{"id":9540,"date":"2016-02-26T11:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T10:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/berlin030.de\/?p=9540"},"modified":"2016-02-26T11:00:46","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T10:00:46","slug":"ruhm-veraendert-jede-persoenlichkeit-interview-mit-breaking-bad-star-bryan-cranston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/2016\/02\/26\/ruhm-veraendert-jede-persoenlichkeit-interview-mit-breaking-bad-star-bryan-cranston\/","title":{"rendered":"“Fame Changes Every Personality.” – Interview with \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d Star Bryan Cranston"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs a former chemistry teacher and clever, cool drug cook Walter White in the series \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d, Bryan Cranston became a true cult icon. Back in 2000, he had already made a splash playing a desperate father in the series \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d, which ran proudly for six years over 151 episodes. His film credits include \u201cLittle Miss Sunshine\u201d, \u201cDrive\u201d, \u201cArgo\u201d, and \u201cGodzilla\u201d. <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

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\n\tNow, Cranston takes on the title role in \u201cTrumbo\u201d, portraying screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was added to the infamous Hollywood blacklist as a Communist in the 1950s and was banned from his profession. Cranston was nominated for an Oscar for the role. He spoke to [030] staff writer Dieter O\u00dfwald.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMr Cranston, hand on heart: would you yourself have remained as steadfast as Dalton Trumbo and gone to prison for your beliefs? Or would you have given in to the pressure as actor Edward G. Robinson did?
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\n\tCranston: You have to distinguish between two things. On the one hand, there’s whether you’d capitulate before this committee and say: ‘Yes, I’m a member of the Communist Party! I was young, I was foolish, and it was a mistake.’ I’d do that to avoid going to prison. But the other issue is whether you’d become a traitor and reveal the names of your comrades \u2013 that, for me, would cross the red line.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow well known is this dark chapter of the dream factory in America today?
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\n\tCranston: I fear this chapter is unknown to most, especially among the younger generation. I hope our film can perhaps change that. Although Hollywood merely provides the backdrop, the core of the matter concerns what happens when our civil liberties are restricted. Not only does it affect the individual, it also impacts friends and relatives. When children are teased and threatened at school, it becomes a tragedy.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t
\"Bryan
Bryan Cranston plays Dalton Trumbo, one of the highest-paid screenwriters in Hollywood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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\n\tHow did you go about your research?
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\n\tCranston: Dalton Trumbo\u2019s daughters were very helpful. Their perspective was incredibly valuable, as were the autobiographies of people who knew Dalton. The more I learned, the closer I got to the heart of the matter. Dalton wanted to give a voice to the invisible people, which is what made him so special. At the same time, it was important to us to show him as a person. The pressure he was under nearly destroyed his family, and it’s mostly thanks to the strength of his wife Cleo that this didn’t happen.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDid you speak to people whose names were on that blacklist?
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\n\tCranston: I met a few people affected by it, though they are now very old. We didn\u2019t explicitly discuss the extent of the suffering they experienced, but our research revealed the dramatic consequences of these events: houses had to be sold, families were destroyed, and there were suicides born of despair.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there still a form of blacklisting today?
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\n\tCranston: There are probably still such lists determined by social judgement. Take someone like Bill Cosby\u2014he\u2019s written his own blacklist. But today, the media are more transparent than they were back then. How many US presidents have had affairs, and which ones were made public?\n<\/p>\n

\n\t
\"Bryan
Bryan Cranston – Photo \u00a9 John Phillips\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>How do you make the leap after the end of a mega-cult series like \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d?
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\n\tCranston: I knew straight away that I didn\u2019t want to appear in another series afterwards. I looked for roles that meant something to me and took a break for theatre on Broadway. Then the script for \u201cTrumbo\u201d came along, which I immediately liked. If only my role had been convincing, that wouldn\u2019t have sufficed for me; the story itself had to be great.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow much did \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d change your life?
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\n\tCranston: \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d completely changed my life! The series became a phenomenon, which is rare. It was like an avalanche in entertainment culture, the show became an icon in a way. For me, it opened up an incredible number of opportunities, for which I\u2019ll be eternally grateful. You can\u2019t plan for or expect such success. We just wanted to make a good series with a strong story \u2013 what became of it was down to the audience.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat would it take to persuade you to appear in \u201cBetter Call Saul\u201d?
\n<\/h4>\n

\n\tCranston: Just one phone call from Vince Gilligan would do it! (Laughs) With Vince, I\u2019d be absolutely certain he wouldn\u2019t just exploit it for a cheap cameo, because he has too much respect for the character of Walter White. But this is now an entirely new chapter, and I don\u2019t know if an appearance would be such a good idea. However, I can certainly imagine directing a few episodes, as a way of expressing my solidarity.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tLeonard Nimoy titled his autobiography \u201cI Am Not Spock\u201d. Were there never any moments when you feared becoming the eternal Walter?
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\n\tCranston: It\u2019s down to the actor themselves whether they allow themselves to be pinned to a particular image. You have to seek new challenges and rigorously reject any roles similar to the one that brought you success. I went through that after \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d, where I was constantly offered similar projects. I turned them all down because I didn\u2019t want to become a derivative of myself. I find saying no to such things very easy, because I genuinely want to try new things.\n<\/p>\n

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