Bryan Cranston recalls that he once received advice from Paul Rudd for the poorly received comedy Why Him? The film, starring Cranston, James Franco, Zoey Deutch and Megan Mullally, saw Cranston as a dad who was just not into his daughter’s millionaire boyfriend. Why Him? opened to generally negative reviews: on Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 39 percent from critics and a 51 percent from audiences.
While on First We Feast’s Hot Ones, not only did Bryan Cranston soldier through the hot sauces but, he recalled receiving advice from Paul Rudd for his 2016 comedy Why Him?.
Cranston approached Rudd as the actor is no stranger to comedies and because Cranston felt that the script wasn’t that strong. Rudd went on to tell Cranston about how big of a role improvisation plays in such movies. Read what Cranston had to say in full below:
“The one I mentioned before that didn’t have a high scale on the writing was Why Him?. Why Him? had a very simple premise — midwestern dad doesn’t like the boyfriend of his cherished daughter. That’s it! I talked to my publicist and I said, ‘Is it possible that I can get a hold of Paul Rudd?’ So, I called Paul, and I said, ‘Paul, you’ve worked on these movies before, the script seems just kind of there. There’s some funny situations and such, but it doesn’t wow.’
“And he goes, ‘That’s kind of the nature of this kind of movie. It relies heavily on the ensemble cast to be able to punch it up and just play. So we will shoot scenes as it’s written, and then you go, then you’re adding lines, and then it’s, ‘How about this?’ And then someone says something and you add on top, and it becomes something completely different, and you can’t script that.’ Several improvisations that I came up with ended up in the film, and it was like, ‘Oh, man, this is so much fun.’ So, I learned my lesson from that, and it was a good lesson, that that scale that I usually go by is not always accurate.”
How Cranston Went From Comedies To Breaking Bad
Cranston is no stranger to comedies himself. While he’s most commonly celebrated as playing Walter White, aka Heisenberg, in AMC’s crime drama Breaking Bad, Cranston’s roots can very much be found in comedy. In the early 2000s, he was known for his role in Malcom in the Middle: he played Hal, the father of troublesome boys. In the show, Hal’s vexation was an entertaining yet almost disturbing thing to watch. He also played Hammond Druthers in the early 2000s sitcom How I Met Your Mother. This was also more of a comedic role, as, at one point, Hammond Druthers was Ted’s (Josh Radnor) rude and unaware boss, who designs a building that looks like a penis.
When it came to his performance in Breaking Bad, Cranston’s reputation was immediately transformed. Since Walter shares some similarities with Hal, the transformation of Walter White to Heisenberg onscreen — from the arguably weak father to the relentless provider — in a way happens offscreen as well. The role and Cranston’s range earned him — on top of the three Emmy nominations for his role in Malcom in the Middle — four Emmy wins for Best Actor in a Drama series.
It comes as no surprise that Cranston stayed strong in his return to the Hot Ones challenge. It is surprising, however, that he approached Rudd when working on Why Him?, as Cranston seems to do just fine in his comedic roles. Either way, comedic advice from Rudd is always warmly welcome.
Source: First We Feast