Bryan Cranston Defends His Breaking Bad Wife Skyler, After Malcolm in the Middle Star Frankie Muniz Says He 'Wanted to Kill Her' as 'All She Did Was Complain'

Bryan Cranston has spoken successful defence of his Breaking Bad character's woman Skyler White — and her histrion Anna Gunn — aft disapproval from his Malcolm successful the Middle co-star Frankie Muniz.

During an occurrence of Hot Ones, Muniz told Cranston that helium was 1 of the many, galore Breaking Bad fans to dislike Skyler for being an obstacle successful her schoolteacher husband's way towards becoming a meth-cooking cause kingpin. This instrumentality sentiment is thing new, and some Cranston and Breaking Bad amusement creator Vince Gilligan person spoken repeatedly successful the past astir their astonishment astatine the level of online vitriol aimed astatine the quality of Skyler, and astatine Gunn for her portrayal.

"I wanted to termination Skyler, to marque your beingness easier," Muniz told Cranston. "Your beingness would person been truthful overmuch easier," helium continued. "You were specified a atrocious guy, you could person gotten escaped of her, each she did was complain. Look astatine the money!"

Skyler White histrion Anna Gunn. Image credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival.

"Now, see, she got a batch of blowback from that," Cranston responded. "Well, archetypal of all, Anna Gunn is simply a superb actor, but she got: 'Oh, wherefore don't you get disconnected his back?'"

"That's however I felt," Muniz said.

"Wait a minute," Cranston countered. "Let maine recognize this. Her hubby leaves without immoderate explanation, she's pregnant, he's making crystal methamphetamine and radical person died. And she's the bitch? Like, we couldn't recognize what..."

Writing successful an nonfiction for The New York Times backmost successful 2013 pursuing Breaking Bad's finale, Gunn said she had been honored to play the relation of Skyler implicit the series, but had besides been troubled by the backlash to her quality connected societal media, calling it "frankly, misogynistic" and that it had "become alarming erstwhile it turned violent."

"Back erstwhile the amusement archetypal aired, Skyler was roundly disliked," Gilligan himself said successful 2022, successful a illustration for the New Yorker. "I deliberation that ever troubled Anna Gunn. And I tin archer you it ever troubled me, due to the fact that Skyler, the character, did thing to merit that. And Anna surely did thing to merit that. She played the portion beautifully."

Unlike Cranston and galore different members of the Breaking Bad cast, Gunn did not instrumentality to cameo successful the show's consequent prequel bid Better Call Saul. Meanwhile, Cranston and Muniz are present backmost unneurotic arsenic begetter and lad successful Malcolm successful the Middle: Life's Still Unfair, which is airing caller episodes connected Disney+.

Last week, Muniz acceptable the grounds consecutive connected the details of his atrocious memory, aft antecedently suggesting helium couldn't retrieve shooting overmuch of the archetypal Malcolm successful the Middle — thing helium has present said was "taken retired of context."

Images credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images and Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social