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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tBut Gilligan wasn\u2019t finished with Seehorn: He enlisted her to lead \u201cPluribus,\u201d his Apple TV sci-fi series. On the show, Seehorn plays Carol Sturka, a miserable romance novelist who\u2019s one of only 13 people who haven\u2019t become possessed during \u201cthe Joining\u201d \u2014 a global event that\u2019s taken over the minds of nearly all humans on earth, transforming them into seemingly happy, always optimistic people. (Carol hates that.)<\/p>\n
\n\tAs an antihero in \u201cBreaking Bad,\u201d Cranston was cast against type, since he was so well known as Hal, the hapless, lovable dad from the Fox sitcom \u201cMalcolm in the Middle,\u201d which ran from 2000 to 2006. This spring, Cranston stepped into Hal\u2019s shoes once again for Hulu\u2019s revival, \u201cMalcolm in the Middle: Life\u2019s Still Unfair.\u201d The idea to bring back the show was Cranston\u2019s, and he decided to \u201ckeep chipping away\u201d at creator Linwood Boomer until he gave in. \u201cWe had a great time. It was a family, and we really cared for each other,\u201d Cranston tells Seehorn, expressing a very un-Walter White-like sentiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBetween \u201cPluribus\u201d and the \u201cMalcolm\u201d reboot, these two Gilligan all-stars have much to discuss \u2014 including Cranston\u2019s unhinged role on \u201cThe Studio\u201d as a movie honcho, for which he won an Emmy last September for comedy guest actor.<\/p>\n
\n\tRhea<\/strong> Seehorn:<\/strong> We only get our scripts one at a time on Vince Gilligan\u2019s shows, and you don\u2019t generally even get told an outline of what the whole season will be. So you have no idea what the character\u2019s going to do. And I will say it was a new way to work. Was it for you? Because I\u2019m assuming it was the same on \u201cBreaking Bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBryan<\/strong> Cranston:<\/strong> It was the same, but like Carol, you\u2019re going through so many twists and turns that are hard to fathom, you can\u2019t possibly plan ahead. I just thought, \u201cThis is kind of good for Walter White just to step into what\u2019s next for him,\u201d because it was such foreign territory \u2014 just like it is for you.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> Yeah, for Carol and \u201cPluribus\u201d \u2014 and then even for Kim Wexler in \u201cBetter Call Saul.\u201d I mean, we try not to preplan or be result oriented anyway, but people would ask, \u201cBut don\u2019t you want to know if you\u2019re lying?\u201d I actually found quite a bit of freedom in it.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> It\u2019s amazing. I remember shooting an episode of \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d where Aaron Paul\u2019s character, Jesse, comes at me with a gun because he thinks I poisoned the little boy in the show, and I\u2019m going, \u201cWhy would I do that?\u201d And I point the finger in the direction of Giancarlo Esposito\u2019s character: \u201cGus Fring, he\u2019s the one who would stand to gain by this!\u201d And then: \u201cYou think I did it? Then kill me. Then shoot me right now, if you think I did it!\u201d And then the next episode came a few days later and I\u2019m reading it and I go, \u201cOh, I did do it.\u201d Oops. My bad!<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> But you wouldn\u2019t have changed how you did that scene, right?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> No, because he has to be believable. But maybe I really thought that it was Gus Fring that did it!<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> People mistakenly think that Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould \u2014 who was co-showrunning, and then showrunning by himself on \u201cBetter Call Saul\u201d \u2014 are doing it to manipulate us. It\u2019s not that.<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> No, no, no.<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> They also like to plant a lot of seeds, and see which things are blooming. Vince told me \u2014 this has to be terrifying to most writers \u2014 \u201cOh yeah, we love to paint ourselves into a corner and then freak out trying to figure out how to get out.\u201d It\u2019s like, what?<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> Every season of every show, he\u2019s done that. Your show, your other show, \u201cBreaking Bad,\u201d it\u2019s always, \u201cI don\u2019t see how he\u2019s going to get out of this.\u201d <\/p>\n What I found interesting watching \u201cPluribus\u201d was that you take the tropes of every science fiction alien-invasion story you\u2019ve ever heard \u2014 and it\u2019s completely the opposite. They\u2019re always ugly. They want to kill you. And he flipped it upside down. So it\u2019s fascinating watching \u201cPluribus\u201d and going, \u201cI don\u2019t know where this is going!\u201d Like any fan, I watched it cold. And I go, \u201cI don\u2019t know that I would be kind and soft. I would be freaked out.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> Vince\u2019s little logline that he came up with was, \u201cWhat if the most miserable person on Earth had to save the world from happiness?