Current:Home > Contact-usWhy Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito Once Contemplated Arranging His Own Murder-InfoLens
Why Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito Once Contemplated Arranging His Own Murder
View Date:2024-12-23 11:19:24
Before a high school teacher turned to meth dealing on TV for extra cash, Giancarlo Esposito considered a much more drastic approach.
The Breaking Bad alum recently shared that prior to scoring his role as Gus Fring on the hit AMC show, and after filing for bankruptcy in 2008, he felt so desperate for cash that he considered arranging his own murder.
"My way out in my brain was: ‘Hey, do you get life insurance if someone commits suicide? Do they get the bread?'" Giancarlo explained on an April 12 episode of Sirius XM's Jim and Sam Show. "My wife had no idea why I was asking this stuff. I started scheming."
As he considered his children's livelihoods he thought, "‘If I got somebody to knock me off—death through misadventure—they would get the insurance.' I had four kids. I wanted them to have a life. It was a hard time in life. I literally thought of self-annihilation so that they could survive. That's how low I was."
Thankfully, the Do the Right Thing star—who shares daughters Shayne, Ruby, Kale and Syrlucia, all now in their 20s, with ex-wife Joy McManigal—didn't consider this proposal for long.
"That was the first inkling to me that there was a way out, but I wouldn't be here to be available to it, or be there for my kids," he added, postulating what would be gained from his passing. "I started to think, ‘That's not viable,' because of the pain I would cause them, and it would be lifelong—and lifelong trauma that would just extend the generational trauma which I'm trying to move away from."
Luckily, Giancarlo's golden opportunity was just around the corner. Breaking Bad premiered in 2008, and Giancarlo signed on in the series' second season a year later to play the antagonist drug lord. His work in the series—as well as its spinoff Better Call Saul—earned him buzz during award seasons, including several Emmy nominations, and a win for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 2012 Critics' Choice TV Awards.
And since Breaking Bad wrapped in 2013, he's stayed booked and busy—moving onto roles in The Mandalorian and Parish.
As he put it, "The light at the end of the tunnel was Breaking Bad."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (5)
Related
- Katharine Hayhoe’s Post-Election Advice: Fight Fear, Embrace Hope and Work Together
- Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
- Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light display in Manhattan changing up this season
- Traveling to Las Vegas? Here Are the Best Black Friday Hotel Deals
- Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores in an effort to turn its business around
- Suicides in the US military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend
- NBPA reaches Kyle Singler’s family after cryptic Instagram video draws concern
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
Ranking
- A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
- Padma Lakshmi, John Boyega, Hunter Schafer star in Pirelli's 2025 calendar: See the photos
- Dogecoin soars after Trump's Elon Musk announcement: What to know about the cryptocurrency
- Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes is convicted of producing images of child sex abuse
- Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
- Top Federal Reserve official defends central bank’s independence in wake of Trump win
- After years of unrest, Commanders have reinvented their culture and shattered expectations
- Georgia House Democrats shift toward new leaders after limited election gains
Recommendation
-
Avril Lavigne’s Ex Mod Sun Is Dating Love Is Blind Star Brittany Wisniewski, Debuts Romance With a Kiss
-
Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
-
KFC sues Church's Chicken over 'original recipe' fried chicken branding
-
Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores in an effort to turn its business around
-
As the transition unfolds, Trump eyes one of his favorite targets: US intelligence
-
Advocacy group sues Tennessee over racial requirements for medical boards
-
Vermont man is fit to stand trial over shooting of 3 Palestinian college students
-
Ford agrees to pay up to $165 million penalty to US government for moving too slowly on recalls