Брайан Крэнстон - A Life in Parts

Yes. I just had to trust the people around me and the process and keep working. Never stop working.

With one week to go, the play suddenly began to open up. It began to come to me. Everything I’d done in my life seemed to have prepared me for this moment. Collecting eggs and killing chickens at my grandfather’s farm. Watching my mother gather junk to sell at swap meets—she didn’t give up. Announcing that Abraham Lincoln was going to write one of America’s greatest speeches as soon as he returned to the White Front—that failure and embarrassment was with me somewhere, too.

Opening night, I stood in the wings as the audience got settled. The script called for the other actors to fill empty seats on stage, and then for the lights to cut to black. That was my cue.

Downstage center. Right in front of the audience. That empty seat at center stage. That was my seat.

Two weeks earlier, it looked like an electric chair.

Now, opening night, it looked like a throne.

Standing in the hushed darkness, I smiled. Oh. That’s why I went through this. The monastic life. The doubt. The work. The pain. It was all part of it.

It was all so I could have this feeling. It was so I could live this moment.

I took three deep breaths. I shook those breaths into my body. And then I relaxed. I let it go.

And I went to take my place.

Shannon Welch. For your superb talents in orchestrating, contributing to, and editing this book. Your guidance and support in taking charge made this collaboration an enriching experience.

Bill Timoney. For your counsel on this project, and helping me get through a difficult time.

John O’Hurley. For your support and suggesting that I do this book.

Mrs. Waldo and Mrs. Crawford, my fifth- and sixth-grade teachers, for encouraging me to take chances toward a creative path.

Vince Gilligan. For giving me the role of my life—that also changed my life.

My grandparents, Otto and Augusta Sell. For taking me in and teaching me tough love and discipline.

Joe and Peggy, my parents. For teaching me, in their unique way, the person I should become.

Thank you:

Jodi Gottlieb, Lindsay Shane, and my team at Independent PR.

Sarah Clossey, Jeremy Zimmer, and my team at United Talent Agency.

Leonard Grant, the Baral family, Mickey Middleton, Linwood Boomer, James Kiberd, Reverend Bob, Stewart Lyons, Brett Hansen, Kevin Stolper, Mark Subias, Chris Highland, Ivan Markota, Break Costin, Shirley Knight, Diane Galardi, Taryn Feingold, Georgette Reilly-Timoney, Kris Chapman, James Degus, Kirsten Jacobson, Andy Garcia, Dan McVicar, Raymond Fitzpatrick, Bill Rausch, Robert Schenkkan, Richard Pine, Jeff Widener, Louis Rego, Javier Grajeda, Carolyn Kiesel, Reuben Valdez, New Mexico, Daytona Playhouse, and

All the great people I’ve met on my path who had an influence on my life.

BRYAN CRANSTONwon four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad . He holds the honor of being the first actor in a cable series, and the second lead actor in the history of the Emmy Awards, to receive three consecutive wins. In 2014 he won a Tony Award for his role as Lyndon Johnson in the bio-play All the Way . In film, Cranston received an Academy Award nomination for his leading role in Trumbo . Among his numerous television and film appearances, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and three Emmys for his portrayal of Hal in FOX’s Malcolm in the Middle.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-4767-9385-6

ISBN 978-1-4767-9388-7 (ebook)

Some names and identifying characteristics have been changed.

Photographs on pages 5 , 208 , 221 , and 276 –77 courtesy of Sony Pictures Television.

Photographs on pages 9 , 11 , 19 , 36 , 82 , 148 , and 260 courtesy of Bryan Cranston.

Photograph on page 184 Malcolm in the Middle © 2001 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Monarchy Enterprises S.a.r.l. and Regency Entertainment (USA), Inc. All rights reserved.

Photograph on page 271 courtesy of Jeffrey Richards Associates, photograph by Evgenia Eliseeva.