BIOGRAPHY:

Bryan Lee Cranston is an American film actor, director and screenwriter. In one of the interviews, the actor admitted that although money is of considerable importance, fees have never been decisive when choosing roles. The main criterion has always been the proposed image and the desire to translate it on the screen. Even his young colleagues can envy the artist’s performance. Despite his advanced age, he remains in excellent professional shape and does not even think about retiring from his career.

Childhood and youth:

Brian was born on March 7, 1956 in the Californian city of San Fernando in a family of little-known actors. Father Joseph Cranston was also involved in producing, Audrey’s mother Peggy Sell starred in low-budget TV series, but none of them achieved significant success.

As the performer later admitted, his father and mother were broken and incompetent people who could not cope with the role of parents. As a result, the young people divorced, and the family home was mortgaged for debts and sold. The teenager had to live with his grandparents.

These problems left their mark on the boy’s character. At school, Cranston was known as a quiet outsider. Brian was able to believe in his own strength only after growing up. When the young man turned 16, he entered the Los Angeles Police Department’s enhancement program. The guy showed serious success in criminology.

At the same time, the young man tried his hand as a participant in an amateur performance. And when the question arose of who to become – a policeman or an artist, the native of San Fernando chose the latter. And as time has shown, he was not mistaken.

After graduating from Canoga Park High School, Brian attended Los Angeles Valley College, but the student never received a diploma from the institution. At the same time, Cranston attended acting workshops and auditions. To earn money to live, he had to look for part-time work. For some time, a person from a creative family even worked as a loader.

Then the guy went to New York. Here luck turned to face him. Smiling, judging by the photo in his youth, the young man attracted the attention of the creators of commercials, since at first he starred in them. Then the Canoga Park graduate began to be trusted with episodes in soap operas and low-budget melodramas. Remembering the sad experience of his father, who waited in vain for fame, Brian took on everything that was offered.

After several years of filming in inconspicuous projects, Cranston was entrusted with an important role in the top-rated television show Endless Love. A hero named Douglas Donovan was noticed and highly appreciated by viewers and critics. Thus began Brian’s stellar cinematic biography.

Movies:

Recognition came to the performer in the late 90s. By that time, such film projects as “Baywatch,” “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and “The X-Files” had appeared on screens with his participation. In the latter, the actor appeared in the 6th season in the episode entitled “Race”, which attracted 18.5 million viewers during the premiere.

At the same time, Brian got into the cast of the military drama Saving Private Ryan. Cranston’s partners were such eminent colleagues as Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, and the brainchild of Steven Spielberg itself won dozens of awards, including 5 Oscar statuettes and 2 Golden Globes.

The artist gained additional fame from his role as Hal in the popular TV series Malcolm in the Middle. The sitcom aired from early 2000 to 2006. During its broadcast, the show won 7 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for Outstanding Contribution to Radio and Television.

In 2005, the comedy show “How I Met Your Mother” appeared on TV, where Bryan Cranston appeared as a guest star. The serial film lasted 9 seasons and won Teen Choice Awards, People’s Choice and Television Critics’ Choice awards.

“Breaking Bad”:

The drama “Breaking Bad” is considered the most significant project in the master’s filmography. After reading the script, the candidate realized that this was the role that every actor had been waiting for for many years. The actor’s hero, the bearded chemistry teacher Walter White, brought him a number of awards: Emmy, Golden Globe, Saturn, Sputnik and more. Colleagues on the set were Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris and others.

After filming wrapped, Brian tattooed the BrBa logo on his finger to commemorate the series that brought him success. Cranston shared that he was not advised to get a tattoo because no one would notice it. However, the actor said that it was for him: he himself sees the inscription, which makes him smile.

Paul also made a memorable drawing on his body: now the words “No Half Measures” are emblazoned on the inside of Aaron’s forearm, which means “No half measures.” These were the words spoken by character Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) to Walter White in Season 3.

