Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad introduced some of the most iconic characters in the latter half of the show. While initially focused on Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman, the acclaimed series introduced crucial characters like Jesse Plemons’ Todd Alquist, later in Season 5.
While the actor undoubtedly left a huge impact on fans with his shockingly violent actions in the show, Jesse Plemons revealed initially struggling to understand his character’s mindset. Trying to figure out Todd’s motivations and personality, Plemons even cornered a few Breaking Bad writers. However, as they appeared terrified of him, the actor became even more confused about his character, until Vince Gilligan dropped the cruel twist.
Jesse Plemons Tried Pulling Out Details on His Character From the Writers
As Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad opens the door to other iconic characters following Walter White and his former student Jesse Pinkman’s criminal endeavors, the hit TV series introduced fans to Jesse Plemons’ Todd Alquist. Although the character initially came off as somewhat endearing, following his appearance later in season 5, Todd soon turned into a violent sociopath in later episodes.
This particular twist in character not only shocked fans but also initially left Jesse Plemons confused about Todd Alquist’s mindset. Finding it difficult to portray his character without proper understanding, Plemons noted cornering a few Breaking Bad writers to pull out details. Unfortunately, the actor was left even more confused as he conceded to PEOPLE that the writers further puzzled him by appearing scared of Plemons.
“No one would say anything, but they would look at me as if I was Todd. So they were looking at me really scared, and I had no idea why.”
Although Jesse Plemons spoke about his experience in retrospect, the actor certainly had a difficult time understanding his onscreen role. But thankfully, Vince Gilligan’s eventual plot twist helped the actor get a hold of his character’s psyche.
Vince Gilligan’s Riddle-Like Breakdown of Breaking Bad’s Todd Alquist
During a 2019 interview with GQ, Jesse Plemons further addressed how frustrated and confused he was about his character. Despite seeking details about his role from the show writers, Plemons admitted that he was left even more confused. The actor was trying to figure out his character frantically and understand why the writers acted scared of him when Vince Gilligan eventually dropped the plot twist.
“I got the part and no one would really tell me anything, since I was a recurring character and not a regular. You don’t really learn much about him the first few episodes.”
Breaking Bad doesn’t immediately establish Todd Alquist as a dangerous cold-blooded killer, until the Dead Freight episode, where he is shown murdering an innocent child, just because the kid was the sole witness of his train heist. This particular plot twist that came from Gilligan eventually offered the clarity that Jesse Plemons needed to understand his role. But surprisingly, even before filming the exact scene, the director simply confused Plemons with his riddle-like breakdown.
“The only directions I really got in those early days from Vince [Gilligan] was moments before I shoot that kid on the bike at the end of the train episode. He came up to me and said ‘OK, so if you’re driving and a raccoon runs out in front of you, you have two choices: You can swerve to the right and drive into a ditch, or you can swerve left into oncoming traffic: What do you do?’”
Eventually, as the scene began taking shape, Jesse Plemons started understanding Todd Alquist better. The actor even came up with a solution to Vince Gilligan’s raccoon riddle, where he realized that Gilligan was hinting at Todd’s rationalization of “run over the raccoon” behavior. Therefore, once Plemons understood the complex character of Todd, he enjoyed exploring his dark and troubled psyche. Plemons’ portrayal of Todd even earned him critical acclaim and a loyal fanbase.
Breaking Bad is available on Netflix.
