Breaking Bad was an American television series that premiered on AMC in 2008.
The show was created by Vince Gilligan, and it starred Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who turns to cooking methamphetamine after being diagnosed with cancer. Aaron Paul played Jesse Pinkman, Walter’s former student and partner in the meth business.
The show has been praised for its writing, acting and direction and it has won numerous awards, including 16 Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. Breaking Bad has also been credited with helping to boost the popularity of AMC and bringing attention to the cable network’s other original programming such as Mad Men and The Walking Dead.
Here are ten fun facts about Breaking Bad:
1. Bryan Cranston originally auditioned for the role of Hank Schrader, Walter’s DEA agent brother-in-law, but he was ultimately cast as Walter White instead.
2. Aaron Paul had only ever played supporting roles prior to Breaking Bad; he auditioned six times for the part of Jesse Pinkman before finally landing the role.
3. Anna Gunn (who plays Skyler White) actually hated smoking so much while filming that she had to use a nicotine patch between takes!
4. In order to make Walt’s meth lab look more realistic, producers consulted with real-life chemists to ensure accuracy in the show’s depiction of drug manufacturing processes.
5. Many of the exterior shots of Walt’s house were filmed using a replica home built on a soundstage due to zoning regulations that prevented film crews from shooting at actual residences in Albuquerque neighbourhoods where similar homes existed.
6. Bryan Cranston broke his ankle while filming the episode “Four Days Out”, but he insisted on continuing to film despite his injury; you can see him limping slightly in some scenes from that episode onwards as a result!
7. In addition to starring in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston has also directed four episodes of the show: “Cornered” (season 3), “Fly” (season 3), “No Más” (season 4), and “Blood Money” (season 5).
8. Several well-known actors guest-starred on Breaking Bad before they became famous, including Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut), Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring), Matt Jones (Badger Mayhew), Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman), Kerry Condon (Riley Dunlap), Jessica Hecht (Gretchen Schwartz), Kevin Rankin (Kenny) and Bill Burr (Kuby).
9 .The title sequence for each episode features footage of blue crystals being formed into methamphetamine – these are actually rock candy crystals dyed blue!
10. Breaking Bad was originally supposed to be set in California, not New Mexico.
