The best Bryan Cranston movies and TV shows are often overshadowed by his biggest role. Cranston is best known for his award-winning performance of former science teacher turned meth dealer Walter White in the AMC series Breaking Bad. However, Cranston has a lot of other great roles to his name, and Breaking Bad wasn’t even the first mega-successful television show that he starred in over his career.
Cranston was born in Hollywood and was a second-generation actor. However, he was ironically part of his high school chemistry club and wanted to become a police officer until he decided to give acting a try when he was 19. It ended up being the perfect choice, as he went on to have an award-winning career, with 86 total nominations and 31 wins, including six Emmy wins and two Golden Globes wins, proving his talent in the acting industry.
10
Jerry & Marge Go Large (2022)
Jerry Selbee
In 2022, Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening starred in the movie Jerry & Marge Go Large, which was based partially on a true story originally told in a HuffPost article. The story follows a retired couple from a small town in Michigan who discover a loophole in the WinFall lottery. This loophole allows them to almost guarantee a win during rolldown weeks and helps them start to win a lot of money along the way.
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The problems arise when some Harvard students see what they are doing and decide they will also exploit the loophole, which causes issues when Jerry and Marge refuse to work with the students, knowing it could ruin everything. This was a nice, smaller, laid-back role for Cranston following Breaking Bad, and while it changed many things from the original story, the film received mostly positive reviews, with praise for Cranston and Annette Bening’s performance.
9
Your Honor (2020-2023)
Judge Michael Desiato
Your Honor is a legal drama series starring Bryan Cranston as a respected judge whose son becomes involved in a hit-and-run accident. The incident sets off a dangerous chain of events that forces the judge to confront his own principles and navigate the moral complexities of the law. The series explores themes of justice, loyalty, and ethics, offering a compelling narrative of a father’s desperate attempts to protect his son.
- Release Date
-
December 6, 2020
- Creator(s)
-
Peter Moffat
- Seasons
-
2
Your Honor was the TV series that Bryan Cranston signed onto after he finished Breaking Bad. In this show, he was just as much a flawed criminal as he was in his last series. Here, he was an esteemed judge who decided to break countless laws while on duty to cover up for his son after he accidentally killed another teen in a hit-and-run. His misdeeds were because the boy his son killed was a mob kingpin’s son, and Michael Desiato wanted to save his boy’s life.
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The series ran for two seasons and 20 episodes, and just like in Breaking Bad, Judge Desiato got what he deserved in the end. However, while Walter White ended up as a vile person who deserved everything that was coming to him, Desiato was someone who thought he was doing the right thing and then realized that he had to turn things around and become a good man once again, even if that meant doing it behind bars.
8
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Detective Lankford
The Lincoln Lawyer stars Matthew McConaughey as Mick Haller, a charismatic defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car. Based on Michael Connelly’s novel, the film revolves around Haller as he grapples with a high-profile case that blurs the lines between innocence and guilt, featuring a cast that includes Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe. Directed by Brad Furman, the movie delves into themes of justice and morality.
- Release Date
-
March 17, 2011
- Runtime
-
119 Minutes
- Director
-
Brad Furman
Bryan Cranston had a small role in the movie adaptation of the Michael Connelly novel series, The Lincoln Lawyer. In the film, Matthew McConaughey is defense attorney Mickey Haller, a man whose office is the backseat of his Lincoln Continental. His latest client is a young man accused of murder (Ryan Phillippe) and after Mickey takes the case, he learns his client is guilty of the crime and has to find a way to do the right thing without compromising his ethics.
It is a nice role for Cranston, showing his frustration while not understanding what Mickey Haller is really about in the end.
Cranston plays Detective Lankford, a police officer who despises Mickey Haller, believing that the attorney will defend anyone, even if they are guilty. It is a nice role for Cranston, showing his frustration while not understanding what Mickey Haller is really about in the end. His reactions to Mickey’s moves in the case help both clear his client of the murder charges and implicate him in another murder are spot-on, which makes The Lincoln Lawyer’s ending perfect.
7
Godzilla (2014)
Joe Brody
Godzilla, released in 2014, follows Navy bomb expert Ford Brody as he aids his estranged father, Joe, in Japan amid a crisis involving ancient creatures. These titanic beings emerge to confront adversaries, leaving massive destruction in their path, culminating in a climactic confrontation in San Francisco.
- Release Date
-
May 14, 2014
- Runtime
-
123 minutes
- Cast
-
Elizabeth Olsen
, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
, Juliette Binoche
, Bryan Cranston
, Ken Watanabe
, Sally Hawkins
, Al Sapienza
, David Strathairn
, James Pizzinato
, CJ Adams
, Richard T. Jones
, Victor Rasuk
, Patrick Sabongui
, Carson Bolde
, Jared Keeso
, Luc Roderique
, Eric Keenleyside
, Primo Allon
, George Allen Gumapac Jr.
