How The X-Files Brought Vince Gilligan And Bryan Cranston Together
Vince Gilligan is once again bringing another story to a close. “Better Call Saul,” the spin-off series that sprung from Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” airs its final season this year. The series has covered the exploits of unscrupulous lawyer Saul Goodman (played by Bob Odenkirk), before, during, and after the previous show. It’s a fantastic dark comedy and drama, showing the rise of Goodman and his former life as the earnest lawyer Jimmy McGill.
As Goodman’s amazing and harrowing journey comes to a close, “Breaking Bad” lead characters Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are set to make a brief return. The characters, played by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul respectively, will appear in the final season. For Cranston and Gilligan, these appearances will mark another stop sign in a collaboration that began all the way back in 1998.
As Goodman’s amazing and harrowing journey comes to a close, “Breaking Bad” lead characters Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are set to make a brief return. The characters, played by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul respectively, will appear in the final season. For Cranston and Gilligan, these appearances will mark another stop sign in a collaboration that began all the way back in 1998.
Drive to Survive
The collaboration began on a single episode of “X-Files,” the fan-favorite television series created by Chris Carter. Gilligan joined the show with a single episode in the second season, rising through the ranks to eventually become an executive producer on the series. Along the way, he wrote a total of 44 episodes for the “X-Files” and even co-created its spin-off series, “The Lone Gunmen.”
Gilligan wrote the sixth season episode “Drive,” where series regulars Mulder and Scully have to figure out what caused the mysterious death of Nevada housewife on live TV. During the investigation, Mulder is kidnapped by the husband, who is suffering from the same ailment that killed his wife. The husband, Patrick Crump, was played by Cranston. The choice of Cranston during casting was largely down to trying to humanize a monster. Crump is anti-semitic and a believer in conspiracy theories, but the audience also had to lament his death. Cranston pulled off that dividing line in the episode. “We had this villain, and we needed the audience to feel bad for him when he died,” Gilligan told the New York Times about the episode and Cranston. “Bryan alone was the only actor who could do that, who could pull off that trick. And it is a trick. I have no idea how he does it.”
Gilligan wrote the sixth season episode “Drive,” where series regulars Mulder and Scully have to figure out what caused the mysterious death of Nevada housewife on live TV. During the investigation, Mulder is kidnapped by the husband, who is suffering from the same ailment that killed his wife. The husband, Patrick Crump, was played by Cranston.
The choice of Cranston during casting was largely down to trying to humanize a monster. Crump is anti-semitic and a believer in conspiracy theories, but the audience also had to lament his death. Cranston pulled off that dividing line in the episode. “We had this villain, and we needed the audience to feel bad for him when he died,” Gilligan told the New York Times about the episode and Cranston. “Bryan alone was the only actor who could do that, who could pull off that trick. And it is a trick. I have no idea how he does it.”
Walter in the Middle
AMC
“We needed a guy who could be scary and kind of loathsome but at the same time had a deep, resounding humanity,” Gilligan told NYMag. “When ‘Malcolm’ went on the air, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t realize he could be so funny!’”
