Bryan Cranston Visits Cville for Book Festival

MaKayla Grapperhaus, staff writer

Bryan Cranston, the award-winning actor best known for his role as Walter White on the hit TV show Breaking Bad, made a visit to Charlottesville to discuss his memoir A Life in Parts. Joined by Mark Johnson, producer of Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston’s appearance at John Paul Jones Arena on March 26, was part of Virginia Festival of the Book, as well as the UVA President’s Speaker Series for the Arts.

When Cranston and Johnson came onstage, the large crowd welcomed them enthusiastically. Cranston upon walking on stage remarked how large the crowd was and thanked them all for being there. Shortly after, he began cracking jokes, poking fun at the few of those who chose to take seats on the side of the arena, but it was all in good fun.

Taking a seat facing fellow producer and UVA alumnus Mark Johnson, Cranston shared how he began acting. He said he had worked several humiliating first jobs when he began pursuing acting. However, Cranston’s love for acting remained strong despite the many hurdles he encountered at the start of his career. He said, “I was willing to sacrifice. I was willing to go all in and say, ‘This is my life.’”

The money and fame often associated with stars who make it big, is not what drew Cranston to performing. He strongly advised to those in the crowd pursuing the arts that if they were in the business for the money, or if they had put an “expiration date” on the time they were willing to invest in making it big, they had only two options: change their entire point of view or change their career path. He reminds the crowd that no matter how talented they are, “There is no guarantee in the arts.”

Cranston shared that apart from being dedicated, his success in acting is no different than finding success in any other business. He said, “That’s the factor, luck. You need luck and I got luck, I got a lucky break, I got several lucky breaks. I think everyone realizes that the common denominators in whatever business are, hard work and some lucky breaks along the way.” Shortly after his final season of Malcolm in the Middle, Cranston got his lucky break and was cast as Walter White in Breaking Bad.

Born and raised in L.A., Cranston also credits his father’s difficult journey in acting for his own success. As the middle child of three, with a caring mother and a very involved father, Cranston’s first eight years of life were great. His childhood memories consist of baseball games and home-cooked meals shared together as a family around the dinner table. During this time, his father was pursuing a career in acting and spent much of his time making small appearances on various radio shows and movies. Cranston said of his father’s downfall: “He needed to be a star. It was exceedingly important to him. He needed to be a star and he did not become a star.”

Deeply frustrated by his lack of success in acting, Cranston’s father left the family for another woman at the age of 40 and began getting into drugs and alcohol. His mother, who had never abused alcohol, became an alcoholic as a result of the heartbreak. Cranston’s world turned upside down. He said, “I needed to grow up quicker than I think I probably should have.”

Cranston was not damaged by his difficult childhood, but instead credits it for making him who he is today. He said he and his brother were forced to go live with their grandparents during what he calls the most difficult, but also the most formative, year of his life. Cranston and the crowd shared some good laughs over one of the stories in his book. It was from a period in his life when Cranston, a young boy from L.A., attempts to assist his country grandfather in butchering a chicken and the result is him miserably failing and his brother washing him down with a garden hoes. He then shared some wisdom with the crowd: “It was hell, BUT, if any of you have had challenging childhoods like mine was, where you know it is worse than some and not as bad as others, and a challenging young adult life, you have material to write about.”

Cranston said, “It is all about the challenges of your life and how you overcame it.” Jokingly, he said, “Nobody wants to hear a story about how someone’s life was perfect, ‘Oh, I got really good grades, my parents loved me and it was so great, and then I met the love of my life and we have three lovely children,’ I’m happy for you, but I’m falling asleep. We need conflict to push the story forward.” He told the crowd, “If you can, when bad things happen, try to remember in the back of your mind, ‘Bryan Cranston told me this will someday make a good story.’”