Breaking Bad - How Bryan Cranston Perfected Walter White

brian cranston loves to act i love to act it is a passion of mine and i will do it until my last breath and lucky for him we love to watch him act too there was always something a little bit special about a brian cranston performance originally starting off in sitcoms guest starring in seinfeld before finding his way into audience's hearts as hell in malcolm in the middle there was a relatable charm and zany physicality to this performance that really showcased his comedic talents so much so that it was near impossible to imagine him as anyone else for all intents and purposes he was how but it was in 2008 at the age of 52 that he was cast in the role of a lifetime as walter white in amc's breaking bad a performance that earned him four emmys and collectively raised our expectations of what a television series could accomplish we weren't just handed a performance of brian playing a dark manipulative drug kingpin instead he started off as the person we sort of expected him to be a slightly foolish out of place struggling dad and then over the course of five seasons we watched him change step by step until he became totally unrecognizable and intimidating teaching the audience about the consequences of our decisions and how the divide between good and evil runs through every man's heart but what is it about this performance that made it so unforgettably magnetic from what i can tell there are three keys to understanding what made cranston so captivating as walter white secrets and lies externalizing internal battles and an ability and willingness to emotionally outpour on cue let's examine the first key secrets and lies according to brian cranston acting is all about honesty acting as a sense of of studying human behavior and then being able to replicate it honestly and in the first few episodes of breaking bad we spend a lot of time with walter white alone while he's harboring a secret which creates a deep empathy for the character as he's not sharing these intimate moments with the other people in his life he's exclusively sharing them with us take this moment for example brian is simply watching a match ignite and fizzle out given that we already know he has a terminal lung cancer diagnosis he doesn't need to say anything for us to see that he's facing his mortality and he plays it so subtly he's not pounding the table he's not wearing anger or devastation on his face or looking up to the heavens asking why god why with his eyes he solely focused on the flame and although his expression is somewhat neutral you can tell that his heart is breaking then we get to see walter engaging with the other characters in his world and withholding information also known as lying how was your day oh you know i don't know it was um fine moments like this show us that there are layers to the character who he is when he's alone and who he is with other people it also subtly establishes with the audience that it's okay for walter to lie because we understand where he's coming from but none of that happens unless brian can sell us on the emotion and makes his reaction relatable so the first key begins with the understanding that he's honest with himself but dishonest with others and throughout the series brian is going to show us what walter white looks like when he lies time and time again there's actually a tone of voice that he uses whenever he's being deceptive listen uh i am having breakfast with my family right now and i really don't appreciate these sales calls you know you're right i gotta learn to say you know no as we can see he tries to sound very fluid upbeat and engaged with what he's saying but not only do we know that walter is lying brian shows us that he's lying how with these short little glances not looking at anything but rather looking for something in his mind these instructions are actually in the script itself so let's see how brian interprets them walt says he set us way back we've been playing catch up since he left then the action describes walt suddenly remembers that victor came by the lab and saw nothing being cooked he covers and i've been out running errands and trying to keep us on target this might seem like nothing to you but it's quite rare that we get to watch a character lie in so many different ways over the course of a story to show the progression of the character the writers changed this dichotomy later in season 4 when for the first time the audience don't know for sure whether walt is telling the truth or not and brian has to sell us on the lie as well as jesse what possible possible could i who who would this showcases cranston's skills because initially without knowing the truth for certain the audience is inclined to believe him but on review all the telltale signs are there his dialogue feels somewhat rehearsed pretending to come to realizations in real time with a gun to his head the biggest clue being in the script itself when walt confesses that gus has been 10 steps ahead of me at every turn something someone as egotistical as walt would never confess so confidently the second key is externalizing an internal battle this is brian cranston's calling card and easily some of the best acting in the entire series let's look at two scenes up close the first is when walt has to decide whether or not to kill crazy 8. we can visibly see he doesn't want to do it even going through a pros and cons list on paper his body language here may be open but the look on his face is closed his eyes are shifty visibly in distress he can't seem to decide if he wants to look at him and see his humanity or look away from him as he knows he shouldn't be getting attached he then switches to pleading with him sell me tell me what it is then as crazy8 tells a story brian decides to stare at him for a long stretch of time the eye contact communicating to us that the connection is growing like a direct line between the two then they share a laugh and brian slides down to his level even gives him a beer the eye contact now much more open this expression is almost childish like two kids staying up past their bedtime then when the subject changes to why walt hasn't told his wife about his cancer notice the visible discomfort it's subtle but this shows us walt is no longer present he's now lost in his thoughts crazy 8 opens a new mental door saying maybe this line of work doesn't suit him and he should get out while he still can and brian's expression highlights the internal conflict the words are clearly resonating with him now really pay attention to this next part because every little detail counts here in three simple steps he's going to break first he shuts his eyes showing us the emotional realization that walt wants out secondly he looks up still searching for an answer can i find it where is it then we get to see the truth fighting its way up his body to the surface before finally he confesses i don't know what to do this moment is incredibly human it's candied intimate vulnerable then once crazy 8 confirms yes you do know what to do brian's expression offers us a variety of emotions all at once acceptance at his limitations relief now that he feels he's