Over and out! Bryan Cranston is taking a step back from signing autographs, a duty that’s kept him very busy for more than 18 years.
The Breaking Bad alum, 61, announced his decision by sharing a photo of himself looking glum behind piles of fan mail. “Dear friends, this is the third double-stack of fan requests that are pouring into the office here in London (This is a real shot. It’s not altered),” he captioned the photo via Facebook on Thursday, February 1. “I have already spent hours and hours over the previous two stacks and took them personally to the post office. I can’t do it anymore. I’m just overwhelmed. Even with an assistant it’s too much. After 18 years of signing anything and everything for fans — I’m retiring. I hope you’ll understand and honor this announcement.”
Not to fear! Cranston reassured fans that he’s still happy to oblige by their requests if they happen to meet him face-to-face. “I will still happily meet you in person and personalize autograph books and photos, and take pictures, and sign programs for those seeing a play of mine,” he explained, “but no more merchandise or clothing or DVDs or resale signatures on stock card or signed photographs, etc etc.”
The Golden Globe winner concluded his comments by thanking loyal devotees for their support. “Thank you all for your interest in my acting journey. I hope you continue to find the work rewarding and entertaining to you,” he said. “And I’ll see you on the street — we’ll take a selfie!”
Cranston shared a similar message on his Twitter account, prompting fans to share funny gifs of the actor.
The Emmy winner has been open about his faithful following in the past. “It’s really interesting because there’s no training for this,” the Malcolm in the Middle alum said during his visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! in May 2017. “I just wanted to be a working actor, that happened, and all of a sudden, a couple breaks happen here and there and people are recognizing me.”
The Argo actor has also received his fair share of peculiar fan mail in the past. While appearing on Conan in September 2013, alongside Breaking Bad costar Aaron Paul, Cranston read aloud an erotic letter he once received.
“I am writing to you because I have been holed up in my apartment for two days and nights watching all seasons of your show. I am in love with it all. After I was done with all the episodes, I watched some interview,” the message read. “And what this has all amounted to is, right now, I am fantasizing about having sex with Aaron Paul and for you to be there watching. I am not sure what your role would be, but I think I want you there.”
Paul, 38, has also had his dose of crazy fan experiences. The Path actor told James Corden in April 2016 that Breaking Bad enthusiasts crashed his wedding. “We didn’t know it happened until we started looking through photos of our wedding and we saw these three strangers,” Paul revealed, noting that one crasher almost caught wife Lauren Paul’s bouquet. “She violently dove for it. She was close.”
