The Breaking Bad Finale Has A Secret About Bryan Cranston's Walt Only Real Fans Know
The final episode of "Breaking Bad," Season 5's "Felina," is revered to this day as one of the greatest series finales in television history. The episode is essentially a cathartic journey of revenge for Walter White (Bryan Cranston), one that whips along at a blinding pace as he travels across New Mexico in a last-ditch effort to tie up loose ends and enact justice on Jack Welker's (Michael Bowen) gang.
In the end, Walt uses his impressive skills of blackmail, manipulation, and invention to emerge victorious against all odds, and he dies content after murdering almost everyone in Jack's gang, freeing Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and providing his family with a $9.7 million fortune. "Felina" presents Walter White at his finest, though only hardcore fans of "Breaking Bad" will know that this version of Walt actually has a pretty unusual secret; he's plastered in prosthetic makeup and fake hair.
In "Making of Episode 516 Felina: Breaking Bad" which was uploaded to the official AMC+ YouTube Channel, Bryan Cranston recalled how he was forced to wear heavy prosthetics to make his face look gaunt as Walt nears the end of his life. "There are pieces all the way up on my cheeks, and then these are fake," said Cranston, pointing to his sideburns and clarifying that only his goatee was real hair. "This is a rubberized neck to make me look... yeah, as if I need more of that." In addition to the sunken cheeks and sagging folds of skin, Cranston also said he was wearing a wig to capture the older Walt's unkempt messy hair, making his entire appearance in "Felina" the result of some pretty significant practical effects.
Cranston would return to prosthetics in future appearances
Although it might be surprising to learn that most of Walter White's appearance in "Felina" was the result of heavy prosthetic makeup, perhaps this episode was a sign of things to come for Bryan Cranston's later appearances as the character.
Cranston reprised his role as the chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin in Netflix's sequel movie "El Camino," for which he underwent an extensive amount of makeup work to apply a bald cap and false mustache. Despite the immense effort that went into said bald cap, its appearance was ridiculed by many fans online for making Walt's head seem gigantic in comparison to everybody around him. Cranston also famously wore a lifelike prosthetic mask of Walter White during a 2013 appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, which he removed during the panel –- comically gasping for fresh air as he did so. Cranston wore another bald cap for his cameo appearance in the "Better Call Saul" finale "Saul Gone," though this time, there was less backlash regarding his appearance.
It's certainly interesting to learn the sheer amount of prosthetic makeup that Bryan Cranston has applied during his time as Walt, in some cases using it to make him seem old and near death, and in others using it to return to his appearance from the show's beginning.