Got any burning questions for two of the stars of Breaking Bad? Well, now's your chance to ask. Two-time Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston and Emmy nominee Aaron Paul are taking some time out from their Season 3 shoot to chat with their online fans. Leave your queries in the comments section below by Thursday, Nov. 19 at 11:59 PM. We'll select a few for the dynamic duo to answer. (If you're lucky, you may hear Bryan or Aaron read your question aloud in an upcoming web video!) It's all building up to the Season 3 premiere in March 2010. So put your thinking caps on, and in the words of Walter White, "Apply yourself!"

The actor explains what it takes to be a cleaner, dishes on his kiss with another (male) Breaking Bad cast member and hints at the biggest mess he's ever had to clean up in AMCtv.com's exclusive interview.

Q: Your character is a pretty mysterious guy. What did Vince Gilligan tell you about him?

A: Well knowing me, Vince has wisely told me very little. [Laughs] Obviously he's a cleaner who comes in to take care of the mess. I don't know much more than that. But in the footnotes it did say we will learn more about him in the next season. That's all I know at this moment.

Q: One of the most famous cleaners in pop culture is Harvey Keitel's character in Pulp Fiction. Did you take any notes from him?

Continue reading "Q&A - Jonathan Banks (Mike "The Cleaner")" »

The National Cancer Coalition's President Rob Landry and Corporate Relations Manager Jim Hollis discuss the Save Walter White website (which links to their charity's website), their work helping patients battle cancer, and what those patients could learn from Walter White in AMCtv.com's exclusive interview.

Q: What kinds of services does the National Cancer Coalition provide to cancer patients?

JH: We take donated money and make it available to cancer institutes to go to meeting the unmet needs of cancer patients. For example, you have some patients that have to travel a great distance for chemo treatments or radiation. And with the price of gas it's kind of expensive. So a lot of people are not doing their treatments because they can't afford to. So this money goes to help them with gas, with lodging, with some of the medicines that insurance doesn't cover, and just kind of helps them to complete their battle with cancer.

Q: How did you hear about Breaking Bad?

Continue reading "Q&A - Jim Hollis and Rob Landry of the National Cancer Coalition" »

The actor known for his role as Q on Star Trek discusses a father's worst nightmare, the nature of panic and how his Breaking Bad role has changed his perception of airplane travel in AMCtv.com's exclusive interview.

Q: What made you want to be in Breaking Bad?

A: [Casting director] Sharon Bialy had told me, "If you get this, you'll get an opportunity to do things you don't usually get to do." And she was right. I usually play the sort of hard-boiled guy who is forcing situations -- I'm not usually playing the person in reaction.

Q: Donald goes through a father's worst nightmare. As a father yourself, what was that like to portray?

Continue reading "Q&A - John De Lancie (Donald Margolis)" »

The actor describes what goes on in his character's head, living the dream of singing in a rock band and the real reason Badger turned to a life of crime in AMCtv.com's exclusive interview.

Q: When you were cast as Badger, did you think the role would become as big as it has?

A: No I really didn't. In the first season, I was supposed to be in the episode right after the one I was in -- I was supposed to introduce Tuco to Jesse. And Vince Gilligan called me and was like, "Hey I know we were going to have you do this, but we just like Badger too much. We don't think Badger would ever be associated with anybody like Tuco." And I was like, you know that does make a lot of sense. So he said, "Don't worry, we're going to bring you back in Season 2." And true to his word, they did.

Q: You do a lot of improv comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade. Do you get to improvise on Breaking Bad?

Continue reading "Q&A - Matt L. Jones (Badger)" »

The actor describes his proudest moment in Breaking Bad, trading book smarts for street smarts and the dangers of catering for a skinny character.

Q: How did the opportunity to play Skinny Pete come about for you?

A: I auditioned for a day player role in Dallas. Originally there were three roles: A skinny stoner, a tattooed stoner and a chubby stoner. At first I just did the one scene in Jesse's house where he had the hole in the ceiling, and that was supposed to be the end of it. Of course I always hoped they would go, "Wow, that guy was great! Let's bring him back!" Luckily they decided to do that and give me a name. My proudest moment was when I got to walk up to the bodyguard at Tuco's place and go, "Yo, I'm Skinny Pete!"

