Home / Authors / Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston Quotes

Actor

Bryan Cranston, born on March 7, 1956, is a renowned American actor. He gained widespread recognition for his role as Walter White in the TV series 'Breaking Bad', for which he won numerous awards, including six Emmys. Cranston's acting career spans film, television, and theater, showcasing his versatile talent and ability to portray a wide range of characters.

Filter quotes by topic

All Actors Ifs Want Thinking People Able Character Persons Play Way

Famous Bryan Cranston Quotes

“Because we had known the good times, I think my brother and I felt the loss more acutely. My father's waning presence, his chronic absence, his disappearance. Now he was just a memory.”

Inspirational Loss Sad

Book:A Life in Parts

Source: A Life in Parts

“I have a bad habit of inserting my ideas into shots and things. I don't know, I don't hold back on suggesting things, but I don't have any connection to what actually happens, so I'll make a suggestion on something and then just let it go.”

Knows Ideas Happens Habit Shots Connections Suggestions Let It Go Bad Habits Suggesting Just Let It Go

Author:Bryan Cranston

“To me, character in a person is judged by the decisions that are made under pressure.”

Persons Made Character Decision Pressure Judged Under Pressure

Author:Bryan Cranston

“When everyone has high expectation for you, it can attack your insecurities.”

Expectations Insecurity High Expectations

Author:Bryan Cranston

“It's in our nature to be intrigued. We're putting the bread crumb not in your mouth but close to your mouth. You reach a little bit, and that's why it works.”

Littles Bits Little Bit Mouths Bread Intrigued Crumbs Bread Crumbs

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Actors are inherently self-centered. We're trained to focus on who I am. What do I want? Who is in my way? How do I get this? That's how we're trained. Unfortunately, that sometimes spills over into real life. But it's all very subjective. You just try to portray someone beyond the surface, the different layers.”

Way Want Trying Different Real Self Sometimes Actors Focus Surface Real Life Who I Am My Way Layers Subjective Self Centered Spills

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Any performer would love to have the opportunity to be able to express themselves in many different areas. If you feel confident in those areas, you would hope to have the opportunity to do them, whether it's drama, comedy, musical, or whatever your interests are.”

Ifs Feels Different Able Opportunity Interest Comedy Drama Areas Musical Performers

Author:Bryan Cranston

“It's like a dance, to choreograph a fight is like a dance. It's very specific. You have to carefully plan it out. Because if someone gets hurt, then we didn't do our job, someone screwed up. The fight choreographers and the actors involved, we messed up somewhere.”

Ifs Jobs Fighting Actors Hurt Plans Involved Messed Up Screwed Up Choreographers

Author:Bryan Cranston

“The hardest work that actors have done, including myself, is on poorly written scripts. And when you first start out you do anything. I did a lot of crap. I did more crap than I can tell you. But you did it because you needed the money. You have to pay for your pictures and resumes, and classes and insurance and food like everybody else. In those days if it was crap you just didn't put it on your resume.”

Ifs Firsts I Can Done Actors Pay Class Written Needed Including Scripts Hardest Crap Resumes

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I'm just a big boy, I'm still just playing cowboys and Indians and astronaut and baseball player and all that stuff that I used to play as a kid.”

Stills Play Bigs Kids Used Stuff Boys Player Baseball Cowboy Astronaut Baseball Player

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I don't think life owes me anything and the business doesn't owe me anything. The only way to approach it is by working hard and loving what you do. If you do that and have faith, maybe you will get lucky. I mean that sincerely and specifically. I truly believe that no professional career in the arts is capable without a healthy dose of luck.”

Ifs Thinking Way Believe Mean Art Hard Careers Healthy Lucky Approach Capable Art Is Luck Have Faith Sincerely Dose Professional Career Loving What You Do

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I enjoy storytelling. I like to write it, I like to direct it, I like to act in it, I like to produce it. I like to be around storytellers. That's what excites me.”

Writing Enjoy Produce Direct Storytelling Storyteller

Author:Bryan Cranston

“What used to frustrate me going into an audition was that some inexperienced, lesser casting people would think that actors are acting only when they're speaking.”

People Thinking Used Actors Acting Auditions Casting

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I think the best-written films or television series have a measure of the opposite of what they are.”

Thinking Film Written Television Opposites Series

Author:Bryan Cranston

“That's the reason you want to become a star as an actor, to be able to have more control of your destiny.”

