Steve Zahn refutes Bryan Cranston’s claim that he was in the running for Breaking Bad role

Steve Zahn has poured water on claims from Bryan Cranston that he was up for the role of Walter White in Breaking Bad.

Cranston, 69, earned four Emmy awards for his searing portrayal of the science teacher turned drug kingpin before the series came to an end in 2014.

Writing in his 2016 memoir, A Life in Parts, Cranston claimed that Zahn, 58, had also been in contention for the part.

When Zahn – best known for TV shows and films including The White Lotus, Reality Bites, and Dallas Buyers Club – was recently asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether he had been on a “shortlist” to play Walter White, the actor replied: “No.”

The reporter then brought up the fact that Cranston himself had said so, to which Zahn laughed and said: “Oh really? Cranston is so awesome, but I find that hard to believe. I think Cranston is lying!”

The actor continued jokingly: “He’s in London right now doing a play, and I’m shooting in London, so I’m going to go talk to him.”

The memoir was not the first time that Cranston spoke about Zahn having been in the running for the role.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2012, the actor recalled how he’d heard that Zahn was being considered because the studio executives were not entirely sold on the idea of Cranston given that he was most famous for playing the lovable and hapless father Hal in the hit sitcom Malcolm in the Middle.

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While it is hard to imagine anyone else embodying Walter White now, as Cranston pointed out: “If Steve Zahn did Walter, we’d go, ‘Oh, my God. Steve Zahn is the guy! Can you imagine anybody but Steve Zahn doing it?’ And you wouldn’t be able to.”

Breaking Bad ran for four critically acclaimed seasons before coming to an end in 2014. The show won 16 Emmy awards during its run.

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Zahn, who received an Emmy nomination for his role in the first season of HBO’s The White Lotus in 2022, can be seen alongside Jack Black and Paul Rudd in the new comedy film Anaconda.

Cranston is currently starring opposite Hayley Squires, Marianne Jean Baptiste, and Paapa Essiedu in All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre in London. The production of Arthur Miller’s tragedy has earned rave reviews, including a five-star write-up from The Independent’s theatre critic Alice Saville.