In the article, Bryan gives us the ‘soundtrack’ to his life: fifteen songs that have influenced him over the years and that he has found particularly meaningful.
This list is much more than just the songs I like. It is the soundtrack of my life. It pretty accurately expresses how music has influenced and shaped me over the past 54 years. What follows is chronological, not in terms of when the music was produced, but when it mattered to me. So, here it is: my life in 15 songs.
Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.” I was popular in grade school, but that didn’t translate to being bold when it came to girls. Carolyn was a beautiful, fun girl who set my heart afire. I needed to ask her out. A graduation party at a friend’s house was my last chance. Paul and Art were harmonizing this song as I watched a new boy in school accomplish in two seconds what I couldn’t in two years. He went right up and asked her out. She said yes, and before the party was over they were making out on the living room couch. I was staggered, hurt and embarrassed. This song takes me back to that vulnerable time.
The Doors’ “Light My Fire.” My parents ended their marriage in the late ’60s. This song gave me an escape. I’d listen to it over and over again and it took me to another place: “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher. Come on baby, light my fire.” I was still a virgin then and wondered, Can a girl really light you on fire during sex?
Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” When I was 16, I followed my brother Kyle’s lead and joined the Los Angeles Police Department’s Explorer program. Every Saturday for eight weeks, I had to get up at 5 a.m. to make it to the Academy for training. The radio alarm was set to jolt me awake, and I liked not knowing what song it would be: Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” or maybe this one, “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Eagles’ “Take It Easy.” In 1972, my Explorer troop traveled to Europe for a month. The official agenda was to learn from other police departments. The unofficial agenda was liquor and women—nirvana for a 16-year- old boy. After a few beers, a couple of the guys would break out guitars and play this song on a street corner. I’d accompany them (poorly) on my harmonica. To our surprise, passersby would drop coins in the hat, ensuring beer money for the next few days. This was also the trip where I lost my virginity to a very professional woman in Austria. I vowed to return one day to find it.
Elvis Presley’s “The Wonder of You.” In the mid-’70s, realizing I was never going to be a policeman, I took off with my brother from California on motorcycles. We traveled for two years with stops to avoid bad weather and to make money. Our destination of choice was Daytona Beach, Florida, where our cousins lived. One of them, Freddie, was accustomed to using his musical talents to pick up girls. We joined in. I honed my impression of Elvis Presley and even won a talent contest or two gyrating to his songs. It was a seminal moment when I realized that timidity wouldn’t win over girls. I changed overnight.
Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” Billy’s music reminds me of my years living in the Big Apple. Good times.
Johann Pachelbel’s “Canon in D Major.” How can anyone possibly listen to this classic and not be moved? Were my musical tastes maturing or was I still just trying to impress the ladies?
Nat King Cole’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” This was “our song” at my wedding to Robin in 1989. Sappy? Perhaps. But you bet it was sweet.
Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.” On a thunderous, stormy night in Venice, on our honeymoon, we ducked into a church near St. Mark’s Square. We listened in awe as the musicians made this orchestration come alive.
George Strait’s “I Just Want to Dance with You.” I love this song’s simplicity. It compelled me to lift my new baby girl in my arms and dance her across the room every time it came on.
Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” I was fortunate to have a recurring role on Seinfeld as Tim Whatley, the gang’s dentist. I appeared in some iconic episodes, such as “The Yada Yada.” This song played at the farewell wrap party while clips and outtakes of the nine-year run were shown.
They Might Be Giants’ “Boss of Me.” This was Malcolm in the Middle’s theme song. That show changed America’s view of the modern family, and the experience changed my life forever.
Jack Johnson’s “Taylor.” My daughter’s name is Taylor, so this one is a must for obvious reasons.
Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.” What I love about this song is not just that it affects me, but that it makes my girls sing and dance. There is joy in the world.
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” I first heard this evocative cover at a graduation ceremony when my sister, Amy, received her master’s degree, a huge achievement considering our childhood. In a quiet moment, close your eyes and listen to this transcendent song. You’ll have the feeling you’re no longer in Kansas.
Bryan Cranston (Hal) is currently starring as the character of Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad and will also appear in feature film Red Tails sometime this year.
Now, there are reports that Bryan is in the final stages of negotiation for Larry Crowne, a new feature film produced by Tom Hanks in which he will star alongside Hanks and Julia Roberts.
Bryan Cranston is in final negotiations to co-star with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in “Larry Crowne.” Hanks also is directing the dramedy for Vendome and Universal.
Written by Hanks and Nia Vardalos, the story centers on the title character (Hanks), who is downsized from his job and decides to start over by enrolling in college. There he forms some unexpected bonds with fellow students while also catching the eye of a professor (Roberts).
