Bryan Cranston on Downtown

We’re in the midst of our Downtown Year-In-Review, as we look back on our favorite conversations of 2016. At or near the top of the list is when we had the chance to talk with Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Bryan Cranston. Cranston drew attention with his turn as dentist Tim Whatley on “Seinfeld”, starred as Hal on “Malcolm In The Middle”, and then became a television icon for his portrayal of Walter White in “Breaking Bad”.

Cranston is the author of a new book entitled “A Life In Parts” and his conversation with us, like the book, offers a candid look at his career and his personal life.

Bryan told us about the family history he discovered, which included generations of Cranston men abandoning their families. He explained how he was determined to end that trend and shared a moving story about a message he discovered when his father died a couple of years ago. For a rare glimpse behind the scenes with one of the most acclaimed talents in Hollywood, give a listen to our interview:

AUDIO: Bryan Cranston on Downtown

Our Downtown Year-In-Review continues Monday at 4:00 p.m. on WZON with Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, actress Illeana Douglas, Johnny Carson’s attorney and biographer Henry “Bombastic” Bushkin, authors Chuck Klosterman (“But What If We’re Wrong”), Peter Ames Carlin (“Homeward Bound – The Life of Paul Simon”), and Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (“Seinfeldia”), and sportswriter Jerry Izenberg remembering his long-time friend, Muhammad Ali.

 

Rich Kimball

About Rich Kimball

I’ve been a broadcaster in the area for more than four decades, starting at WABI/WBGW Radio and WABI-TV while still in high school. Through the years I’ve done news, sports, and even weather on various TV stations and worked at more radio stations than I can recall. For the last twenty years I’ve been the radio voice of University of Maine football and for the past five years I’ve hosted Downtown, a talk show focusing on sports and entertainment. I’ve been lucky enough to win a number of awards from the Maine Association of Broadcasters and the Associated Press but I’m especially proud to have been named Maine Sportscaster of the Year by my peers a record six times. My day job is teaching social studies at Brewer High School, where I’ve also been the drama director for over twenty years, and I’m one of the co-founders of the improvisational comedy team, The Focus Group.