Bryan Cranston is showing off his sentimental side. The actor recently flashed his hidden tattoo, sharing the story of why he and Breaking Bad co-star Aaron Paul decided to get inked together on their final day of production.
Cranston sat down for a Wednesday night chat on Late Night With Seth Meyers, with host Seth Meyers addressing the time Dua Lipa — Cranston’s Argylle co-star — “bullied” him into getting matching tattoos on the show after a wild day drinking bit went awry. Talk then turned to Cranston’s own tattoo, which he had done with Paul as they celebrated their last time together on the Breaking Bad set.
“The last day of production, 11 years ago, I got a tattoo on my hand,” Cranston recalled. “But you can’t see it, because [as] an actor, I don’t want to have it shown. But I did get it right there.”
Cranston then flashed the inside of his right ring finger toward the camera, showing the AMC series’ “Br Ba” logo.
“It’s the symbol for Breaking Bad and someone said, ‘Why put it there? No one else can see it,'” Cranston explained. “And I said, ‘Well, it’s not really for someone else. It’s for me. And when I catch it, I remember the times we had on this wonderful show.'”
For his part, Paul had the quote “No half measures” tattooed on his bicep in reference to the show’s season 3 episode, “Half Measures.”
In Breaking Bad, Cranston played high school chemistry teacher turned drug lord Walter White, while Paul portrayed his former student and eventual cohort Jesse Pinkman. The two — who each received numerous Emmy awards for their respective roles — have stayed close over the years. Since wrapping Breaking Bad in 2013, they most recently channeled their iconic characters for a Super Bowl ad spot last year.
Cranston is also godfather to Ryden, Paul’s son with wife Lauren, and the two run a mezcal business called Dos Hombres.
“I love the guy, and so I keep harassing him and he keeps answering my calls for some reason,” Paul previously joked to 360aproko.
“I know and I’ve fallen in love with his children, more than you, I must say, honestly,” Cranston cracked in response. “I think of seeing them and talking to them and holding them and it’s like, ‘Oooh.'”
“Yeah, yeah, they love him so much,” Paul confirmed.
More recently, Cranston had an emotional reunion with his former Malcolm in the Middle co-star, Frankie Muniz, after the actor surprised him during an event for Cranston and Paul’s Dos Hombres Mezcal. In a clip that went viral on social media, Muniz carries a case of the mezcal to a table, surprising an unsuspecting Cranston.
When he noticed his on-screen son, Cranston became emotional as he reached across the table to hug him.
“Playing a father on television was easy for me because I’m a father in real life and, and so on Malcolm [in the Middle] for seven years, these boys were my boys,” he told 360aproko about reconnecting with Muniz. “And that doesn’t stop when the camera stops. You still have this love and affinity for them. And I’m very very proud of them as now, adults. They’re all adults and they’re all doing very well. And that makes me the happiest because they made it through the gauntlet of child actordom.”
Cranston said he’s heard the calls from social media and beyond for a Malcolm in the Middle revival, and he’s all for jumping back into the role.
“It would be fun to explore now,” he told 360aproko. “All these boys who are now grown-ups and on their own with kids of their own, and it’d be fun to explore that. I’m open to that.”
He added, “I’m going to lock it down.”
In the meantime, fans can see Cranston in Argylle when it hits theaters on Feb. 2.
