
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 Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2014
- Theatre World Award · 2014
- Tony Award — Best Actor in a Play · 2014
- Primetime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2010
- Primetime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2009
Show all 13 awards →
- Primetime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 2008
- Audie Award — Narration by the Author or Authors
- Drama Desk Award — Outstanding Actor in a Play
- Drama League Award
- Primetime Emmy Award
- Saturn Award — Best Actor on Television
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Academy Award — Best Actor · 2016 · nominated
Filmography50+ titles

Breaking Bad

Better Call Saul

The Office

Malcolm in the Middle

The X-Files

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Seinfeld

Saving Private Ryan

Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair

Your Honor

How I Met Your Mother

From the Earth to the Moon

Sell/Buy/Date

Animal

America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Babylon 5

The Simpsons

Talking with Chris Hardwick

Archer

Modern Family

Isle of Dogs

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch

Big History

The Studio

Little Miss Sunshine

Illusion

Detachment

Drive

Hollywood Squares

Airwolf

Hill Street Blues

Sneaky Pete

30 Rock

3rd Rock from the Sun

Murder, She Wrote

Jerry & Marge Go Large

The One and Only Ivan

Lilo & Stitch: The Series

Family Guy

The Pretender

The Flash

Argo

Trumbo

Batman: Year One

The Lincoln Lawyer

Conan

The Graham Norton Show

Clerks