\u201d And we had a couple people say, \u201cI don\u2019t think she\u2019s the most miserable.\u201d Certainly, the brilliant Carlos Manuel Vesga\u2019s portrayal of Manousos is pretty angry. I would also put out there that \u2014 and Vince has said this on panels \u2014 nobody asked that about Walter White. Nobody asked that about Jimmy McGill: \u201cWhat\u2019s up with them being so unlikable?\u201d They were behaving in an honest way to the situation they were in.<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> You think it\u2019s a gender issue?<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know. When people are like, \u201cShe\u2019s so unlikable,\u201d I\u2019m like, her wife\u2019s dead; they killed her. Career\u2019s done, might not ever be back. You may very well die alone and never speak to anybody again on a couch eating a frozen meal, watching \u201cGolden Girls.\u201d There are no friends anymore, there\u2019s no family and the world is saying, \u201cWe\u2019re just waiting around until we can take your brain away.\u201d And she\u2019s not polite about it.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> On the other hand, that Bea Arthur is funny.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> She is! But my way into it was just conversations with Vince, with him saying, \u201cIn this very fantastical circumstance, I want her to be utterly realistic, completely honest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> And \u201cAm I next?\u201d She\u2019s got to fight, so I never took it as she\u2019s an angry person. So you\u2019re going into the second season.<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> Yes, we are. They\u2019re in the writers\u2019 room right now.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> And do you have any idea of where it\u2019s going?<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> No, none. I don\u2019t even know what she does with atom bomb in the driveway. I don\u2019t think he would lie to the fans. She\u2019s come back and asked Manousos if he would help, but that\u2019s a tricky relationship. He just wants to kill everybody.<\/p>\n \n\t I just watched the four new \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d episodes. It\u2019s hilarious.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Going from \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d to \u201cBreaking Bad,\u201d there was only one year in between, and Vince was my champion to get that role. The execs at Sony and at AMC were like, \u201cOoh, wait, no, the goofy dad from \u2018Malcolm\u2019? Not to play Walter White!\u201d He\u2019s going, \u201cTrust me, trust me, trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> Your autobiography [\u201cA Life in Parts\u201d] was great. I tell everybody to read it.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Oh, thank you.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> At one point, you talk about your \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d auditions, and that there was very little information about the character. You thought, \u201cWell, the best storytelling here\u201d \u2014\u00a0 and I\u2019m sure I\u2019m butchering how you put it \u2014 \u201cwould be that he\u2019s the things that the wife is not.\u201d Like, not competent, not capable.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Jane Kaczmarek\u2019s character, Lois \u2014 she was strong, powerful, fearless, intimidated others, a sergeant at arms, disciplinarian, all these things. I just wrote the opposite of everything she was. And I realized, \u201cOh, I\u2019m creating a list of characteristics of what became Hal.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> So I\u2019m curious what it was like returning to \u201cMalcolm in the Middle.\u201d What was the gap between?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Twenty years.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> I still see these characters I came to know and love. But everybody did a little bit of evolving as well. Hal, not a lot.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> I think what was great about Hal and Lois is that they didn\u2019t change \u2014 they just got older. But he\u2019s still madly in love with her.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> Do you want to do more of them?<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t like to do anything as a stepping stone to something else.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> I\u2019m very excited for Season 2 of \u201cThe Studio.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Oh my God. It\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> Wait, where were you guys shooting? In Cannes?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Venice, Italy. We shot two episodes in Venice re-creating the Venice Film Festival.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> So famous people playing famous people in it again, right?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Yes. Lady Madonna. [Sings] \u201cChildren at your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> What was she like?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Madonna\u2019s great. I gotta say, her work ethic is really impressive. The paparazzi are everywhere trying to get a picture of her. But I was really impressed with how much she prepared. Because we didn\u2019t know \u2014 \u201cWhat\u2019s she like now?