Breaking Bad has recently celebrated 10 years since it first hit the small screen, so cast and crew have been reminiscing about creating the hit drama series. Whilst there were some incredible storylines woven throughout the show, actor Bryan Cranston – who took on the lead role of Walter White – had ideas for one that never came to fruition.
Bryan Cranston played Walter White throughout Breaking Bad's run
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the actor revealed: “It was just all in my fantasy. I thought, ‘Well, if we’re exploring not just his transformation occupationally, emotionally, why not have him go a little off?’ There was a thought, ‘What if he has this wild affair with Wendy (Julia Minesci) or someone?’
“I thought that would be interesting in the exploration of losing himself… There was that scene when [Jesse goes] to that drug den and we are walking through and everybody is messed up - that kind of sensibility where you go so deep. My character might display it in a different [way].”
Wendy was of course the meth-addicted prostitute who would provide her services in the parking lot of the Crossroads Motel in exchange for money or drugs. To see Walt and Wendy have an affair would have been a shocking moment for audiences, and perhaps not in the best interest of the story. Thankfully, creator Vince Gilligan had other ideas as to how to showcase Walt’s intense evolution.
Gilligan admitted he did think about Walt experimenting with his own drugs, but eventually came to the decision that he should stick to selling it.
“It just seemed to us that it was enough that Walt was hooked on the power and the chemistry – and the process,” he explained. “It would’ve muddied the waters if he started using the drug, because this was a man who never had control in his life, and suddenly he’s got control. Why mess up a good thing?”
Tagged in Breaking Bad