If you can remember the world before Breaking Bad was a thing, you might remember how you felt when Bryan Cranston was cast in the role of Walter White. It probably sounded something like: “Wait, the dorky dad from Malcolm in the Middle is going to cook meth?” Today we can barely think of Cranston in any other role. You’d think he might prefer it that way. Turns out, he’s actually interested in playing that dorky role again.
Speaking with ET Canada about his career and new film Trumbo, Cranston admits that playing dimwit dad Hal has some appeal 10 years after the fact:
It's been 10 years since we went off the air, and it'd be fun to pick up that guy's clothes again and be fun and sweet and adorable and hapless and clueless and afraid of everything.
While Cranston’s acting career is extensive - and if you’ve watched television regularly since the mid-80’s you probably saw him guest star in something - the FOX comedy about the gifted child in the middle of an utterly dysfunctional family was probably the first place you remember seeing Cranston (unless you remember he played the eccentric dentist Dr. Whatley in a recurring role on Seinfeld). While some actors might look back at such a goofy role as one of those jobs they took to get a steady paycheck that they don’t want to talk about, Cranston seems to remember the role fondly.
It’s about as far as you can get from Walter White, but it seems that may be the appeal. Cranston has been so deeply engrossed in that world, he specifically says he has no interest in playing Walt again, saying he “covered it completely.” He may be looking for a change of pace and Hal fits that bill perfectly. From the diabolical mastermind, to the man with no brain. It wouldn’t be surprising if Cranston looking for a change in career path from Malcolm is what led him to the role in Breaking Bad to begin with, and now he’s looking to head back. The grass is always greener, as they say.
Cranston’s a big name in Hollywood nowm so if he really wants to return to the role, he can probably get somebody to listen. Frankie Muniz, Malcolm himself, has also expressed interest in returning to the show, so that’s two down. Now we just need to get Jane Kaczmarek and we can make this happen. The other brothers would almost certainly be interested in coming back, right? They’re not busy.
We look forward to the official announcement of Malcolm in the Middle-Age that we expect to be coming from Fox shortly. Actually we might not.