\u201d And it\u2019s been a while since she acted.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> Oh, I guess that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> But she was terrific. And she\u2019s very funny.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> I was going to say, does she have a sense of humor?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> She\u2019s very funny! And we had Michael Keaton and Donald Glover and Julia Garner. It was really a lot of fun. And that show is just bonkers.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> OK, are you on drugs again?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Oh, yes.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> [laughing] Are you?\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> Ohhhhhhh, yessssss. Oh, Rhea. There is a scene in the episode dealing with the Oscars. That\u2019s all I\u2019ll say. People will not believe what happens.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> And it\u2019s your fault?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> I either propelled my career to a different level or completely destroyed it. Completely obliterated it, like, \u201cWhat was he thinking?\u201d But it will be talked about.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> It\u2019ll be up there with body-hair shaving, which you opened \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d with?<\/p>\n \n\tCranston:<\/strong> My dear, that\u2019s very tame.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn:<\/strong> And I love Kathryn Hahn. I know her a little bit.<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> She\u2019s a hoot.<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> And of course the brilliant Catherine O\u2019Hara, which was sad to see.<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> Oh, we miss her so much. I played Catherine O\u2019Hara\u2019s husband in three different productions. And then she was my nemesis in \u201cThe Studio.\u201d I miss her so much. She was such a joy to be with. Catherine O\u2019Hara was a person who, you not only marveled at her comedic chops, but when it\u2019s \u201ccut,\u201d you say, \u201cI want to sit next to Catherine.\u201d It was just heartbreaking to lose her.<\/p>\n \n\tSeehorn: <\/strong>Well, I hope I get to be your scene partner one day. <\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> We haven\u2019t worked together.<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> The storylines sort of crossed paths in \u201cBetter Call Saul.\u201d And you were there when I meet Jesse. Do you remember that? <\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> Oh, yes!<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> And you gave Aaron Paul a note. You told him to punch the rain.<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> I thought it was cool! It was a cool little moment. You know, when Walter White died, I thought, \u201cWow, that\u2019s it. That was great. Good run!\u201d But then I did him \u2014 I came back, like, three times. You might be asked to do Kim Wexler again!<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> Yeah, or I\u2019ll come do, apparently, some grotesque scenes with you on \u201cThe Studio.\u201d<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> You have the courage. I know you\u2019re the type of actor to say, \u201cFuck it. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n Seehorn:<\/strong> I think I could. If I get to do it with you, I\u2019ll do it.<\/p>\n Cranston:<\/strong> Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\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 variety.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This interview is part of Variety and celebrity.land\u2019s Actors on Actors series. Watch the full video interview now at celebrity.land.com\/Watch (or on the celebrity.land app)\u00a0and on Variety\u2019s YouTube channel starting at 11:59 pm ET. Bryan Cranston and Rhea Seehorn are key players in the crime-ridden, \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d universe created by Vince Gilligan. Cranston\u2019s portrayal of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2451942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[423430,316808,359900],"class_list":["post-2451941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-actors-on-actors","tag-bryan-cranston","tag-rhea-seehorn"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bryan-Cranston-and-Rhea-Seehorn-on-Breaking-Bad-Pluribus-and.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451941","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=2451941"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2451943,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2451941\/revisions\/2451943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2451942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2451941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2451941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2451941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\n\t\tProp styling and art direction: Shawn Patrick Anderson\/Acme Studios; Assistant prop styling: Joseph Bell\t<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n