Bryan Cranston details Walter White's modeling origins in Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston details the thoughtful origins of Walter White's appearance, including his "impotent" beard and colorless clothing.

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston details the origins of Walter White's look. Cranston, previously known for playing Hal in Malcolm in the Middle, went on to play a frustrated high school chemistry teacher turned meth maker in AMC's critically acclaimed drama. As creator Vince Gilligan puts it, Breaking Bad took Walter from "Mr. The outstanding performance won three consecutive Emmy Awards.

In a GQ series where the cast breaks down their most iconic roles, Cranston details the specific origin of Walter's unique look.

The Breaking Bad star explains everything from his character's appearance to his questionable wardrobe choices, including what every aspect of his appearance is trying to convey. See Cranston's detailed explanation below:

I started out that character very meek, very, submissive and passive, a pushover, because he didn't know who he was. Then once I got that, I went, oh, he should be a little overweight with the love handles. He should be pasty white. He should have a mustache that looks like, either grow one or cut it, one or the other. And then I called it an impotent mustache. And I know how to shape an impotent mustache if anyone's interested. If a mustache drops below the creases of the lips, no, that gets badass, that gets nasty. So you have to make sure that's always above the crease of the lips. And you thin it out so you can see skin underneath it. And it doesn't look as masculine. It just seems, what's the point? Well, I was always looking for those what's the point? And I chose my clothes in conversations with the costume designer to select clothes that blend in the wall, beiges, off whites, pastels, soft yellows, things like that. Sand color, anything, he didn't, he disappeared. He was a nobody. I took all the color highlights outta my hair, which I had. It was kind of brown with kind of reddish highlights. Took it all out, just deadened it, took the color outta my face. All of a sudden you start to see yourself and then you put on those clothes and you go, I know you, let's go play.

How Walter White's Look Evolved Over Breaking Bad

As Cranston explains, every aspect of Walter White's appearance, from his "impotent" moustache to his colorless clothes, was designed to make the character cowardly nature. Over the course of Breaking Bad, Walt's appearance evolved along with the character itself, especially in his facial hair and costume. When he took on the role of Heisenberg, Walter's wispy mustache grew into a fuller, more imposing goatee. he also trades Wearing black and dark brown in beige and khaki, he added his signature porkpie hat to his ensemble.

Cranston's explanation of the origins behind Walter's appearance is a testament to how much detail actor Gilligan and costume designers put into crafting the Breaking Bad universe and its characters. This incredible attention to detail is a major reason why Breaking Bad ranks among the greatest TV shows of all time, as seen in the spin-off "Beyond the Saul," which depicts Jimmy McGill's transformation into Saul Goodman. also got a continuation. With Better Call Saul temporarily wrapping up the story, it remains to be seen whether another shared TV universe will come with the same preference for visual storytelling.

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