Cranston, star of AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” is playing Roberts’ husband, a blogger who spends most of his time looking at porn.
Hanks is producing with his Playtone partner Gary Goetzman. Vendome is financing the film, which begins principal photography this month in Los Angeles. Universal is distributing the movie domestically.
It is also reported that Bryan will also appear with Ben Kingsley in A Birder’s Guide To Everything, a feature-length film from Rob Meyer, expected to start shooting this summer.
The film is a feature length treatment of Meyer’s short film “Aquarium,” and the synopsis below reveals that the film actually centers on teenage leads, not adults, so it’s unclear who Cranston and Kingsley will play:
After spotting what he thinks is an extinct duck, high school sophomore and bird enthusiast David Portnoy persuades his two dorky buddies and the “new girl in school” to join him on a quest to locate the mysterious bird. What begins as a simple and straightforward mission becomes a coming-of-age adventure for all involved, particularly David, who must come to terms with some painful aspects of his family life.
Bryan seems to have plenty of projects lined up for 2010; he also confirmed in a video chat for Malcolm France last month (video coming soon) that Season 4 of Breaking Bad is likely to start shooting in August.
During our live video chat with Bryan last week we learned that Bryan was going to be in London, UK filming for his role in John Carter of Mars. As I live in LondonI jumped at the chance for a possible meet-up, to which Bryan agreed!
I meet Bryan for breakfast at the (rather swanky) Soho Hotel, where we both ordered salmon & cream cheese bagels, his treat! He’d just finished his week of filming, which he said was very successful and that he’d be doing some further work on it in the US later in the year. He gave me this personally signed Malcolm Season 7 cap and I got him to sign some posters and Season 1 DVD!
We talked about the community, I explained the history of the site and Malcolm fansites in general. He was amazingly nice (not that I had any doubts!) I’m not sure how serious he was but Bryan talked about pitching a reunion of some sort to Linwood and how such a thing might co-inside with DVD releases, it was great to hear he was so enthusiastic about such an idea. He had the ironic idea of Reese being the only successful family member after Hal looses his job, Malcolm drops out of college and Lois is pregnant again! And that they all move in with Reese.
Did you know Linwood approached Bryan about the final The Bots and The Bees scene with Bryan covered in Bees, and when Bryan agreed, he worked backwards in writing how Hal would end up in that state!
Bryan finished filming Breaking Bad 2 weeks ago and is now taking a well earned break on a motorcycle trip with friends.
I presented Bryan with a ‘thankyou’ card and then he had to leave for his plane home, what an amazing hour! Bryan said that next time he was in the country, he’d be interested in a group meet-up, open to all, we will of course post details on that whenever it may happen – Thank you Bryan!
Last week we had a live video chat with Bryan Cranston, which went amazingly well, many thanks to Bryan for giving us the chance (and 90 minutes of his time) and to all those who joined and asked questions.
I decided to act as host picking questions from the chat, which I think went well, even if I was somewhat nervous (over talking much?) We had a few technical issues and experienced a large delay, which lead to me and Bryan talking over each other at times. Sadly my recording setup didn’t go as planned so I’m afraid to say I don’t have a recording of the whole chat. However many thanks to PeterU who recorded the first 35 minutes (it ends abruptly)
If you where there, please write up any of the Q&As you recall that didn’t get recorded. I plan to do more chats soon (and won’t let the recordings fail)
With major thanks to Richiepiep we have setup a live video chat with Bryan Cranston to celebrate the 10th Anniversary!
Wednesday 3rd February at 3pm PST / 6pm EST / 11pm GMT (UTC) Live on BlogTV.com
The format will be similar to the video chat he did last year for Breaking Bad – Bryan reading the chatroom and picking questions, however I’ll be “hosting” the chat, so if you can’t make the live time and would like a question answered reply, and I’ll try and get Bryan to answer it. You don’t need a BlogTV.com account to join the chatroom and ask questions (but get an account if you want a chance to be on video)
Watch it live below, but go here to join the chat! Hope to see you all there!
18 June 2009 – Its been rare in recent years to see more than two Malcolm cast members together, but the Academy Of Television Arts And Sciences (the organisation behind the Emmys) held a Father’s Day ‘Salute To TV Dads’ event and Frankie Muniz (Malcolm) and Jane Kaczmarek (Lois) went to recognise Bryan Cranston and his portrayal of Hal (and his more recent Walter White in Breaking Bad).
Bryan joined other beloved screen dads Dick Van Patten, Dick Van Dyke, Reginald VelJohnson, Patrick Duffy, Michael Gross, Bill Paxton, Jon Cryer and Stephen Collins. Bryan chatted about his dad, influences and the ‘birds and the bees’ in the above video. Below Frankie (with girlfriend Elycia Marie) talks about growing up with Bryan.