Q: Did you have to lose any extra weight for the role?

Continue reading "Q&A - Charles Baker (Skinny Pete)" »

The Season 2 cinematographer discusses his Emmy nomination, turning light into a character and why he really agreed to return to the show for Season 3.

Q: Congratulations on your Emmy nomination. What is it about the show's cinematography that it keeps on gaining such recognition?

A: I think that the cinematography in this show is inseparable from the story. And I think that's just plain old good storytelling and good cinema. One of the things that I always strive for is I don't really want people to notice the photography or the lighting. I want it to be an integrated part of the storytelling. And it's nice when people look at it and think, "It's beautiful and it's effective." But I don't want people to say it was good because of the cinematography, or even to notice it separate from the storytelling.

Q: So is it then a strange feeling for you to be nominated at all?

Continue reading "Q&A - Michael Slovis (Director of Photography)" »

Emmy-winning editor Lynne Willingham discusses her second nomination in a row for Breaking Bad, explains going amateur for the Narcocorridos video and describes the best scene she's ever cut in AMCtv.com's exclusive interview.

Q: Congratulations on your second Emmy nomination for Breaking Bad. Where are you going to put all these trophies?

A: I don't know. First I have to win it, and then we have to worry about it. I'm not sure, because my husband has three also.

Q: What is it about the show's editing that it keeps getting noticed for awards?

A: It obviously all starts with the story, and the story is so good. And then you add the fantastic actors that we've got. It's a perfect storm; everything is right there. When you've got great story, great acting, great photography, it honestly does make it easier. And you don't have to jack things around to tell a story. You're not making up for people's mistakes -- you're just enhancing it.

Q: Did you change your style at all this season over Season 1?

Continue reading "Q&A - Lynne Willingham (Editor)" »

Season 2 is over, but that doesn't mean there you can't still immerse yourself in Breaking Bad. Go behind-the-scenes to hear from the men and women working on the other side of the camera to make Walter White's world an on-screen reality with AMCtv.com's exclusive crew interviews.

• "I think certain characters deserve and demand redemption. I love a happy ending as much as anybody... I'd like to take a page from Grimm's Fairy Tales and perhaps have that kind of an ending for some, if not all of our characters." -- Vince Gilligan (Creator)

• "My job is not just to do lighting and set up shots but to make sure the lighting and the shots reflect the scene in the most effective way. If I'm moved by what I see, then I know we've done well." -- Michael Slovis (Director of Photography)

• "Blowing up the turtle with Tortuga's head on it for Episode 7 was awfully complicated... I've never tested an explosion that much. What looks like one explosion is actually nine separate explosions, quickly timed." -- Dennis Petersen (Special Effects Supervisor)

• "The most important thing that came from Vince was that we always tried to stay real, but with a little tweak. If something seemed too right, or too pretty or too wrong we always went back to that mantra." -- Scott Clark (Location Manager)

• "It was very important to create a warm enough color for our universe so that the actors felt real in it. The White house, for example: You had to feel that family had been there for a long time, and it was real for them. We built it in two weeks for the pilot and it's still sitting there." -- Robb Wilson King (Production Designer)

• "I appreciate my role as an actor much more after I direct because it's just easier. You're focused on what you as a character want and need and how to go about getting it. As a director you're worried about everyone." -- Bryan Cranston (Episode 1 Director)

Continue reading "Breaking Bad Season 2 Interviews - The Crew" »

Breaking Bad's location manager takes AMCtv.com on a virtual tour of the Albuquerque destinations seen throughout Season 2, explaining how each spot fills Vince Gilligan's "tweakiness" requirement.

Q: What sort of look do you go for when you're scouting locations for Breaking Bad?

A: The most important thing that came from Vince was that we always tried to stay real, but with a little tweak. If something seemed too right, or too pretty or too wrong we always went back to that mantra. And that determined a lot of what we did. We'd find real stuff, but we'd look for that little oddity that they added on to the place, whether it had a pool that you didn't think of when you started, or things that were just a little different that you wouldn't have thought of right off the bat. And Albuquerque fit like a glove; 90 percent of what we did was keep it Albuquerque and keep it tweaky.

Q: What about Walt's house lends itself to that tweakiness?

Continue reading "Q&A - Scott Clark (Location Manager)" »