Further career:

At the same time, Bryan Cranston was entrusted with a minor character in the thriller “Operation Argo.” The plot is dedicated to real events – the operation of special services to rescue 6 American diplomats from Tehran, and the script is based on an article by Joshua Berman and the book “Master of Disguise” by Tony Mendez.

In addition, the actor managed to portray Colonel Powell in the blockbuster “John Carter,” based on the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs “A Princess of Mars.” The film adaptation, along with The Dark Knight Rises, turned out to be the most expensive film project released in 2012 – its budget was $250 million, excluding marketing costs.

Cranston later starred in the film The Look of Winter, and Brian’s colleagues were Alice Eve and Logan Marshall-Green. The creators managed to complete filming in just 22 days. They were conducted in the fall of 2012 in Windham, Cairo and East Durham in Greene County.

2 years later, the fantastic action movie “Godzilla” was released on the big screen, where the performer was entrusted with the image of Joe Brody. The brainchild of Gareth Edwards became the 29th film about Godzilla, and its premiere was timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the popular franchise.

In 2015, Cranston appeared among the key characters in the biographical film “Trumbo” about the life of film screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was accused of sympathizing with the communist regime and sent to prison. For his skill, Brian was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, but he never received a single statuette.

The crime drama “Undercover Scam,” where the Hollywood master played the role of a federal agent embedded in Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel gang, won the love of viewers. The film is based on the book “Undercover Agent: My Secret Life and the Banks That Laundered Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel Money” by Robert Mazur.

Another notable work of Cranston in 2016 was the main role in the film “Blame the Raccoon,” based on the story by Edgar Lawrence Doctorow. Brian’s hero, a successful lawyer, decides one day to live in captivity to see what will change in the world with his disappearance.

The frame master managed to try on the image of a militant father in the comedy “Why Him?” The younger generation of heroes in the story were represented by James Franco and Zoey Deutch. It is noteworthy that the authors invited all kinds of stars to the cast, who appeared in cameos. Among them were Elon Musk and Steve Aoki.

A year later, Bryan Cranston appeared in the science fiction action film Power Rangers and in an episode of the British science fiction series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, which he produced. The literary synopsis of the latest project turned out to be the works of the American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick.

Subsequently, fans saw their favorite in the dramedy “1 + 1: A Hollywood Story” – a remake of the French film “1 + 1 (The Intouchables)”, in which Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet played key roles. And while the public received the original extremely positively, the new version was received coldly.

Cranston played the paralyzed rich man Philip, and the role of an assistant with a criminal past went to Kevin Hart. In the background flashed the charming Nicole Kidman, who received the image of Yvonne. As a result, the reviewers concluded that it was pleasant to watch the duet of Brian and Kevin – both were in their place, but why remake an already successful film remained unclear to critics.

Then the master appeared in the central image in the film “The Last Wave of the Flag.” Colleagues on the set were Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne. The script, the brainchild of director Richard Linklater, is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsen.

As time passed, the animated project “Isle of Dogs” was released, where Bryan Cranston voiced a dog named Chief. For his work, Wes Anderson was awarded the Silver Bear prize for best director at the Berlin Film Festival, and the animated comedy itself entered the top 15 highest-grossing puppet cartoons.

Later, the Golden Globe winner again played Walter White, but in the full-length film “The Path: Breaking Bad. Movie”. The idea for a feature film came to Vince Gilligan during the filming of the final episodes of the series. For a long time he kept it a secret, but eventually shared his thoughts with his colleagues and the creative team.

Afterwards, Cranston not only ended up in the cast of the court drama “Your Honor,” but also became the director of an episode called “Part Ten.” The multi-episode television project with Brian is an adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name.

Then the premiere of the dramedy “Jerry and Marge Play for Big” took place, where, according to the plot, a married couple uses their lottery winnings to revive their small town. The film starring Oscar nominee and Annette Bening is based on an article by American journalist and writer Jason Fagone published in 2018 on the news website HuffPost.

