Breaking Bad was a career-defining project for both its stars, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. Both actors convincingly portrayed the ups and downs of their characters, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. However, fans may be surprised to learn that several actors competed for these roles, including Tom Hanks’ son, Colin Hanks, and You actor, Penn Badgley.
Colin Hanks debuted in his father’s directorial debut, That Thing You Do!. Hanks went on to portray several roles in films and television, such as King Kong, Band of Brothers, Fargo, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Colin Hanks Auditioned For The Role Of Jesse Pinkman In Breaking Bad
At the time of the Breaking Bad casting, Colin Hanks had quite a list of movie and TV roles to his credit. Tom Hanks‘ name was not enough for his eldest son to land the role in one of the greatest TV shows ever made. Hanks Jr. auditioned for the role in front of series creator Vince Gilligan and casting director Dawn Steinberg, but he did not land the role. Nevertheless, his movie and TV career continues to thrive.
Penn Badgley also came incredibly close to beating Aaron Paul to the role. The actor, known for his roles in You and Gossip Girl, revealed that Breaking Bad was one of the best scripts he had ever read. Badgley stated to Buzzfeed that the role of Jesse Pinkman was the “one that got away.” Another actor who auditioned for the role was the Venom actor, Reid Scott.
The one thing that stood between Aaron Paul and Jesse Pinkman was his good-guy image. While he certainly caught Gilligan’s eyes as a standout performer, the series creator had to fight with the studio to cast him. The studio wasn’t initially convinced that Paul could pull off a meth dealer convincingly. However, when he was finally cast, he delivered one of the finest TV performances, even winning three Emmy awards.
Hollywood Has Many More ‘Nepo Babies’ Like Colin Hanks
While Tom Hanks’ influence didn’t land Colin Hanks a role in Breaking Bad, many other star parents have succeeded in introducing their children to the film industry. Dakota Johnson has proven her worth in the industry and even landed a leading role with Marvel, thanks to her parents Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. Another actor introduced by his star parents was Jaden Smith.
‘Nepo babies’ is the modern term used to refer to the star kids and it was coined by a Twitter user when discussing Leslie Mann & Judd Apatow’s daughter Maude Apatow‘s role in Euphoria. Since then ‘nepo babies’ have become trending on TikTok with users pointing out several other celebrity kids. These star kids, however, cannot survive based on their parents’ names alone.
In more recent times, there have been a number of breakout actors with film star parents who have wowed the audience with their performances. These include Vanessa Paradis & Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp, Andie MacDowell’s daughter Margaret Qualley, Meg Ryan & Dennis Quaid’s son Jack Quaid, and Uma Thurman & Ethan Hawke’s daughter Maya Hawke.
Breaking Bad is now available for streaming on Netflix.
