Breaking Bad

Cranston’s pairing with Paul caused an intentional misdirect

In It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 5, “Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab,” it would be reasonable to assume that the presence of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul would lend itself to an endless string of Breaking Bad references. However, the long-running sitcom subverts expectations almost immediately. Firstly, it’s fairly amusing that the gang has never heard of Breaking Bad, but it’s even funnier when they assume that Aaron Paul is Cranston’s Malcolm in the Middle co-star.

Many actors can become synonymous with just one character, whereas the longevity and success of Cranston’s career have allowed the actor to snag two career-defining roles. The fact that Always Sunny can have Cranston and Paul guest star as a pair and yet make the episode effective without any Breaking Bad references says a lot about Cranston’s acting history. Walter White may have been his latest breakthrough role, but Bryan Cranston was already a star before playing the infamous antihero. The fact he made the leap from comedy to drama without missing a beat also speaks volumes of his talents.

Bryan Cranston’s Always Sunny Monologue Is the Episode’s Only Reference To Breaking Bad (& Shows His Range)

Cranston unleashed his inner Walter Whitesrc

Although the pairing of Paul and Cranston makes it impossible not to conjure images of Breaking Bad, the Always Sunny episode in which they star does actually have a slightly more direct reference to the AMC smash hit. During the final moments of “Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab,” Cranston seamlessly slips from the “Hapless boob” version of himself he’s been playing and transitions into a nefarious persona very similar to Walter White. The sequence not only represents Cranston’s two most famous roles but also allows him to show off his disparate acting styles.

The moment is not completely lost on The Always Sunny in Philadelphia cast. Despite being unaware of Breaking Bad, Charlie declares, “You should consider doing a drama, Mr. Middle,” in the wake of Cranston’s intense monologue. The scene wouldn’t work without an actor like Bryan Cranston. His ability to switch between comedy and drama with such ease is what makes the moment so brilliant.

Bryan Cranston Starred In More Than Twice As Many Episodes Of Malcolm In The Middle Than Breaking Bad

Hal Wilkerson is still Bryan Cranston’s most-played role

Cranston’s role in Breaking Bad may still be the most high-profile, and possibly still the freshest in the memories of the public, but the actor was actually part of the Malcolm in the Middle cast for many more episodes than he was for Breaking Bad. While Cranston appeared in every single episode of both shows, his record for Malcolm in the Middle is more than twice that of his Breaking Bad appearances. During its run from 2000 to 2006, Cranston appeared as Hal Wilkerson in all 151 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle​​​​​​.

Cranston’s numbers for Breaking Bad equate to playing Walter White 62 times between 2008 and 2013. However, Cranston reprised the role outside Breaking Bad. Not only did he cameo as Walt in the 2019 sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, but also in two episodes of the final season of the Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul. Even with these augmentative appearances as Walter White, he only just overtakes one of his other TV characters.

Bryan Cranston voiced Joe Thax in all but one of the 65 episodes of the animated show Eagle Riders between 1996 and 1997. So, starring in 64 episodes of Eagle Riders, Thax only just narrowly beats Walter White in terms of Bryan Cranston character appearances. Cranston has had other impressive runs on TV, but these are his top three. That being said, it’s probably still likely that Bryan Cranston‘s most associated character will always be Breaking Bad‘s Walter White.