Breaking Bad Cast Then And Now

Walter White - THEN

Image source: Primetimer

In the first episode of Breaking Bad, Walter was told that he only had 2 years to live.  This prompted him to turn to dr*g dealing when he realised that it was a lucrative business, although very dangerous. "I am the one who knocks" and "tread lightly" are Walter's most iconic lines!

Bryan Cranston - NOW

Image source: GQ

Bryan Cranston earned his first Tony for his performance in "All the Way." "All the Way" was turned into a TV movie, which led to Cranston receiving Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He won a SAG Award for the role as well. He scooped a second Tony Award in June 2019 for his role as a broadcast journalist in the play on Broadway, "Network."

Jesse Pinkman - THEN

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Known for the excessive use of the words "yo" and "b----." Jesse Pinkman's first scene on the show was very memorable.  We see him leaving a woman's house through her upstairs window.  He's fumbling around to get his pants on and in the process he falls down the roof!

Aaron Paul - NOW

Image source: Us Weekly

Actor Aaron Paul starred in season three of HBO's "Westworld," where he played construction worker, Caleb.  After Breaking Bad, Paul was in a few movies, "Need for Speed", inspired by the video game of the same name and the 2016 comedy "Central Intelligence" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart.

Skyler White - THEN

Image source: Entertainment Weekly

Skyler White is Walter's wife. At the beginning of the series, she wrote stories and sold stuff on eBay, in an attempt to earn some money. Hungry to make more bucks, Skyler later became involved in a money laundering scheme. Ann Gunn won 2 Emmys for her supporting role on Breaking Bad.

Ann Gunn - NOW

Image source: Rotten Tomatoes

Ann Gunn starred in the West End in London in a production of Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana." She also appeared in "The Mindy Project," "Portlandia" and Criminal Minds."  She was in "Sully" in 2016 with Tom Hanks and played Julia Ayres in "Shades of Blue" which starred Jennifer Lopez.

Walter White Jr. - THEN

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Walt Jr. is the son of protagonist Walter White and his wife Skyler. Walter's side business resulted in a very strained relationship with him. Walt Jr. has cerebral palsy, which manifests as speech difficulties and impaired motor control. He has a younger sister, Holly.

R J Mitte - NOW

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R J Mitte appeared on "Now Apocalypse" and also had a recurring role as Campbell Bingman on "Switched at Birth. Like his Breaking Bad character, Mitte has cerebral palsy. He is an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and speaks about his experiences during interviews. He starred with Dove Cameron in the psychological thriller "Isaac."

Hank Schrader - THEN

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Hank Schrader is a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent and brother-in-law of Walter. Throughout the series, we see him leading the investigation of the methamphetamine cook Heisenberg, unaware that the elusive drug kingpin is no less than his own brother-in-law.

Dean Norris - NOW

Image source: Twitter

Dean Norris played a mob boss on TNT's "Claws" and also appeared as Roy Nicholls in the 2019 horror movie "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" as well as Russ on Hulu's "The Act." Norris has had recurring roles on many television shows such as "Scandal" and "The Big Bang Theory."

Marie Schrader - THEN

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Marie Schrader is Hank's wife, Skyler White's sister and Walter White's sister-in-law. She works as a radiologic technologist and always wears the color purple.  As well as Breaking Bad, Marie turned up in the spin off series, "Better Call Saul." Her kleptomania shows that she suffers with anxiety and that whilst her marriage looks solid, there is a lot of stress going on.

Betsy Brandt - NOW

Image source: Rotten Tomatoes

Betsy Brandt was cast as Annie Henry in "The Michael J Fox Show" in 2013 and she received some really positive reviews for her role. She reprised her part as Marie Schrader for the series finale of "Better Call Saul." Brandt appeared as one of the lead characters in the ABC TV series "Members Only." 

Saul Goodman - THEN

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Saul Goodman puts out cheesy ads for his business but is highly skilled at helping Walt and Jesse find loopholes when there are messy situations. Saul is self-centered and an unscrupulous lawyer who totally embraces his tactics as a former scam artist. He becomes involved in the city's criminal underworld.

Bob Odenkirk - NOW

Image source: Complex

Bob Odenkirk's performance on the series resulted in 3 consecutive Golden Globe nominations for best performance by an actor in a TV drama series. He has also received Emmy and SAG Award nominations. Over the years, Odenkirk has appeared in "Fargo," "The Disaster Artist" and "Drunk History." He also portrayed Mr. March in "Little Women."

Steven Gomez - THEN

Image source: Insider

Steven Gomez, nicknamed "Gomie", is Hank Schrader's partner at the DEA office. He knows all about the inner workings of Mexican gangs and brushes off Hank's remarks about his ethnicity. Being Hank's right-hand man in the "Heisenberg" case since the start, Gomez develops leads with him regarding the investigations.