Personal life:

Bryan Cranston’s first marriage to screenwriter Mickey Middleton lasted 5 years. But the relationship finally deteriorated in 1982, and the couple divorced.

The master’s personal life improved after meeting his colleague Robin Dearden on the set of the TV show “Airwolf.” In 1993, the husband and wife had a daughter, whom the happy parents named Taylor.

In his free time, Cranston attends baseball games. Brian is a longtime fan of the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. The handsome actor (height 179 cm, weight 76 kg) is so passionate about this sport that his main hobby is collecting baseball memorabilia.

The artist is an active user of social networks. The Emmy winner has officially verified accounts on Instagram (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation, it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) and Twitter. Hundreds of thousands of fans watch their favorite there.

Bryan Cranston now:

Now Brian continues to add new works to his filmography. At the end of May 2023, the dramedy “Asteroid City” premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Wes Anderson’s next creation was a contender for the Palme d’Or, but lost to Justine Trieu’s Anatomy of a Fall. The director entrusted Cranston with a minor character, and brought Tilda Swinton and Adrien Brody to the fore.

Filmography:

1998 – “Honey, I Shrunk the Children”
2000-2006 — “Malcolm in the Middle”
2006 — “Little Miss Sunshine”
2006-2007 – “How I Met Your Mother”
2008-2013 — “Breaking Bad”
2011 — “Replacement teacher”
2011 — “Drive”
2012 — “Total Recall”
2012 — “Operation Argo”
2015 — “Trumbo”
2016 — “Undercover Scam”
2016 – “Why him?”
2017 — “Power Rangers”
2017 — “Electric Dreams of Philip K. Dick”
2017 — “Unfortunate Creator”
2017 — “1+1: A Hollywood Story”
2017 — “The Last Wave of the Flag”
2020 — “Your Honor”
2022 – “Jerry and Marge play for big”
2023 — “Asteroid City”

Interesting Facts:

• In 2013, Cranston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Brian said in an interview that at the age of 10 he encountered the serial killer and creator of the Family sectarian community, Charles Manson.
• Cranston is co-owner of the independent theater Cinemas Palme d’Or in Palm Desert, California.
• Bryan Cranston is the second cousin of actress and model Arielle Kebbel.

AWARDS:

1. Oscar

Oscar, 2016
Nominations:
Best Actor (Trumbo)

2. Golden Globe

Golden Globes 2021
Nominations:
Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie (“Your Honor”)

3. Golden Globe 2017

Nominations:
Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie (Until the End)

4. Golden Globe, 2016

Nominations:
Best Actor (Drama) (Trumbo)

5. Golden Globe, 2014

Winner:
Best TV Actor (Drama) (Breaking Bad)

6. Golden Globe, 2013

Nominations:
Best TV Actor (Drama) (Breaking Bad)

7. Golden Globe, 2012

Nominations:
Best TV Actor (Drama) (Breaking Bad)

8. Golden Globe, 2011

Nominations:
Best TV Actor (Drama) (Breaking Bad)

9. Golden Globe, 2003

Nominations:
Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie (Malcolm in the Middle)

10. B.A.

British Academy, 2016
Nominations:
Best Actor (Trumbo)

11. Actors Guild Award

Screen Actors Guild Award, 2017
Winner:
Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries (To the Very End)

12. Screen Actors Guild Award, 2016

Nominations:
Best Actor (Trumbo)
Best Cast (Trumbo)

13. Screen Actors Guild Award, 2014

Winner:
Best Actor in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)
Best Cast in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)

14. Screen Actors Guild Award, 2013

Winner:
Best Cast (Argo)
Best Actor in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)
Nominations:
Best Cast in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)

15. Screen Actors Guild Award, 2012

Nominations:
Best Cast in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)
Best Actor in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)

16. Screen Actors Guild Award, 2011

Nominations:
Best Actor in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)

17. Screen Actors Guild Award, 2010

Nominations:
Best Actor in a Drama Series (Breaking Bad)