‘Breaking Bad’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Credit: Frank Ockenfels/AMC

'Breaking Bad' Cast: Where Are They Now?

It can't be easy to find the perfect job after starring on one of the most acclaimed TV shows. However, the cast of Breaking Bad did just that. The series, which debuted on AMC in January 2008, followed a high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) who begins cooking meth with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) after learning he has stage-three lung cancer. The drama, created by Vince Gilligan got off to a slow start with critics, but by the second season, became one of the most talked-about shows on television. Breaking Bad ran for five seasons, officially airing its season finale on September 29, 2013. "I remember reading things [like] 'Shame on Sony, shame on AMC for greenlighting a show that’s glamorizing the cooking and selling of meth,'" Paul told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. "All of that quickly went away the moment we hit the air." Cranston also recalled a similar discussion about how they'd promote the show. "We all came to an idea: 'We’ll talk about what the show is really about. It’s about this man’s decision-making.' But we never had to use it," he said. "It just dissipated because the critics and fans saw what the show was about and were sympathetic to these characters." Despite the very heavy content, the show was a hit from start to finish, earning 16 Primetime Emmy Awards out of 58 nominations. Cranston took home four, Paul took home three and Anna Gunn, who portrayed Cranston's wife, won twice. The Guinness World Records named the show the most critically acclaimed of all-time in 2013. [jwplayer W8PGlNBT-zhNYySv2] "He'll be in my life forever," Paul said when discussing his bond with Cranston, who echoed that sentiment. "It’s not imperative that you even like the people you work with. It’s not. But you still have to do your job," he told EW. "It makes things easier when you like them, and if it develops into genuine love, you are so lucky. And that’s what happened." The cast, which also included Dean Norris, RJ Mitte, Betsy Brandt and Bob Odenkirk, all stayed close — and some have reprised their Breaking Bad roles. A sequel film, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, was released on Netflix and in theaters in October 2019. In 2015, Better Call Saul, a prequel to Breaking Bad, debuted on AMC and has since been nominated for more than 40 Primetime Emmys. The series’ sixth and final season aired from April to August 2022. Scroll through the gallery below to see what the cast has been up to since the show ended. [podcast_block]

Credit: Carin Baer/AMC; Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Bryan Cranston

After winning four Emmys for his portrayal of Walter White, Cranston continued to land large roles. In 2013, he played Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way on Broadway, earning a Tony Award. The following year, he played the role again in the HBO miniseries adaptation. He received his second Tony Award in 2019 for his part in Network on Broadway. In 2020, Cranston contracted coronavirus but fully recovered. He has starred in the crime drama series Your Honor since 2020. The show was renewed for a second and final season in August 2021. In 2022, Cranston reprised his role as Walter White during the final season of Better Call Saul. 

Credit: Ursula Coyote/AMC; Shutterstock

Aaron Paul

In addition to multiple films including Need for Speed and Exodus: Gods and Kings, the actor voiced Todd Chavez in Netflix's BoJack Horseman from 2014 to 2020 and was also an executive producer. From 2016 to 2018, he starred in Hulu's The Path. In 2019, Paul led the Netflix film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, revealing what happened to Jesse Pinkman following the events of Breaking Bad. In 2020, he joined the cast of HBO's Westworld. Paul reprised his role as Jesse Pinkman alongside Cranston during the final season of Better Call Saul in in 2022. 

Paul also became a dad in February 2018, welcoming his first daughter, Story Annabelle, with wife Lauren Parsekian. In December 2021, Parsekian and Paul revealed they are having another child. “We can't wait to meet you baby! We love you so much already,” the actor’s wife wrote on Instagram. The pair welcomed son Ryden in April 2022. 

Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC; Shutterstock

Anna Gunn

After the end of Breaking Bad, Gunn landed a main role in Gracepoint in 2014 and Shades of Blue in 2017. She also starred in the Deadwood movie and Sully. Gunn also took to the stage, starring in the David Schwimmer-directed production of Sex With Strangers. In 2022, the actress also starred in a four-part “audio play” podcast called “Numbered Days.”

Credit: Carin Baer/AMC; AFF-USA/Shutterstock

Dean Norris

Norris has continuously worked in both TV and film following the series' end. In 2013, he starred in Under the Dome then landed a role on TNT's Claws in 2017. In 2020, he reprised his role as Hank in Better Call Saul. Other post-Breaking Bad credits include The Act and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the sequel of which is in pre-production as of March 2022. He and Brandt, his onscreen wife on Breaking Bad, frequently joke around with each other on Twitter.

Credit: Doug Hyun/AMC; Matt Baron/Shutterstock

RJ Mitte

The celebrity ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy landed a recurring role on the Switched at Birth in 2014, shortly after the Breaking Bad finale. He has appeared in films including The Recall, Dixieland and Standing Up for Sunny. In 2019, he appeared in two episodes of HBO's Now Apocalypse. Mitte is still acting and is a strong advocate for people with disabilities.

Credit: Cathy Kanavy/AMC; Shutterstock

Betsy Brandt

In addition to many TV and movie roles, Brandt — who played Marie Schrader — landed a lead role in CBS' Life in Pieces in 2015 and starred in all four seasons. She is set to return to AMC for a new anthology series, Soulmates, debuting in October 2020, and a year later,​​​ she scored a role on Hulu’s Love, Victor. In December 2021, the actress starred opposite Kyle Richards in the Peacock Christmas movie Housewives of the North Pole. Brandt made a cameo appearance as the recently widowed Marie in the series finale of Better Call Saul in August 2022. 

Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC; MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Bob Odenkirk

Odenkirk led the Breaking Bad prequel series, Better Call Saul, from 2015 to 2022. Additionally, he's appeared in Nebraska, Fargo, The Post and Little Women, among other projects. In July 2021, he suffered a heart attack while on set of Better Call Saul and was hospitalized, but he later recovered. He went on to release a book, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, in February 2022. At the time, he told USA Today his thoughts on the series finale of the Breaking Bad spinoff. “Without giving anything away, the ending is awesome,” Odenkirk revealed. “The journey, and where it went to, is very satisfying to me.” After the Saul finale, AMC announced that Odenkirk will return to the network in 2023 with the new drama Straight Man. 

Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television; Ron Adar/Shutterstock

Giancarlo Esposito

The Waiting to Exhale star played drug kingpin/fried chicken magnate Gus Fring from 2009 to 2011. Esposito went on to rack up credits in films and TV shows including Once Upon a Time, Okja, Dear White People, Westworld, The Boys and The Mandalorian. He also reprised his role as Gus on Better Call Saul from 2017 to 2022. The Get Down alum is set to return to AMC in 2023 in the new show Parish. 

Credit: Ursula Coyote/AMC; MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Jonathan Banks

Banks starred as the gruff but lovable hitman Mike Ehrmantraut from 2009 to 2012, reprising the role in Better Call Saul and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. He went on to appear in films including Horrible Bosses 2, Authors Anonymous and Mudbound and had a memorable cameo on Parks and Recreation as the father of Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott). In 2020, he played former director of national intelligence James Clapper in The Comey Rule.