Biography for
Bryan Cranston More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

7 March 1956, San Fernando Valley, California, USA

Birth Name

Bryan Lee Cranston

Height

5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Spouse

Robin Dearden	(1989 - present) 1 child
Mickey Middleton	(10 November 1977 - 8 April 1982) (divorced)

Trivia

Has one daughter named Taylor.

His father is actor Joe Cranston. His brother is Kyle Edward Cranston.

A couple other titles he voice for were "Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise", and "Macross Plus".

Once did voice acting for the English dubbing of Japanese Animation (or Anime), under the name "Lee Stone".

In the original Armitage III Polymatrix 4 episode home video release (also know as an OAV), he's listed as "Lee Stone", but in the movie edition of the same name, he's listed under his real name "Bryan Cranston".

Became an ordained minister when he was in college as a part-time job.

Got his start at the Granada Theatre in the San Fernando Valley, California.

Produced his "Kidsmartz" safety video with his "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) crew during one of their weeks off.

Such a big baseball fan that his wife threw him a surprise 40th birthday party at Dodgers Stadium.

Always grows a beard and mustache during his "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) hiatus.

His favorite episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) is the first season episode "Rollerskates." He spent six weeks before filming learning how to rollerskate.

Impersonated Brad Garrett's "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996) voice shortly after losing to him for the second year in a row at the 2004 Emmy Awards. The crowd laughed hysterically, as did Brad Garrett himself.

Presented the category "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" at the 2004 Emmy Awards with his "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) co-star Jane Kaczmarek. Ironically enough, Bryan had been eligible for that category (for directing the "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) episode "Stereo Store") but did not receive a nomination.

Was singled out by frequent "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) director Todd Holland during his Emmy speech in 2001. Cranston had been overlooked that year, and Holland proclaimed that he would "stand up here soon." Cranston was subsequently nominated for the first-time the next year.

Directed three episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) during its fifth season. The episodes were "Vegas," "Dirty Magazine," and "Experiment".

The last name of the first Blue Ranger on "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" (1993) was named after him. He did various work as part of the crew (voice-overs, etc.), so the Blue Ranger's full name became Billy Cranston.

Has a dog named Sugar, saved from a local Los Angeles pound.

Enjoys traveling to Hawaii.

Met his wife Robin Dearden on the set of the show "Airwolf" (1984). He was playing the villain of the week, and she was his hostage (held at gunpoint).

Attended and graduated from Canoga Park High School, Canoga Park, California in 1974.

Honored as Grand Marshal of the 2006 Sherman Oaks, CA, Street Fair by the Chamber of Commerce for his leadership in the community and his protection of children through KidSmartz.

At one point considered becoming a police officer, and went to high school, and was friends with, Daniel Cameron.

Bryan Cranston, who played Erik Per Sullivan's character's father on "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000), wrote recommendation letters for his college applications.

Personal Quotes

I've got a whole mantel just waiting for those awards to come, a whole big mantel. There's just so much available space. I've got the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, all ready to shine on them. I dust it off every day.

The only thing I say a prayer for is for health and safety for my family. Some people even include happiness and a hope for something else. Not me. I think everything else is on your own. That's the way I look at it. If you can just maintain health and safety, you're in good shape. And anything else, you have to create.

My wife is the cook, really. I'm a good helper and I clean like nobody's business. I can load a dishwasher like nobody else.

I don't want to say it's not important to win [an Emmy], because it is. Would it be important to me personally to win? It would be wonderful; I would be delighted. Is it important for an actor's career? I would say Yes.

You know, this business is pure luck. It truly is. There is a tangible amount of luck that is necessary for a successful career, and the only way that luck happens is if you're prepared for it and you stick with it. If you drop out of the scene, your opportunity for luck diminishes greatly. No one's going to say, 'Hey you're an insurance salesman. Come and do this movie.'

I think the best-written films or television series have a measure of the opposite of what they are. We have some darkly comic moments sprinkled throughout Breaking Bad, as we had some sweet sentiment or serious drama sprinkled throughout Malcolm In The Middle. I think any good movie does that, any good play. You have to break it up. You can't have one train going in one direction all the time. Audiences are more sophisticated than that.

I love playing pompous asses. I think I would like that on my tombstone. "He was the definitive pompous ass."

I love playing the know-it-all guy who is also kind of stupid. That guy who thinks he's great, but he's not. That's a wonderful character to play. Kind of the Barney Fife type. He'll tell you what's going on, but inside he's very insecure. That's always a fun character. And I loved, for pure fun and enjoyment, my character Hal on Malcolm. Because I found his emotional core, and once I found that, I could leap off from that and the writers started to write for it. And that core was fear. Hal was afraid of everything. Every single thing. He was afraid of heights, he was afraid of failing as a father, he was afraid of getting fired... Someone would walk into the room and surprise him, and he'd yelp, because he was afraid of noise-afraid of a lot of things. That lent itself to a lot of humor, but it was also a true emotion that you could lock in on.

Stars have much more power. I'm the star of my show Breaking Bad, and I have the power to try to sway opinions. Absolutely. And that's the reason you want to become a star as an actor, to be able to have more control of your destiny. 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. An acting coach of mine, Shirley Knight - a great actress - said that it's the actors' arrogance. We want the chance. Give it to me. We know plenty of people in life, back in Little League or whatever, who'd say, "Oh, please don't hit it to me. Please don't hit it to me. Oh dear God, please don't make me have to make this decision. Please don't make me get onstage." There are those people, and then there are those of us that say, "Give me the shot. Let me take it."

It's all about the written word. Whatever's well-written. It doesn't matter if it's features, or children's stories... it's all about the written word. And it could come in any different form, but that's the criteria. That's it for me.

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