somewhat let off the hook and shame forever contemplating the alternative although we know what happens next in just one scene look at the journey cranston takes us on really showcasing how this internal battle manifests physically it's in his body language his ability to hold eye contact his facial expressions everywhere the most famous example is the moment walt lets jane die as she chokes on her own vomit here we see cranston thinking through a quick cycle of possibilities unsure what to do it's all in the eyes every time brian shifts eye placement is like a new thought entering his mind from the moment he arrives at her side i counted 23 eye movements right up until this slow panning of the pupils as we can visibly see walt accept that he's not going to do anything he's going to let nature take its course but he simultaneously still looks horrified by his own choice it's like he's having an out of body experience witnessing someone else making this decision so how does brian prepare for a huge scene like this i like to write down the the emotional possibilities what could this my character feel at any given time but i don't like to set it in stone because i like to let the moment dictate but if you write it ahead of time it's planted the seeds are planted and the possibility of going to a bunch of different places are there and we can see that preparation play out clearly in walt's expressions a list of thoughts and possibilities shooting into his face one after the other but the final key an ability and willingness to emotionally outpour is also present in this scene brian cranston has been blessed with an incredibly expressive face it's what makes him both a wonderful comedic actor and dramatic actor the mastery in his craft is how capable he is of decompartmentalizing different parts of his face his eyes can be doing one thing while his mouth is offering up a completely different emotion his mouth contorts into an almost emoji level of expression when he's shocked or scared it's wide open with the sides pointing down when he's firm confident or intimidating it's wired shut when he's angry his mouth is belting open showing his teeth and when he's in emotional distress his lip quivers this moment when he watches jane die goes from an internal battle to an emotional outpour his lip starts quivering before his hand covers his mouth which beautifully redirects our attention away from that acting tool straight to the other his eyes where right on time a tear chases down his cheek this was clearly a challenging scene to perform and brian went on to explain that in order to manifest the correct emotions he imagined he was watching his own daughter choked to death all of a sudden her facial feature features disappeared and it was replaced with the features of my real daughter oh my gosh and i saw my real child choking to death and it it scared me brian is consistently willing to show us the character's raw emotions for example before he kills crazy eight a tear escapes his eyelid when he's recording what he believes is his final message to his family in the pilot episode he's emotionally outpouring the script gave no direction here so it's however he and the director agreed to play it think of how a different actor would have performed this scene most wouldn't have been so emotional a more butch bruce willis type would probably have played it more contained trying to seem strong under distress moments of escaping emotion but still stoic and that wouldn't be bad necessarily but more guarded and distant whereas brian plays it scared vulnerable and honest not trying to protect himself at all why because it actually creates more connection and empathy with the character if you have the audacity to display those human honest emotions people embrace someone who is in trouble someone who is vulnerable someone who is frightened we they they have a tendency to come forward and put their emotional arms around you so now that we understand these three keys to cranston's performance let's watch them all play out masterfully in a single scene where not only is his character going to be lying but simultaneously externalizing an internal battle and delivering an emotional outpour it comes in season five's osmandias when walt calls skyler fully aware that the police are listening so he does her the favor of coming across as the abusive bad guy and acting like she knew nothing about his business you were never grateful for anything i did for this family but then after selling that emotion to the police brian reveals the real emotion walt is experiencing as his lip quivers once schuyler says i'm sorry the internal battle starts he shakes his real emotion out of his head then goes back into dishonest performance mode but the internal conflict between what he's saying and what he's feeling continues then he's asked about hank we need to know and now he can barely hold back his emotional distress struggling to speak he's visibly thinking grieving and lying all at the same time once he says the words you let that sink in several tears stream down his cheek highlighting the emotional pinnacle of the scene what's so remarkable about the writing and acting here is that it's actually two different scenes taking place at the same time one performance is for the characters on the other side of the phone and the other is for the audience to see his humanity again imagine how a different actor would have played this scene or how the writers would have to cater to the limitations of a different actor they easily could have just had him sell the story to the police and then afterwards have him show some emotion or been stoic throughout and let the audience look for subtle cues but with someone as talented as brian there's an intuitive trust that he'll be able to deliver on the emotional complexity and intensity of the scene despite the conflicting emotions goals and subtext throughout there are so many layers to cranston's portrayal of walter white how he behaves with each character differently how he carries secrets peddles lies battles with himself internally conveys emotions and changes throughout the course of the show each episode each scene each moment was an opportunity for brian cranston to really showcase his acting ability and not only did he exceed our expectations he raised the bar for everyone and in doing so delivered the performance of a lifetime [Music] if you enjoy content like this and want to see more of it please do consider supporting me on patreon as it really does make a difference to how much content i can pump out or if you can't afford that then simply like the video subscribe and leave a comment down below to help the algorithm do its thing

Channel: Just an Observation

Views: 1,129,017

Keywords: breaking bad walter white bryan cranston, bryan cranston analysis, bryan cranston video essay, breaking bad analysis, breaking bad video essay, breaking bad bryan cranston, walt watches jane die, breaking bad acting, walter white acting, acting analysis, subtle nuances, script analysis, performance of a lifetime, vince gilligan

Id: IceGArsT9g0

Length: 16min 8sec (968 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 23 2022