Even after eleven years since its conclusion, fans can’t seem to stop raving about Breaking Bad. The show broke all records and portrayed just how easily decisions can wreck somebody’s life. In this case, it was Walter White, who, from a normal high school teacher, turned into a drug kingpin.
While it all started with his lung cancer diagnosis and his desire to ensure his family was well taken care of after his death, soon his ego and thirst for control took over his decisions, ultimately leading to his downfall.
His story is known to everyone by now, but what many don’t know is that Albuquerque was not the first choice of location for the show. Originally, White was supposed to cook meth in a different backdrop.
Not Albuquerque, but this place in California was supposed to be the location of Breaking Bad
Widely regarded as one of the greatest crime dramas out there, Breaking Bad is filled with gripping storytelling and amazing characters. It was all thanks to the genius of Vince Gilligan, who worked twice as hard to make the show what it is known as today.
Bryan Cranston also gathered a lot of applause for his portrayal of Walter White. But while he used Albuquerque to run his meth business, in reality, the makers were considering another location.
Interestingly, Vince Gilligan had planned for the show to be filmed in Riverside, California, which is very close to the US-Mexico border. However, due to financial constraints, the production had to make some major changes. In an interview with SLANT Magazine, the creator himself revealed that when he wrote the script, he was not thinking about the role of Mexican drug cartels in the story.
His original plan was that Walter White would start his own small meth business. But everything changed when Sony took over the producing duties and moved the location to New Mexico.
The reason behind this was simple—New Mexico offered a 25% tax rebate, and with a limited budget, this was something the production couldn’t ignore.
On the tax rebate, Gilligan also added:
It is something that unfortunately California does not have and so New Mexico very quickly became the place we decided to shoot our show for strictly financial reasons. We wanted our limited production budget to go that much farther.
While Riverside could have enhanced the storyline, Albuquerque also managed to do full justice to the show. This move not only helped the production with budgeting but also proved that some challenges ultimately lead to big creative decisions.
Bryan Cranston used his dad as an inspiration for playing Walter White
In the past, actor Bryan Cranston has talked about Breaking Bad on many occasions. From how he almost missed the chance to play the character to the exact moment he realized just how big of a deal the show had become, he has never shied away from expressing his thoughts. He did the same during an interview with The Guardian, where he detailed the personal connection he had with Walter White.
Moreover, he added that to bring full realism to his character, he actually used his late father, Joseph Cranston, to reflect certain traits. He added:
My dad wanted to become a star. Which to me is the equivalent of saying that you just want to be rich, without having an idea or a plan of how to acquire wealth. ‘I want to be a star.’ How futile is that? It’s a sign of immaturity, which I would tell him directly if he were still alive.
His dad left the family when he was just 11 years old. However, he reconnected with his father a decade later, but their relationship never fully recovered. He did, however, show happiness for the success of Breaking Bad but also tried to use Cranston’s popularity to his advantage. The actor added that his father actually reached out to his agency to get his script read.
You can watch all the seasons of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
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