, Ken Yamamura
, Garry Chalk
, Hiro Kanagawa
, Kevan Ohtsji
, Kasey Ryne Mazak
, Terry Chen - Director
-
Gareth Edwards
In 2014, Hollywood rebooted the Godzilla franchise and launched its MonsterVerse series. The first movie in the series brought in Godzilla, but the human cast was pretty much a one-and-done compared to the next movies. One of the human characters was Bryan Cranston’s Joe Brody, the former lead engineer of the Janjira nuclear plant until its destruction in 1999. This was the accident that unleashed the MUTOs onto the world.
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The main human character in the movie is Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Ford Brody, a soldier who is Joe’s son. Sadly, Cranston didn’t have a lot of screen time in the film, as Joe had to die early to help push Ford to the forefront of the story and make him the main human protagonist to save people as the monster was tearing through San Francisco. The sequel replaced Cranston and Taylor-Johnson with Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobby Brown as the main humans.
6
Drive (2011)
Shannon
Starring Ryan Gosling as an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver (identified only as “the Driver”) who moonlights as a criminal getaway driver, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive follows the enigmatic Driver as he finds himself hunted by a gang of violent criminals. After becoming close with his neighbors, the Driver offers to help Standard (Oscar Isaac), who was recently released from prison, settle a debt with a robbery. But the job is far more complicated than it seems, and the Driver is forced to use everything at his disposal to survive.
- Release Date
-
September 16, 2011
- Runtime
-
100 minutes
- Director
-
Nicolas Winding Refn
- Distributor(s)
-
FilmDistrict
In 2011, Ryan Gosling starred in the Nicolas Winding Refn movie Drive, based on the crime novel by James Sallis. In the film, Gosling plays an unnamed stunt driver who moonlights as a criminal-for-hire getaway driver. During the movie, he meets a woman who is raising her child by herself as her abusive husband is in prison. Soon, the Driver realizes he needs to protect this woman and will do anything to keep her safe.
Cranston stars in the movie as Shannon, an auto shop owner who manages all the Driver’s jobs – legit and illegal. When the Driver finds a bag containing $1 million of an Albanian gangster’s money, this sends the mob after the Driver and Shannon. Cranston is great in his role as an ally and a decent person, someone whose death sends the Driver on his rampage of destruction. The movie received an Oscar nomination, and it has a 93% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score.
5
Trumbo (2015)
Dalton Trumbo
Trumbo is a biographical drama directed by Jay Roach that stars Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo, a successful screenwriter who faces blacklisting in Hollywood during the Red Scare. The film examines Trumbo’s fight against the anti-communist sentiment of the time and his efforts to continue working under pseudonyms. Helen Mirren, Diane Lane, and John Goodman co-star in this exploration of artistic perseverance and political paranoia.
- Release Date
-
November 6, 2015
- Director
-
Jay Roach
In 2015, Bryan Cranston took on the role of real-life former blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Directed by Jay Roach, Cranston stars as Trumbo, a very successful screenwriter who was backlisted during the House Committee on Un-American Activities witch hunt after World War II. The screenwriters subpoenaed to testify refuse, believing the Supreme Court will back them, but when that doesn’t happen, Trumbo goes to prison.
Cranston earned a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for his performance, the only Oscar nomination of his career to this date.
The movie then follows Trumbo as the Hollywood Blacklist expands and shows him still working, but allowing others to take the credit for their work. Thanks to Kirk Douglas, Otto Preminger, and President John F. Kennedy supporting him, Trumbo got his career back. Cranston earned a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for his performance, the only Oscar nomination of his career to this date.
4
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Stan Grossman
Little Olive’s dream is to take part in the Little Miss Sunshine contest. To do so, she embarks on a funny and moving journey with her father, uncle, grandfather, brother and mother. The family has to race against time to ensure that Olive arrives on time and is able to give the performance created by her grandfather.
- Release Date
-
July 26, 2006
- Runtime
-
101 minutes
- Main Genre
-
Adventure
- Director
-
Jonathan Dayton
, Valerie Faris
In 2006, the tragicomedy road movie helped turn young actress Abigail Breslin into a star. The film saw Breslin star as Olive, a little girl who wanted more than anything to compete in a childhood beauty pageant. She then set out with her dysfunctional family on a road trip to the beauty pageant. The family included Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette as her parents, Steve Carell as her uncle, Paul Dano as her brother, and Alan Arkin as her grandpa.
For Bryan Cranston, he stars in the movie as Stan Grossman, an homage to the Coen Brothers movie Fargo. Grossman is Richard’s (Kinnear) agent, who strings him along and keeps dodging his phone calls until he is finally confronted and proves that he is double-crossing his client. It gave Cranston a chance to play a sleazy and unethical figure, someone even worse than his runs as Walter White and Judge Desiato.