Want Reason Able Actors Stars Destiny Our Destiny Your Destiny

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Actors basically are the type of person that with three seconds left, we want the ball. Give us the shot to make it or miss it. We'll take the lumps if we miss it, but we want the chance to get the glory.”

Ifs Want Giving Persons Three Actors Left Chance Missing Type Glory Shots Balls Seconds Lumps

Author:Bryan Cranston

“When you play a non-fiction character it is more responsibility than when you are playing a fiction character because that person lived, and you do want to pay respect to that.”

Want Persons Play Character Pay Fiction Responsibility Non Fiction

Author:Bryan Cranston

“There's boldness in being assertive; there's strength and confidence.”

Boldness Assertive Being Assertive

Author:Bryan Cranston

“When 'Malcolm in the Middle' was over, I was looking for a drama more than a comedy...but if it was a comedy that came up, it would have to be as well-written as 'Malcolm' was, and it would have to be a different kind of character than I played on that show. That's harder to come by. In drama, there were more opportunities, more options for me, and when I read ('Breaking Bad'), it was just, 'Good night, Nurse! I'm going after this sucker!'”

Ifs Wells Kind Different Character Shows Night Opportunity Comedy Written Middle Drama Harder Nurse Different Kinds Sucker Good Night Well Written

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Something's happened in our society which I don't think is beneficial, and that's that you see the public being fed box-office news. Newscasts now, every local station - I've been traveling around the country a lot, and you see the local news, and they give box-office reports.”

Thinking Giving Country Happened Office News Boxes Locals Reports Our Society Feds Stations Beneficial Box Office Local News

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Actors, writers, directors - that triumvirate of creativity - we have to rely and trust each other to be able to get to the final product.”

Able Actors Creativity Products Directors Finals Rely

Author:Bryan Cranston

“There's this notion that in order to draw attention and to be considered for roles I want to be considered for, you need a certain amount of notoriety.”

Want Needs Certain Order Attention Roles Amount Draws Notion Notoriety

Author:Bryan Cranston

“My passion is becoming involved in good work, whether that means as an actor or writer or director or producer or all - that is not as important to me.”

Mean Important Passion Actors Becoming Involved Directors Producers Good Work My Passion Becoming Involved

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I'm pretty handy! I do a lot of things around the house, and I actually enjoy it.”

House Enjoy Handy

Author:Bryan Cranston

“If you like vanilla, you're not going to like 'Breaking Bad' - you need to like a specific flavor that is unusual, that is different, that takes risks.”

Ifs Needs Different Risk Unusual Flavor Vanilla

Author:Bryan Cranston

“If you have a screaming angry director, everyone else will be panicked as well.”

Ifs Wells Directors Angry

Author:Bryan Cranston

“My goal has always been to be a working actor.”

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Part of an actor's job is to draw up a back story.”

Stories Jobs Actors Draws

Author:Bryan Cranston

“When you're directing an ongoing series, the tone has already been set. So a director will come in and fulfill that tone - reinforce the characters and their behavior. The challenge is to find unique ways that you can visually tell the story while keeping the established tone and the pace and the characters.”

Way Character Stories Challenges Directors Behavior Unique Series Tone Pace Ongoing

Author:Bryan Cranston

“The TV business is like the produce section of the market. Today everything is fresh and glistening and firm. And tomorrow, when they find a bruise on you, they toss you out.”

Today Produce Tvs Tomorrow Firm Sections Toss Bruises

Author:Bryan Cranston

“When you're an actor in grade school, high school, college, whatever, you start to realize what you're really good at, what you're kinda good at, what you're okay at, and you start to compartmentalize. But if you know yourself and what you're capable of, it's just a matter of opportunity.”

Ifs Knows Matter School Actors Opportunity Realizing College Capable High School Okay Grades Know Yourself Grades In School

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I'm not crazy about being out of control, and I get emotional when things are unclean. When things are out of order. When things are messy. Because I lived in a mess as a child.”

Children Order Crazy Emotional Mess Messy

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I've done more crap than I care to remember. I really have. 'Airwolf.' 'Murder, She Wrote.' 'Amazon Women on the Moon.' But you learn from all these bad shows. What you don't want to do and what you don't want to be involved with.”

Want Done Shows Care Remember Involved Moon Murder I Care Crap Amazon

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I have often walked down this street before but the pavement never held my star before... all at once I'm three stories high, knowing I'm on the street where it lives.”

Stories Three Stars Knowing Streets Pavement

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I didn't feel entitled to become a star. I didn't expect it.”

