{"id":2287217,"date":"2026-02-18T10:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2287217"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:40:54","slug":"a-paraguayan-building-vince-gilligans-cinematic-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/a-paraguayan-building-vince-gilligans-cinematic-worlds\/","title":{"rendered":"A Paraguayan Building Vince Gilligan’s Cinematic Worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When Vince Gilligan created the Apple TV Plus series Pluribus, he made a deliberate choice: he wanted his Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul crew. At the centre was Christian Diaz de Bedoya, a location manager from Asunci\u00f3n whose three decades in television made him irreplaceable. Gilligan pulled him aside: \u201cI am making a character\u2026 He is going to live in Paraguay. And I am doing this in homage to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, with Pluribus<\/a> as Apple TV Plus\u2019s most-watched series ever, surpassing even Severance, Diaz de Bedoya proves in this exclusive interview with The Asunci\u00f3n Times that great filmmaking requires someone with the vision to transform locations into narrative characters that shape entire stories.<\/p>\n

Finding the right locations<\/h2>\n

Diaz de Bedoya studied economics at the University of New Mexico, graduating in 1999, before taking an unconventional path into filmmaking. A rugby coach who helped bring production incentives to New Mexico encouraged his transition into the industry, and after a rugby tour in Europe, he began working in film logistics.<\/p>\n

His real education came on set. \u201cI studied economics, so my education was working on the sets,\u201d he explains. \u201cI met many people. Hollywood really is a fairly small circle\u2026 Everyone knows each other when you think about it.\u201d This hands-on experience and network shaped his career.<\/p>\n

His first credit was Suspect Zero (2001), starring Ben Kingsley, Aaron Eckhart, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Over the next decade, he built experience across projects, until a turning point in 2011 when Vince Gilligan hired him for Breaking Bad. From then on, he became part of Gilligan\u2019s trusted creative circle.<\/p>\n

How Christian Diaz de Bedoya built authenticity<\/h2>\n
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As Better Call Saul came to an end, Gilligan shared plans for a new series with his core team, including Diaz de Bedoya. The idea was personal: a Colombian character living in Paraguay as a tribute to him. \u201cHe said, I am doing a character. He is not going to be infected and he is going to live in Paraguay,\u201d Diaz de Bedoya recalls.<\/p>\n

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Actor Carlos-Manuel Vesga brought Manousos Oviedo to life, one of the few people immune to the hive-mind phenomenon. As the character grew in importance, Diaz de Bedoya helped shape cultural details. \u201cI asked my sister to bring me artefacts from Paraguay. I gave my guaran\u00ed, my mate tea tin, to the props department,\u201d he explains. In one scene, the character says \u201cqu\u00e9 quilombo\u201d, reflecting a life shaped across borders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For Diaz de Bedoya, these details matter. Locations and objects are not just background, they help tell the story.<\/p>\n

A location manager\u2019s philosophy<\/h2>\n

Diaz de Bedoya approaches each project by translating script into space. Sometimes Gilligan gives clear direction; other times, only a rough idea. \u201cI have to visualise that and find a location based on what is written in the script,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In Pluribus, a key scene begins in a bar. \u201cHe wrote it as a bar on the outskirts of the city, but that was all the description,\u201d Diaz de Bedoya recalls.<\/p>\n

Often, locations evolve. \u201cMany times we find a place that is not exactly how they wrote it, but it can give you that same dynamic,\u201d he explains. Gilligan\u2019s flexibility allows these changes. \u201cI think Vince knows that I am super passionate about what I do\u2026 He is humble, values his team, and has a very open mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The record-breaking series<\/h2>\n
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Pluribus exceeded expectations. In December 2025, Apple TV Plus confirmed it became the platform\u2019s most-watched series<\/a>, surpassing Severance. Since its premiere in November, it has topped charts in over one hundred territories.<\/p>\n

The scale of production reflected Diaz de Bedoya\u2019s work. An entire neighbourhood was built outside Albuquerque, with seven functioning houses, avoiding issues faced during Breaking Bad when fans disrupted real locations.<\/p>\n

Scenes set in Paraguay were filmed in Spain\u2019s Canary Islands, alongside locations in New Mexico. The logistics were complex, but essential to achieving the show\u2019s visual authenticity.<\/p>\n

What comes next<\/h2>\n

As of early 2026, Christian Diaz de Bedoya remains active across multiple projects. He recently completed Joseph of Egypt, an Amazon miniseries, while a second season of Pluribus is in development, likely for 2027. \u201cWe need to be a bit patient,\u201d he says, noting the first season took around a year to film.<\/p>\n

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His advice is grounded in experience. \u201cThe greatest education is working on a set. You can fall into the set\u2026 your education will accelerate much more being there working than studying.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he values formal education, he believes practice is essential. \u201cThey have much more knowledge before they turn on the camera,\u201d he says of younger crew members.<\/p>\n

For aspiring Paraguayan creatives, his journey offers reassurance. \u201cI believe you will find the work you love to do, and you will never work a day in your life again,\u201d he reflects. His career shows that Paraguay, too, has a place in global storytelling.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source asunciontimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Vince Gilligan created the Apple TV Plus series Pluribus, he made a deliberate choice: he wanted his Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul crew. At the centre was Christian Diaz de Bedoya, a location manager from Asunci\u00f3n whose three decades in television made him irreplaceable. Gilligan pulled him aside: \u201cI am making a character\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2287218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[307568],"class_list":["post-2287217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/A-Paraguayan-Building-Vince-Gilligans-Cinematic-Worlds.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2287217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2287219,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287217\/revisions\/2287219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2287218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2287217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2287217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2287217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}