Bryan Cranston’s Biggest Cameo Was Meant To Be A Secret
Bryan Cranston is set to take on the reprisal of his best character, but the biggest cameo of his career was also meant to be kept as a secret.
Better Call Saul, the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad prequel series, is entering its home stretch, with only four episodes left to air on AMC for its sixth and final season. While fans take in this season’s jaw-dropping moments so far, the real question among viewers remains when Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) will appear in the series. Now, we are getting some details surrounding the upcoming cameo, thanks to Bryan Cranston himself. Contrary to the big announcement made over their upcoming return, Cranston always believed that their cameo would be a surprise, according to ComicBook.com.
In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Bryan Cranston detailed the circumstances surrounding the filming of the cameo, and the lengths producers went through to keep the filming secret. “We were asked to keep it a secret forever,” Cranston said. “We were flown in (to Albuquerque) under the darkness of night. We took this plane and they went to a certain private section of the airport there. And then we took like two steps out of the tarmac and into an SUV. They move us to an Airbnb — a duplex. (Paul) had the top floor. I had the bottom floor and we were told you can’t leave.” In an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan a few days ago, Cranston told nearly the exact same story. However, he did go into a bit more detail, revealing that the cameo was filmed a year and a half ago, before filming on Better Call Saul season six even began. He also said that during his stay in Albuquerque, the only exercise he could get was by walking around the yard of the home he was staying in, which was surrounded by walls, so no one could see who was there. He likened the experience to being in the Witness Protection Program.
Aaron Paul seemed none too pleased that he and Bryan Cranston had to endure such a strict lockdown during filming, only to spill the beans about it before the season six premiere. “It’s so funny that because this was supposed to be a big surprise, a big secret. Then all of a sudden they announced that we were doing it, so why did they keep us in a prison? Seriously, they were just messing with us.” Back in April, during a Better Call Saul panel at PaleyFest 2022, showrunner Peter Gould confirmed that the final season would, at some point, cross over into the Breaking Bad timeline, and Walter and Jesse would indeed appear.
While Breaking Bad centered around the characters of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman and their meth empire, the series introduced several memorable characters. That included Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), a shifty, flashy attorney who helped them build their criminal enterprise, and Better Call Saul tells his back story, including his beginnings as a con man named Jimmy McGill. When Odenkirk reprised his role for the Better Call Saul prequel series, he was joined by a number of Breaking Bad actors playing earlier versions of themselves, including Giancarlo Esposito (playing iconic drug kingpin Gustavo Fring), Jonathan Banks (playing the grumpy Mike Ehrmantraut) and Dean Norris (playing DEA agent and Walter’s brother-in-law Hank Schrader).
Although we do know that Walter White and Jesse Pinkman will return, and how the cameo was filmed under a shroud of secrecy, there are still many questions. Fans are still wondering about the plot circumstances surrounding the cameo, and exactly how big of a cameo it is. Gould will only say that he would rather leave those details a secret, so the audience can experience it live. He did reveal to Deadline that the characters will crossover in a new way that had not been seen before. Aaron Paul did reveal that he and Bryan Cranston spent four days shooting their cameo, which could be interpreted that their appearance may not be as long as some might hope. Better Call Saul airs on Mondays at 9 pm EST on AMC.
