The cast talk Season 3

January 16, 2010 - One of TV's best shows, Breaking Bad returns in March for a long-awaited third season, and creator Vince Gilligan and cast members Bryan Cranston ("Walter White"), Aaron Paul ("Jesse Pinkman"), Anna Gunn ("Skylar White") and Bob Odenkirk ("Saul Goodman") discussed the new season at the TCA press tour today.

Cranston, who has won back-to-back Emmys for his amazing work on the series, noted that the cast is not told ahead of time what's to come, saying, "We're reading it and it has the same impact and as much surprise as you have," adding, "It's never boring and always a surprise."

Cranston said that in Season 3, "I'm starting to completely accept the metamorphosis of my character and coming out of the cocoon and ready to become a different person. That transition over time was one of the most compelling things to me." Cranston said that he always recalled Gilligan telling him Breaking Bad was a show that would follow a man's journey from, "Mr. Chips into Scarface."

As for Walt and Jesse's relationship, Gilligan remarked, "I see Walt this season a little bit like Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein, with good intentions, creates a monster. Maybe we'll see a little bit of that with Jesse."

That being said, Gilligan noted that, "In the world of meth, Jessie is the moral center of the show. He's the innocent. He's the person who is untainted by this business. He has a moral center that is more properly based and profound than even Walt has."



As we watch Walt go to darker and darker places, Cranston said his job was to not help the audience condone what he's doing, "But to say, 'I know that man. I feel what he's doing is real. I feel if I have that honesty, we can do many different things. The actor added that this is "the first time [Walt]'s been able to intimidate. He feels powerful." But Cranston added that what happened with Skylar at the end of Season 2, "brought him to his knees. He has to fight his way back up."

Aaron Paul said he felt, "This season is really a season of change for all the characters in the show. " On the heels of losing his girlfriend, Jane, last season, Paul noted, "Jesse feels completely 100% guilty. Maybe it was just a chemical romance, but he lost her and he completely blames himself. This season begins with him trying to make an executive decision on trying to stay focused. He kind of accepts who he is."

While Walt's medical condition seemed to be improving by the end of Season 2, Gilligan promised, "We haven't forgotten the impetus that got Walt going on his journey into being a criminal. Cancer is in a lot of ways the villain of the piece." He noted that cancer can be very different for people, as far as remission (or lack thereof) goes, but added, "We're going to keep it real, let's put it that way. We have not forgotten that he has cancer."

As for Odenkirk, Gilligan revealed, "Saul was not intended originally to be as big a character as he's become. All credit goes to Bob Odenkirk who is so damn funny." Gilligan said he was influenced by The Godfather, with his idea being to introduce "a low rent consigliere."

Odenkirk said Saul, "is a fun guy to play." He noted that Breaking Bad was, "A show where so many of the characters have such high stakes, all the time. My character is a little bit removed. It's all a game to him, so he gets to be funnier and lighter."

Gunn described Skylar as, "an every woman character," who has been faced, "a husband who is not only dying of cancer, but begins behaving in a strange manner.' Gunn promised that in Season 3, "The road [Skylar] starts to go down is fascinating."

Breaking Bad: Season 3 premieres Sunday, March 21st on AMC.

Shawn wrote:Saw this earlier today

woo im excited

oh yeah i love how the better call saul billboard is right behind them

Sharp eye! Didn't notice that bit.

I too am very excited for both season 3, and the season 2 DVD (with swears intact )

How has your summer/fall/winter been?

Shawn wrote:

really cool image someone posted on the amc talk section

Man im excited!! ahh

Lparsons7981 wrote:

Shawn wrote:

really cool image someone posted on the amc talk section

Man im excited!! ahh

Awesome, thanks for posting that? Did they say where that was?