During a recent appearance on “Hot Ones Versus” opposite Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston defended his “Breaking Bad” wife, Skyler White, played by Anna Gunn, who was vilified by fans of the Vince Gilligan drama for getting in the way of Walter White’s criminal antics.
Cranston was prompted to justify Skyler’s behavior after Muiz declared he “loved ‘Breaking Bad’” but “hated Skyler.” He said that “all she did was complain” and thought Walter’s life would’ve been “so much easier” without her.
“Now, see, she got a lot of blowback from that,” Cranston replied. “Well, first of all, Anna Gunn is a superb actor, but she got, ‘Oh, why don’t you get off his back?’ Wait a minute. Let me understand this. Her husband leaves without any explanation, she’s pregnant, he’s making crystal methamphetamine and people have died. And she’s the bitch? Like, we couldn’t understand.”
Muiz then replied, “When you put it that way, I guess.”
“Breaking Bad,” which debuted on AMC in 2008, is widely considered to be one of the best television dramas of all time. It follows Cranston as Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, starts cooking and selling meth as a way to support his family. It won 16 Emmys during its five-season run. Alongside Cranston and Gunn, “Breaking Bad” starred Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito.
This isn’t the first time someone from the “Breaking Bad” camp addressed the fan hate toward Skyler. In a 2022 profile with the New Yorker, Gilligan said he and Gunn were both “troubled” by the undeserved hostility.
“Back when the show first aired, Skyler was roundly disliked,” Gilligan said. “I think that always troubled Anna Gunn. And I can tell you it always troubled me, because Skyler, the character, did nothing to deserve that. And Anna certainly did nothing to deserve that. She played the part beautifully.”
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From Variety US