AMC’s hit crime drama Breaking Bad continues to rank as one of the most celebrated TV shows of the recent past. Yet, as intense as Walter White and his blue-meth dealing misadventures are on the show, several blooper reels and hilarious behind-the-scenes outtakes prove what an absolute blast Bryan Cranston and the rest of the ensemble cast had while making it.
Over time, the honest flubs and onscreen mistakes have given way to outright pranks on-set that often take place in the middle of a filmed take. Cranston leads the way as the chief prankster, but others like Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Anna Gunn, and more let their playful personalities show as well.
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The Blowfish
One of the absolute most amusing outtakes on the superb crime drama came during a dramatic exchange between Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in the latter’s living room. Walter is required to deliver the ridiculous line “who messes with the blowfish?” with the utmost sincerity, which Cranston cannot do to save his life.
The funniest part of the blooper (via Bulk Fixion on YouTube) is that he repeatedly refers to Jesse as Jeff. “Who messes with the blowfish, Jeff” Cranston whispers intensely, before falling onto Paul like an older brother. “You’re not Jeff. Who’s Jeff?” Cranston adds before the entire set erupts in laughter.
Breaking Out In Japanese
While Aaron Paul has several outtakes where he struggles to nail his lines, the great Bryan Cranston isn’t immune from the occupational hazard. In one hilarious outtake (via Bulk Fixion), Cranston mispronounces the word decontaminate. He tries to briefly correct himself before randomly breaking into a lengthy Japanese monologue.
Cranston continues the charade for several seconds as he picks up several items on the table before him and describes them in Japanese, much to the delight of Paul across the room. The blooper underscores Cranston’s silly nature despite the gravity of Walt’s character.
Garage Door Malfunction
One of the most intense moments in the stellar AMC series comes when Walt confronts Hank in his garage, telling him to back off or pay the price. Walt gives Hank a garage door opener saying it resembles a GPS tracker. “Try it again,” he urges Hank. But when Hank tries to shut the garage door, it malfunctions thrice.
The most entertaining part of the malfunction (seen at 6:30 via Bulk Fixion) is how serious Walt and Hank remain throughout as Cranston and Norris totally stay in character. The door continues to go up and down in the background behind them as they leer at each other silently. The kid playing with his remote control car out of focus in the background only makes the outtake funnier.
Sweaty Balls Limerick
During a Walter White shower scene in season 4, Bryan Cranston couldn’t help make fun of the awkward nudity by breaking into a limerick in a quasi-Irish lilt. “Who works naked with a light meter?” he says in an overblown accent, adding something about “sweaty balls, sweaty balls” as he dances around in the shower like a fool.
In addition to the accent and the joke itself, it’s seeing a playfully raunchy side of the otherwise extremely intense Walter White that makes the outtake so endearing. Having shaving cream smeared over his bald pate doesn’t hurt (thanks to Bitching Bad via YouTube).
The Pregnant Pause
Just before Walter gives one of his most iconic monologues of all time in which he declares “I am the danger!” to his wife, a hilarious outtake (via Bulk Fixion) shows Bryan Cranston forgetting his lines and bursting into subtle laughter. What makes the blooper so funny is how it comes directly after Skyler gives a dramatically heartfelt speech and the pensive facial reaction Cranston gives before erring.
“Jesus, what was I thinking,” Skyler says to Walter with his back turned, adding “why don’t we just stop trying to do this and admit you’re in danger.” Walter spins around, leers at her intensely in a pregnant pause, then crumbles into a laughing fit.
Baby Role Playing
Bryan Cranston was no stranger to pulling practical pranks on the set of the superb AMC original series, but few are funnier than the baby role-playing gag he pulled on Anna Gunn in season 4. For no reason at all, Walter enters the living room wearing a diaper, baby hat, and a pacifier and walks directly up to Skyler.
Gunn tries to stifle her laughter but can’t help but break character. Afterward, the two begin improvising on the spot, with Skyler saying “you’re a good, good boy,” and Walter saying “I’m a bad boy.” As Walter leaves the room, Skyler adds “you’re a bad boy” and slaps him on his diaper (via Bitching Bad).
Bogdan’s Soda Machine
A really amusing blooper occurs in a shot in which Walter is meant to purchase a can of soda from a vending machine outside the carwash. It’s a low-angle shot meant to make Walter loom large and appear powerful. However, when the soda machine rejects his dollar twice, Cranston conjures the perfect retort.
When the bill returns from the machine a second time, Cranston angrily snatches it, winces, and declares “Bogdan!” Delivered with perfect comedic timing, the line pokes fun at how corrupt and ineffective Bogdan really is as the proprietor of the carwash (via Bulk Fixion).
Anal Bleaching
In the middle of one of those intense mirror scenes where Walter often leers at how far his physical health has deteriorated, Cranston launches into a hysterical diatribe about anal bleaching. The randomness of it all is funny enough, but the way in which Cranston delivers the line with deadpan candor as he stares directly into the camera takes it over the top.
“From the cast to the crew. An anal bleaching kit. Because, no crew should walk around….with a dark anus.” Seeing someone as serious as Walter utter the line is pure comedic gold (via Bitching Bad).
Uncle Jack’s Flub
Anytime Michael Bowen appears on the show as Uncle Jack, humor is already at the fore. However, in one open desert scene in season 5, a hysterical outtake occurs when Jack quietly ambles up to Walter and just stares at him for several moments of awkward silence. Clearly haven forgotten his lines, the funniest part comes when the director tells him to start the scene again from the top.
“What, you don’t like just sit there and not say anything,” Bowen hilariously retorts, which makes the whole crew erupt with laughter. To his credit, Cranston says “I liked it, I could feel his breath on my earlobe.” A young Jesse Plemmons then begins to mockingly blow on Cranston’s ear (see the blooper in the YouTube video from Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul)
Walter’s Nude Derriere
By the time that season 5 came around, Cranston and his cast were heavily leaning into the on-set pranks and charades. Perhaps the funniest of all comes after Jesse delivers a dramatic monologue in a camper after he and Walter cook up.
After Jesse utters the line, “put me into a coma, why don’t you,” Walter slowly and silently walks into the right corner of the frame wearing nothing but a chef’s apron and completely exposing his nude buttocks right in the camera lens. The funniest part is he continues the scene as if nothing is out of the ordinary, already aware that Jesse forgot to light his cigarette in the scene. After keeping up the nude charade for several seconds, the crew bursts into laughter and Paul finally realizes what Cranston is up to (via Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul).