John Cusack finally dismisses Breaking Bad & Walter White casting rumors
AMC / Gage Skidmore / Flickr: David SifryFor years, rumors have abound that veteran actor John Cusack was due to play the lead role of Walter White in AMC’s hit television show Breaking Bad — but now, he’s finally put those rumors to bed.
Cusack has famously starred in Hollywood hits such as Bullets Over Broadway and comedy flicks like Hot Tub Time Machine, while the role of Walter White was occupied by Bryan Cranston, who put in a phenomenal performance throughout the duration of the series.
Breaking Bad likely had a number of top names on its shortlist to fill the role of Walter White, but most fans would argue they couldn’t imagine anyone but Cranston playing the character.
That’s not to say it couldn’t have been different, though, and the rumor had always been that Cusack was the first choice.
AMCNow, in an interview with Variety, Cusack has finally laid the rumor to rest, confirming that he was never actually asked to play White.
“No, I never was [asked],” he said, “and it was one of those things where I heard it so many times I started to think maybe it was true.”
He continued: “I ran into the creator of Breaking Bad [Vince Gilligan] and said ‘Am I crazy or did you offer me Walter White?’ He was like, ‘no,’ like, alright, I’m not crazy.”
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After being asked whether he would have said yes to the role, had he been offered it, Cusack couldn’t answer.
“I don’t even want to think that way because the perfect actor took it. Why would you want to take away Bryan Cranston’s performance in that? I’m happy that the right actor got it.”
Obviously, nobody can take away the great work Cranston did on the show, but it would be interesting to see what the series would have been like with Cusack taking on the lead role.