Bryan Cranston earned his spot on the Mount Rushmore of TV dads starting in 2000, when he first starred as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. Hal — father to Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson), Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) — was an affable if wildly immature middle-class family man who loved his wife, Lois (Jane Kaczmarek), but struggled to keep his eccentric sons on track. The majority of the cast, including Cranston, will return in a series revival, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, in April 2026.
The original series put Cranston on the map, but it was far from his first time onscreen. He began acting in the ’80s — with guest roles on series like Murder, She Wrote and Matlock — and later had supporting parts in films like That Thing You Do!, Saving Private Ryan, and Little Miss Sunshine. But after his seven-season stint as Hal, Cranston landed the lead as a very different kind of dad in Breaking Bad, which earned him four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — and is available to watch on Netflix (more below). His starring role as Walter White launched his career into the stratosphere, and he’s since appeared in a broad catalog of movies and other series: comedies like Curb Your Enthusiasm and Kung Fu Panda 3; dramas like The Lincoln Lawyer and Trumbo (for which he was nominated for an Oscar); and three Wes Anderson films (Isle of Dogs, Asteroid City, and The Phoenician Scheme). He’s also won two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in All the Way and Network. Keep reading for more on Breaking Bad and some of Cranston’s other series and movies.
Creator Vince Gilligan’s neo-Western crime drama won 16 Emmys over the course of its five-season run. It follows Walter White (Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who, upon being diagnosed with likely terminal Stage III lung cancer, begins making and distributing methamphetamine to secure his family’s financial future. Partnering with his delinquent former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), the two tackle a series of increasingly intense run-ins with the seedy criminal underbelly in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Anna Gunn (Deadwood), Dean Norris (Unfrosted), RJ Mitte (Triumph), Betsy Brandt (Soulmates), Giancarlo Esposito (Parish), Jonathan Banks (The Beast in Me), and Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) co-star.
This movie acts as both a sequel and epilogue to Breaking Bad, and follows Paul’s Jesse Pinkman as he makes moves to flee to Alaska after the events of the original series. On his journey, Jesse learns what it takes to become a man and leader in his own right — without his long-time partner Walter White’s (Cranston) influence. Jesse Plemons (Windfall), Krysten Ritter (Orphan Black: Echoes), Charles Baker (Splinter), Matt Jones (Mom), Robert Forster (Survivor), and Jonathan Banks (Mudbound) also star.
Cranston leads this crime drama based on US Customs Service special agent Robert Mazur’s autobiography of the same name. In the 1980s, Mazur (Cranston) went undercover as corrupt executive Bob Musella to smoke out drug lords’ money laundering schemes. His efforts eventually lead him to infiltrate Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel. Diane Kruger (Welcome to Marwen), Benjamin Bratt (Skull Island), John Leguizamo (Bloodline), Saïd Taghmaoui (The Forgiven), Joe Gilgun (Preacher), and Amy Ryan (Worth) co-star.
Michael Desiato (Cranston) is a well-respected judge in New Orleans. So when his son, Adam (Hunter Doohan), accidentally kills another teenager in a hit-and-run collision, he encourages him to tell the truth. But upon learning that the boy who was killed was the son of a prominent mobster, Desiato uses his power and influence to tip the scales and protect Adam, resulting in a growing web of lies, betrayal, and potentially deadly consequences. Hope Davis (Asteroid City), Sofia Black-D'Elia (Viral), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (The Good Cop), and Michael Stuhlbarg (Traitors) also star.