Leave is and independent thriller directed by Robert Celestino and written by Rick Gomez and Frank John Hughes (Band of Brothers), about a novelist and his encounters on a road trip. Bryan plays Elliot whom he describes as the comic relief character.
Its currently in post production and looking at a 2010 release. Bryan said in a recent live Q&A it may be at the Sundance film festival (January 2010).
In other news:8 August 2009 – Bryan emceed the Dennis Hopper honorarium/awards ceremony at the first Albuquerque Film Festival.
You can bid right now on a gift bag with various products including Malcolm and Breaking Bad merchandise put together by Bryan.
Includes: Antonias nuts, Carmex lip products, Coccinelle Clutch. The Cocktail Hours, Dentaburst, Elyse Ryan jewelry, Hairzing, Hands2go hand sanitizer, Hip Heirlooms, Jumpin Jammerz, Lacoste sunglasses, Charlie Lapson products, Madbags, NuSkin products, Robert Graham merchandise, Sculptz tights, Sorme products, S.T. Dupont USB Drive, TC Intimates products, a Malcolm in the Middle hat, a signed Breaking Bad DVD, signed Breaking Bad pilot script signed by cast, and a Malcolm in the Middle signed script.
At time of posting the highest bid is $225. Bidding ends 13 October 2009.
Red Tails is a long-awaited George Lucas-produced drama about the Tuskegee Airmen, a WWII airborne unit comprised of African-American pilots. Bryan plays Major William Mortamus a racist officer in the U.S. Army of the 1940s.
“I play the bad guy,” says Cranston. “I’m a colonel, racist, bigoted, who does not want to give the Tuskegee Airmen an opportunity to show what they can do. What I tried to do [as an actor] is to convey the sense that I didn’t hate these people – I’m trying to protect them from embarrassing themselves and the United States Army because [in the character’s mind] they’re just not capable. ‘I wouldn’t allow a dog to be in a tank and ruin the tank or kill the dog, either. And you’re sending up these ‘boys’ in these intricate machines, and it’s not going to end good, and shame on us for allowing that to happen.’ And that’s the point of view, which I think is scarier [than outright hatred], actually, that he just completely believes in that.”
In comparing the character of Walt (Breaking Bad) to Major Martamus, Cranston says they’re very different…
“There’s no real comparison,” he says. “I try to make it feel like you’re completely a different being. You’re a human being, but you have a different set of characteristics and circumstances and upbringing and influences and education and all that stuff. So it’s almost like shedding skin, like a snake, and then you put on new wardrobe or new facial hair or not and it changes the way you feel. And wardrobe helps a lot. So you can design from the outside in and at the same time, go from the inside out. It’s really cool.”
It finished filming in Prague several months ago and is currently in post production,IMDB have it as a 2009 release but I believe this to be incorrect and we are not likely to see it until sometime next year.
‘BREAKING BAD’s’ BRYAN CRANSTON TALKS LUCASFILM’S ‘RED TAILS’
by Abbie Bernstein – 30 July 2009 – iFMagazine.com
iF: Do you fly a plane at any point in this?
CRANSTON: No. No flying at all. I’m at desks the entire time.
iF: What’s going on with RED TAILS right now?
CRANSTON: RED TAILS is in post-production. We finished shooting in Prague and I had a great time and I really became a fan of [RED TAILS star] Terrence Howard as a person. I was already a fan of him as an actor, but now also as a person – he’s a gentleman and created an environment that we were able to have some fun in and do our jobs well. There are a lot of [effects] ILM is going to do, that George Lucas’ organization is going to take care of.
iF: Is there anything different about working at Lucasfilm than working for other production companies?
CRANSTON: I didn’t notice anything different. It’s filmmaking. They have a budget they have to stay within and our job is to convey truthfulness. [The RED TAILS director is] Anthony Hemingway, a young man who is a great director and directed, I believe, mostly in television up until now. He had a tremendous passion for this, Lucas believed in him and gave him a shot. I enjoyed his work.
iF: How did you come to be involved in RED TAILS?
CRANSTON: I can honestly say that it was something that I wanted to do. I certainly didn’t have to do it. It wasn’t a large role, but it was an important role. I always want to be a part of something that’s important, and the telling of this story of the Tuskegee Airmen is American history is important. Whether we’re proud of it or not [in terms of showing the racism of the period] doesn’t matter. It’s important to tell this history and I got to play the character that represented the roadblock to their lives. There’s a lot of greatness to America and there’s a lot that we need to apologize for and I think that’s what’s happened. I feel totally against [the belief] that America can do no wrong. That’s not true. Just like a human being, we [as a country] are fully capable of doing wrong, but when we do wrong, own up to it, admit it, be responsible for it, pay the price of it, move on and learn from it.
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