Feels Stars Entitled

Author:Bryan Cranston

“The things you want professionally are opportunities. And through my good fortune that's what's happened. Opportunity has come to me.”

Want Opportunity Happened Fortune Good Fortune

Author:Bryan Cranston

“It's a familiar story now: a meek and depressed high school chemistry teacher with terminal cancer cooks up a scheme to make and market a superior grade of methamphetamine to provide a nest egg for his family after he's gone. But over the course of five seasons Walter White goes from milquetoast to murderous in order to survive.”

“I was just infused with ideas and I would dream about it and wake up and go, "Oh, I have another idea about Walter White." It was so well written. And it just got into my soul.”

Wells Ideas Soul Dream White Written Wake Up My Soul Well Written Walter White

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I realized, "Oh my god, this is an enormous play. And it's almost all me. Big. big chunks of speeches, speeches, speeches." And I started to panic.”

Way Play Bigs Speech I Realized Enormous Panic Chunks

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Had "Malcolm in the Middle" been picked up I would not have been available for the pilot of "Breaking Bad." And right now someone else would be sitting in this chair talking to you. Not me.”

Has Beens Would Be Talking Middle Right Now Sitting Available Chairs Pilots

Author:Bryan Cranston

“[My father] had a massive middle-age breakdown. And left the family. And then it just completely fell apart. And my mother was heartbroken, just completely devastated. To make ends meet we started selling off all our possessions.”

Ends Age Mother Father Left Middle Possession Selling Massive Heartbroken Middle Ages Breakdown Devastated

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Being from a divorced family almost felt like a scarlet letter at times. And I denied it for a long time.”

Long Felt Long Time Letters Denied Divorced Scarlet

Author:Bryan Cranston

“In fact, I told our dear friends, the Burrell boys, five boys lived next door to us. "Why, we don't see your dad anymore?" "Oh, yeah. Yeah. He" - I lied. I said, "He comes home at night when you guys are in bed. He gets us up and we play." I said it so much that I started to believe it myself, you know?”

Knows Believe Said Play Facts Home Night Guy Next Boys Five Doors Dad Bed Yeah Dear Coming Home Lied Dear Friend Your Dad

Author:Bryan Cranston

“Let me demonstrate. When you greet a friend this is the duration of the kiss that's acceptable. "Hi, good to see you - yeah." When you make a mistake and stay too long at the lips, this is how long it is. "Hi, how are you? Good to see you." And that's what happened. It was like, "Uh-oh, what was that? Oh."”

Long Mistake Happened Kissing Let Me Yeah Lips Acceptable Duration

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I do force myself to sleep with myself to get the job. But that's always a disappointment.”

Jobs Force Sleep Disappointment

Author:Bryan Cranston

“It's cyclical. I'm riding a wave right now, and I recognize that. I wanna do as much work as I can, do the best I can. And when it's all said and done and they say, "Get outta the water, you're done," I wanna be so exhausted that I look forward to it.”

Looks Said I Can Done Water Can Do Right Now Wave Riding Exhausted Do The Best Said And Done

Author:Bryan Cranston

“I don't wanna have anything left in the tank.”

Author:Bryan Cranston

“There is a peak and valley to careers and that includes fame. If you are lucky to ride this wave of fame to a plateau - it won't last there. I guess it is just a blue-collar work ethic that I was raised with.”

Ifs Lasts Careers Fame Lucky Ethics Blue Raised Wave Valleys Work Ethic Collars Blue Collar Peaks And Valleys

Author:Bryan Cranston

“The turmoil that my dad went through, and then by extension, the kids went though, was profound and disastrous for the marriage, for the family.”

Kids Dad Profound My Dad Extensions Turmoil

Author:Bryan Cranston

“It is my biggest fear, something happening to a child, your child, is unfathomable.”

Children Happenings Our Children Your Children Unfathomable Biggest Fear

Author:Bryan Cranston

About the Author

Born: March 7, 1956
Known for: Actor
Quotes: 124

Related Topics

Actors Ifs Want Thinking People Able Character Persons Play Way

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

A Life in PartsRelated source material

Similar Authors

Kristen StewartBrowse related quotes
Michael CaineBrowse related quotes
Billy Bob ThorntonBrowse related quotes
Christopher WalkenBrowse related quotes
Eric BalfourBrowse related quotes
Morgan FreemanBrowse related quotes
Christian BaleBrowse related quotes
John C. ReillyBrowse related quotes
Jack NicholsonBrowse related quotes
Clint EastwoodBrowse related quotes