3
Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)
Hal
Malcolm in the Middle tells the story of an average dysfunctional American family. When Malcolm, one of four children, learns that he possesses a genius-level intellect, his whole young world is turned upside down. Still desperately trying to fit in with his friends and family despite his extraordinary gifts, Malcolm finds that though his life might have changed, it’s still just as chaotic as ever.
- Release Date
-
January 9, 2000
- Seasons
-
7
- Showrunner
-
Linwood Boomer
Years before Bryan Cranston took on the role of Walter White in Breaking Bad, he starred in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. The TV show was mostly a vehicle for Frankie Muniz, who starred as Malcolm, a young boy with a genius-level IQ of 165 and a photographic memory. He is placed in a class for gifted students and never feels like he fits in, but his home life gives him the grounding he needs.
Cranston had three Primetime Emmy nominations and one Golden Globes nomination for his performance in the sitcom.
Cranston plays Hal, Malcolm’s dad, in Malcolm in the Middle. He is an inept and immature father who is dependent on his wife Lois (Jane Kaczmarek). One of the first sitcoms not to use a single-camera filming style, it was like nothing many fans had seen at the time. Cranston had three Primetime Emmy nominations and one Golden Globes nomination for his performance in the sitcom.
2
Argo (2012)
CIA Deputy Director Jack O’Donnell
Argo is a historical thriller adapted from the memoir of CIA operative Tony Mendez. The film follows Mendez as he infiltrates Tehran, Iran, by pretending to be filming a sci-fi movie during the Iran hostage crisis at the beginning of the 1980s. Ben Affleck stars as Mendez as he infiltrates to save the six escaped embassy staff members.
- Release Date
-
October 12, 2012
- Runtime
-
120 Minutes
- Main Genre
-
Biography
- Distributor(s)
-
Warner Bros. Pictures
Ben Affleck directed the Oscar-nominated Argo, telling a fictional version of the rescue of Americans during the Iran hostage crisis. The movie’s story seems unlikely, but it really happened. A Hollywood movie studio agreed to allow a CIA agent to infiltrate Iran under the guise of a movie studio making a film, all with the intent to rescue some U.S. diplomats hiding out during the conflict. Cranston plays CIA Deputy Director Jack O’Donnell.
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While his character was not in Iran as part of the rescue, he was the man in the office of the United States who was helping direct things and set the plan into motion. The film was a huge success, proving Affleck was ready to stop up and start his new career behind the camera. Argo earned seven Oscar nominations, winning for Best Picture.
1
Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
Walter White
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
- Release Date
-
January 20, 2008
- Franchise(s)
-
Breaking Bad
- Cast
-
Bryan Cranston
, Aaron Paul
, Dean Norris
, Betsy Brandt
, Anna Gunn
, RJ Mitte
, Bob Odenkirk
, Jonathan Banks
, Giancarlo Esposito
, Steven Michael Quezada
, Charles Baker
, Christopher Cousins
, Matt Jones
, Michael Shamus Wiles
, Lavell Crawford
, Jesse Plemons
, Ray Campbell
, Tina Parker
, Carmen Serano
, Emily Rios
, Krysten Ritter
, Laura Fraser
, Jeremiah Bitsui
, Mark Margolis
, Ian Posada
, David House
, David Costabile
, michael bowen
, Kevin Rankin
, Aaron Hill
, Harry Groener
, Patrick Sane
, Daniel Moncada
, Luis Moncada
, Marius Stan
, Bill Burr
, Todd Terry
, Jessica Hecht
, Tait Fletcher
, Rodney Rush
, Kaija Roze Bales
, Matt Metzler
, John de Lancie
, Tom Kiesche
, Jere Burns
, Maurice Compte
, Morse Bicknell
, Nigel Gibbs
, Tess Harper
, Raymond Cruz
, Max Arciniega
, Cesar Garcia
, Jesus Jr.
, Michael Bofshever
, Julie Dretzin
, Mike Seal
, Christopher Dempsey
, Javier Grajeda
, Mike Batayeh
, Chris Freihofer
, Louis Ferreira
, Gonzalo Menendez
, Jason Douglas
, Adam Godley - Seasons
-
5
- Showrunner
-
Vince Gilligan
The best Bryan Cranston TV show saw him starring as Walter White on the AMC series Breaking Bad. In this series, he plays a high school science teacher who learns he has cancer. He then decides to help his family have money after he dies by using his scientific knowledge to become a meth distributor. However, as the series goes on, Walter’s actions soon become more illicit, and he eventually crosses a line that he will never come back from.
Critics praised the series, and it remains known as one of the best TV shows of all time, regardless of genre. Bryan Cranston won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the show itself won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, while winning Outstanding Drama Series twice (2013 and 2014). Cranston returned for a cameo role in the prequel series Better Call Saul in 2022.