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Bryan Cranston

Acting · Producer · Director

Born March 7, 1956 · Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Also known as Bryan Lee Cranston · Lee Stone

Biography

Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic works on stage and screen. He has received several accolades, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. Cranston first gained prominence playing Hal in the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He gained stardom for his dramatic leading role playing Walter White in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), for which he won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014). He was Emmy-nominated for All the Way (2016) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2018). Cranston co-developed and appeared in the crime drama series Sneaky Pete (2015–2019), and has also starred in the drama series Your Honor (2020–2023). On stage, he earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Broadway play All the Way (2014), a role he reprised in the 2016 HBO film of the same name. He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and his second Tony Award for portraying Howard Beale in the play Network on the West End and Broadway, respectively. Cranston earned nominations for the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for portraying Dalton Trumbo in the Hollywood blacklist drama Trumbo (2015). Other notable films include Saving Private Ryan (1998), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Drive (2011), Contagion (2011), Argo (2012), Godzilla (2014), The Infiltrator (2016), The Upside (2017), Last Flag Flying (2017), Isle of Dogs (2018), Asteroid City (2023), and The Phoenician Scheme (2025). He has also voiced roles in Madagascar 3 (2012), Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). Description above from the Wikipedia article Bryan Cranston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2014
  • Theatre World Award · 2014
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 2014
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2010
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2009
Show all 13 awards →
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2008
  • Audie AwardNarration by the Author or Authors
  • Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actor in a Play
  • Drama League Award
  • Primetime Emmy Award
  • Saturn AwardBest Actor on Television
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Academy AwardBest Actor · 2016 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

Breaking Bad

2008as Walter White

Better Call Saul

2015as Walter White

The Office

2005Director

Malcolm in the Middle

2000as Hal

The X-Files

1993as Patrick Crump

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2005as Bryan Cranston

Seinfeld

1989as Tim Whatley

Saving Private Ryan

1998as War Department Colonel

Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair

2026as Hal

Your Honor

2020as Michael Desiato

How I Met Your Mother

2005as Hammond Druthers

From the Earth to the Moon

1998as Buzz Aldrin

Sell/Buy/Date

2022as Self

Animal

2021as Self - Narrator (voice)

America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions

2006as Narrator (voice)

Curb Your Enthusiasm

2000as Dr. Templeton

Babylon 5

1994as Ericsson

The Simpsons

1989as Walter White (voice)

Talking with Chris Hardwick

as Self

Archer

2009as Commander Tony Drake (voice)

Modern Family

2009Director

Isle of Dogs

2018as Chief (voice)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

2014as Richard Sackler

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch

1996as Witch Lawyer

Big History

as Narrator

The Studio

2025as Griffin Mill

Little Miss Sunshine

2006as Stan Grossman

Illusion

2004as David

Detachment

2011as Mr. Dearden

Drive

2011as Shannon

Hollywood Squares

1998as Self - Panelist

Airwolf

1984as Robert Hollis

Hill Street Blues

1981

Sneaky Pete

2015as Vince

30 Rock

2006as Ron

3rd Rock from the Sun

1996as Neil Diamond impersonator

Murder, She Wrote

1984as Brian East

Jerry & Marge Go Large

2022as Jerry Selbee

The One and Only Ivan

2020as Mack

Lilo & Stitch: The Series

2003as Mr. Jamieson (voice)

Family Guy

1999as Bryan Cranston

The Pretender

1996as Neil Roberts

The Flash

1990as Philip Moses

Argo

2012as Jack O'Donnell

Trumbo

2015as Dalton Trumbo

Batman: Year One

2011as Jim Gordon (voice)

The Lincoln Lawyer

2011as Detective Lankford

Conan

2010as Self

The Graham Norton Show

2007as Self

Clerks

2000as Helicopter Pilot (voice)