Steven Michael Quezada - NOW

Image source: Vulture

After "Breaking Bad," Quezada starred in several movies which weren't exactly blockbusters but helped him shake off his Breaking Bad image. These included "Light from the Darkroom," "Hermanos,"  "Wish Man" and "The Night Before". He guest starred on season 5 of "Better Call Saul."

Gustavo "Gus" Fring - THEN

Image source: Vulture

Gustavo "Gus" Fring had a fast food chain named Los Pollos Hermanos. He was in Breaking Bad from 2009 to 2011 and also appeared in the spin-off series "Better Call Saul" from 2017 to 2022. For his role he won the Critics' Choice TV Award For Best Supporting Actor.

Giancarlo Esposito - NOW

Image source: VentureBeat

Giancarlo Esposito portrayed Archie in the film adaptation of the young adult book "Stargirl," appearing alongside singer Grace Vanderwaal.  He also appeared on the Cinemax series "Jett," HBO's "Westworld" and ABC's "Once Upon a Time." In addition, Giancarlo has been in "Money Monster" and "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials."  He was nominated for an Emmy in 2020 for "The Mandalorian."

Mike Ehrmantraut - THEN

Image source: IndieWire

Mike Ehrmantraut was a private investigator and a hit man! He also worked for Gus Fring,  later helping out Walt and Jesse. Whilst an officer in Philadelphia, he engaged in corrupt activities that led to the death of his son Matt. He worked on jobs in the criminal underworld to support his granddaughter, Kaylee.

Jonathan Banks -NOW

Image source: Looper

Jonathan Banks voiced the character of Quirin on "Tangled: The Series," an animated show which was based on the 2010 Disney movie. The actor voiced characters on "Skylanders Academy" and "Gravity Falls."  You may have seen him on "Community" and "Body of Proof." Banks was in "El Camino," appearing in flashbacks.

Andrea Cantillo - THEN

Image source: Looper

Andrea Cantillo is Brock's mom and sister of Tomas Cantillo. A recovering addict, she entered into a relationship with Jesse Pinkman who she met at Narcotics Anonymous. At the same time Pinkman was trying to push the blue meth he had stolen from Gus's superlab.

Emily Rios - NOW

Image source: Looper

Emily Rios played Adriana Mendez in "The Bridge." She had a starring role in the 2006 movie "Quinceanera" and also appeared in  "ER", "House," "Grimm", "Snowfall" and "Criminal Minds." Emily's parents are Mexican and she was born in Los Angeles, California

Huell Babineaux - THEN

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Huell Babineaux was a former employee and personal bodyguard of Saul Goodman.  He also executes various intimidation tactics and provides a variety of services to Saul, such as personal protection and pick-pocketing!   He was hired more for his size than his intelligence.

Lavell Crawford - NOW

Image source: Insider

Lavell Crawford was in "Huell's Rules", a comedy set after the events of Breaking Bad.  He has appeared in a number of other comedic roles. Crawford's weight peaked in 2016 when he was approximately 500 pounds (230 kg).   He underwent gastric sleeve surgery and dropped almost 200 pounds.

Todd Alquist - THEN

Image source: Looper

Todd Alquist is a methamphetamine cook and former exterminator at a pest control company. He worked for Walter White, Jesse Pinkman and Mike Ehrmantraut in their meth manufacturing business.  Todd had a major crush on their ally Lydia Rodarte-Quayle.

Jesse Plemons - NOW

Image source: Insider

Jesse Plemons starred in "Judas and the Black Messiah", "Jungle Cruise" and  The Power of the Dog."  These were all in 2021.  He appeared in the psychological thriller "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for "Other People."

Hector Salamanca - THEN

Image source: WhatCulture.com

Hector Salamanca was nicknamed Tio his nephews and is the elderly don of the cartel. He is the second Salamanca family member to be involved in drug operations.  The other is his nephew Tuco. Hector is a brutal man but very loyal to his family and the cartel.

Mark Margolis - NOW

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Mark Margolis was nominated for an Emmy for his role in Breaking Bad and also for "Better Call Saul." Margolis is a stage actor and appeared as Gus in "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures."  Wonder how there was room for the full title at Berkeley Repertory Theater.

Skinny Pete - THEN

Image source: IGN

Peter, known as Skinny Pete, is a long time friend of Jesse Pinkman as well as a low level meth distributor. He had served time in the Los Lunas state prison and later introduced Jesse to the drug dealer Tuco Salamanca, who he met in prison. He takes Jesse to hospital after Tuco beat him up.

Charles Baker - NOW

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Charles Baker has devoted much of his career to "Witchblade", "Hell Girl" and "Splinter." He also worked on "Temple Grandin" and more recently was in "The Blacklist", "Murder in the First" and "Married." You might have seen him with Reese Witherspoon in the dramatic adaptation "Wild."