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What if we told you that Matthew Broderick, the voice of adult Simba in Disney’sThe Lion King,had turned down one of the most groundbreaking roles in television history? Well, we know that it is difficult to grasp when we consider Bryan Cranston’s brilliant portrayal of Walter White in the iconic AMC showBreaking Bad.Nonetheless, theGodzillastar was also given the opportunity to immerse himself in the intricate layers of this antihero for Vince Gilligan’s much-acclaimed series.
If AMC had stuck to their original plan and cast someone else to play Walter White, the outcome ofBreaking Badcould have been very different. Prior to its 2008 premiere, AMC had a specific idea of who would lead the series when casting was being done. According to reports, the network asked John Cusack and Matthew Broderick to play the show’s lead. However, both actors reportedly declined to play Walter White. In the years that followed, Broderick, 61, has never truly stated why he declined the genre-breaking role.
RELATED:“Someone else would’ve played Walter White”: Bryan Cranston Would’ve Given Up Breaking Bad for a Show That Unleashed 10,000 Bees on Him, Strapped Him to a Moving Bus
Bryan Cranston Was Not The First Choice For The Role Of Walter White
The character, portrayed byBryan CranstoninBreaking Bad,was a former high school chemistry teacher who turned to manufacturing meth. This multifaceted character, who questioned conventional ideas of good and evil, enthralled millions of viewers across the globe. In addition, his portrayal of Walter White has raised the bar for acting performances.
Having only seen Cranston as the flamboyant character Hal in the comedy seriesMalcolm in the Middle,AMC executives were initially hesitant to cast the actor as Walter White. They therefore approached actorsJohn CusackandMatthew Broderickfor the role.
Cusack, 57, however, claimed in an interview withVarietythat he was never really asked for the role:
“No, I never was, and it was one of those things where I heard it so many times I started to think maybe it was true. And I ran into the creator of ‘Breaking Bad’ [Vince Gilligan], and I said, ‘Am I crazy or did you offer me Walter White? He’s like, ‘No’.”
But unlike Cusack, Broderick has never commented publicly on the project, so it is unclear exactly what went wrong that he declined.
RELATED:“She deserves it”: Bryan Cranston Explains Moving Reason Behind Temporary Retirement After Actor’s Incredible 24-Year Hollywood Career
Bryan Cranston’s Walter White Did not Convince AMC Executives?
Bryan Cranston was most likely better known as Hal from the hit Fox sitcomMalcolm in the Middlebefore he became inextricably linked with Walter White onBreaking Bad.Some network executives felt thatVince Gilliganwould not be quite right when he proposed him for the lead role in the AMC series because they could not distinguish the actor from Hal.
AMC executives who wished to remain anonymous disclosed this toThe Hollywood Reporterin 2012.
“We all still had the image of Bryan shaving his body in Malcolm in the Middle. We were like, ‘Really? Isn’t there anybody else?’”
They did not start to notice Cranston taking on the role of Walter White until Gilligan persuaded them to watch the episode ofThe X-Files.As for the actor, he felt he needed to change things up after six years of working onMalcolm in the Middle. As stated by the Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor in the THR report:
“I [Cranston] wanted a change of pace, and whether that meant a comedy or drama, it was going to be different because I didn’t need the money anymore.”
We cannot have imagined another face for the cult classic anti-hero after Cranston’s exceptional performance in the role.
AMC’sBreaking Bad debutedon June 04, 2025, and ran for five seasons, totaling sixty-two episodes, before ending on August 05, 2025.
StreamBreaking Badon Netflix.
RELATED:“It was like, ‘Oh my God!’”: Bryan Cranston Outed One of the Most Chilling Moments From Breaking Bad as His Clear Favorite From the Show
Siddhika Prajapati
Senior Journalist & Content Head
Articles Published :3310
With over 3,300 articles carved into the digital walls of FandomWire, Siddhika Prajapati excels at creating, curating, and elevating engaging stories. She takes pride in giving these stories a home and, of course, she’s got a Google Knowledge Panel to prove it!Whether it’s reviewing the latest drop on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV+, or analyzing the cultural echoes of a streaming hit on Paramount+ or Max, Siddhika is always writing three steps ahead of the discourse.
