Bryan Cranston talks Kung Fu Panda 3 and Breaking Bad

How do you think Breaking Bad changed television?
It has changed it completely. The show gained attention because it was the first time that audiences around the world had seen something completely different on television. There had been other antihero characters of course: Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) in The Sopranos and Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) in The Shield.

But with Breaking Bad, we were changing a character completely. You can look back at any character, like Archie Bunker in All In The Family(Carroll O’Connor), or Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I (Tom Selleck) and the idea with those was to turn on the TV because you say, ‘I love this character, I want to see how they handle this problem. There’s comfort in that. But Breaking Bad was not a comfortable show. You can’t watch Breaking Bad and be comfortable. It’s impossible.

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Breaking Bad was such a huge, global hit; did you realise when you first saw the script that it was exceptional?
I knew there was the potential of making it very special. When Vince Gilligan (the show’s creator) and I met in 2006, I read the script and I was floored by it.

He told me that he wanted the character to change from a good guy to a bad guy by the end of series. I said, 'Do you realise that’s never happened before in the history of television? How can you do that?' He responded: 'I don’t know. We may fail miserably but I just think it’s cool.'"

What was the appeal of joining the Kung Fu Panda 3 cast?
"I liked the story and the characters. I love Jack Black as Po and all the Kung Fu Panda films are really fun. When I saw them I was amazed by the quality of the storytelling. This film is interesting because it is all about finding out where you fit in the world and in your family.”

Can you explain how Li (Bryan’s character) fits into this story?
Li came from the Panda Village (where all the pandas live) to look for his son. He had lost him in a tragedy. Po's mother died. Li’s promise to her was that he would find Po.

When Po and Li first meet, they don’t recognise each other at all. They are clumsy with each other and they start to rekindle their relationship, one that Po didn’t even know he had. He didn’t know if his parents were alive or dead and he was adopted by Mr. Ping at an early age, so it’s a sweet story. Li and Po go off and have fun. They have to learn how to become father and son.”

What’s your criteria for taking on projects now?
I always look for new challenges. If you are money motivated, it takes you to a different realm, to a non-creative place. I have an evaluation system for projects and nowhere is money involved.

The only reason I did Kung Fu Panda 3 was because I liked the story. It’s not to say that money doesn’t matter, because it does. I’ve been very poor in my life, and I’ve been wealthy. And wealthy is better! (laughs)

Growing up, we did not have a lot of money. We had our house foreclosed and it split the family. We tried to make ends meet by packing my mother’s car and going to swap meets every Saturday and Sunday to sell other people’s junk and try to pay bills. It didn’t sustain us and we got kicked out of our house.

I know what it is like to not have any money, and maybe because I survived that, money never became a hang-up for me. It never became an alluring thing to me and it doesn’t mean anything to me. Shame on me now, if I were to do something just to make money.”

Kung Fu Panda 3 is out now on Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital HD

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