Bryan Cranston interview: ‘Sometimes you take a mean character home – until your partner tells you to knock it off’

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The transformation was so jarring that Anna Gunn, who played Walt’s wife, told The New Yorker she felt genuinely “alone and scared and angry” whenever Cranston’s character turned on her during scenes. “It’s definitely something you have to learn at first,” says Cranston. “Sometimes you’re playing a mean character and you take it home with you – until hopefully your partner tells you to knock it off.” The switch is about self-preservation – especially if you’re attracted to darker roles, as Cranston evidently is. “It doesn’t feel like it’s foundationally structured to last long.” The number one thing, he explains, is to “make sure your personal life is as sane and as structured as possible.