The third season ofBreaking Badwas a relentless revelation.
(There was also an entire episode about killing a fly.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Youve won in this category the last two years running.
Are you excited to go for a three-peat?
Three-peat was something he uttered and then copyrighted.
If you print it up, EW owes him a stipend.
Ill talk to our lawyers.
Was there anything in particular in this last season that really surprised you?
Its not mutually exclusive that you could be a murderer and a good father, a husband.
Thats a bizarre thing to embrace for me, as a person.
I dont know what thats like.
Was it interesting to explore the character from such a different angle?
His walk was lighter.
He stood more erect.
The pressure of the world wasnt on his shoulders.
There was more of a breeziness to him.
The air of hope was present.
It was fun to be able to do that.
And then you realize, were watching a flashback.
If he could turn back the clock…
Did you have a favorite episode of the season?
The most impactful episode, for me, was the twelfth episode.
Do you think Walt had any idea what he would do when he got in the car?
Its just, Get there, Get there.
That little millisecond of decision, which was, interestingly, off-camera.
So I picked up the gun right away, but I didnt shoot him right away.
Thats the delicacy and the fragility of editing.
And I was surprised to see that!
He gets out of the car, he picks up the thing,BAM!
I jumped when I saw the finished product, I went, Oh my god!
That scene added an interesting new layer to Walts relationship with Jesse.
How do you think Walt views his partner?
At times theres a father-son aspect to their relationship, at times its just absolute annoyance.
I dont think that its mutually exclusive to have father-son relationships that are lovingandannoyance.
[Laughs] You look at what a teenager does, and you go, Are you kidding me?
And certainly Walter White has many of those moments with Jesse Pinkman.
Everything about him and Walter are polar opposites.
Walt enjoyed education, and thrived on it, and was good at it.
Jesse Pinkman was not.
Walter loved details and study and the science and how things work.
Under normal circumstances, you wouldnt have those two together.
And thats the happy accident that we have found.
It would have been a very different show.
Breaking Badseems like a resolutely un-commercial show, but this past season saw a significant uptick in viewership.
Did you expect that?
He wants to meet you on it.
You should read this script calledBreaking Bad.
Oh, okay, great!
Its always nice to be thought of.
It was an exceptionally well-written story.
Do you have a sense of whats coming up in the fourth season?
Thats never happened in a series.
Quite frankly, we dont know.
We have set the hook.
The audience seems to relate to Walt and what he initially attempted to do: provide for his family.
And now hes changing.
Will the audience spit the hook, or will they be pulled into the boat?
We just dont know.
And that is exciting too.
Just like the show itself, theconceptof the show is unpredictable.
We really dont know if it will fly.
And thats exciting and dangerous.
There is no road map.
Were finding our way and when I say we, I mean Vince.
I know the endpoint.
I have no clue how Im going to get there.
And I dont want to know.
Ive never asked Vince, Okay, whats happening this season?
Wherem I gonna go, Whatm I gonna do?
Honestly, he doesnt know either!
Its such a wonderful thing.
You get into bed, like, Ahh, whats gonna happennow?
You look forward to it.
So youre looking forward to many more years of shaving your head?
As a character actor at heart, I welcome the idea of completely looking this way.
Thin, and bald, and now with this Van Dyke facial hair.
Its a way for me to able to hide in plain sight.
