There were many jaw-dropping moments during the entire run of Breaking Bad, including the fall of criminal mastermind Gus Fring, Walter White’s horrific transformation into Heisenberg, and the use of the ricin that was successfully utilized by Walter in two separate occasions. Yet nothing was more devastating than the death of Jesse Pinkman’s girlfriend, Jane (played by the current star of Jessica Jones, Krysten Ritter), in season two.
Not only did the moment deliver a blow to the character of Jesse and the Breaking Bad audience as a whole, but it also affected series star, Bryan Cranston, who shared with the audience of Inside the Actor’s Studio what he was thinking during the pivotal scene where Walter allowed Jane to choke on her own vomit and die:
“He hears her start to cough and he goes to her because that’s human instinct and before he gets to her he stops and thinks, ‘Wait a minute — she’s a junkie. She’s got Jesse on heroin; she’ll kill him. It’s better if I don’t do anything. But she’s a little girl — she’s young enough to be my daughter.’ And then I see the face of my own daughter in her place, and I didn’t want to; I didn’t plan on it …”
At this point, Cranston breaks down in tears as he imagines his own daughter in Jane’s place. The actor goes on to explain that once his daughter’s image subsided from his consciousness, he eventually was able to slip back into the Walter White persona.
The clip can be seen below.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
