The Iconic Walter White Scene In Breaking Bad That Bryan Cranston Nailed In One Take
Calling "Breaking Bad" one of the best shows of all time is hardly a controversial statement. The show was praised for its character development and the subtle but substantial arcs that led to the changes within the characters. Some even noted that there were precise moments within the show that led to major moments of evolution for the characters, especially its protagonist (per High on Films). Speaking of, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) started as a mild-mannered chemistry teacher and slowly morphed into something of a ruthless drug lord. That transition arguably would not have worked without the smaller, more character-driven moments.
To say that "Breaking Bad" is filled with highly memorable scenes that make it such a unique show is to offer up the understatement of the century. There's a reason that "Breaking Bad" was nominated for 58 Emmy Awards during its five-season run on AMC. However, there's one particularly iconic scene in the show that some fans may be surprised to learn that Cranston pulled off in one single take.
Bryan Cranston pulled off the pizza toss scene in one take
During a question and answer event for "Breaking Bad" with fans hosted by AMC (via Bald Move), Bryan Cranston revealed the scene in Season 3's "Caballo sin Nombre" where Walter angrily tossed an extremely large pizza onto the rooftop was accomplished in one take. The scene itself came after Walter tried to bring his family food and reconcile with his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) after she found out about his meth-making job. Strangely enough, Cranston actually nailed the toss in the very first take, to the surprise of everyone. They actually went for even more takes afterward, but none of them came out as well as the first one.
"And they were prepared with special effects, a lightweight rubber pizza, there was a prop guy ready to pull a fake pizza up to the roof. We had all kinds of things ready to go. But I said, let me just try it," Cranston said about the scene. "I fling the pizza and I get in the car and I drive away. And I did all that and I hear clapping as I'm driving back. I look up and there's the pizza."
Interestingly enough, as beloved as that particular scene is in "Breaking Bad" is, it did initially cause some real-world trouble. Per NPR, many fans of the show wanted to recreate the iconic scene, so they would buy pizzas and throw it on the same house from the series. This didn't exactly impress the actual owners of the house, who were understandably upset with the constant mess of pizza and trespassing. The owners said they would sometimes have up to 200 people a day showing up at their house. So while the scene in question is definitely one of the show's most memorable, it was not without controversy.