Bryan Cranston <3s Albuquerque
The Weekly Alibi had a great feature on Breaking Bad and a great interview with Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston about the character of Walter White, his career and the city of Albuquerque.
Here’s what Cranston had to say about Albuquerque:
You bought a place in Albuquerque. What do you like most about living and working here?
We came to Albuquerque out of financial need, because of the film incentive program. That’s the only reason we went to Albuquerque. It was written to take place in a rural area of Southern California. Once we realized that the incentives were necessary in order to make this show, then we embraced it. We said, Then, well, let’s go to Albuquerque, and let’s take this.
And what we found is many-fold. First of all, it’s become an important character to our show. The topography. Really the blue skies, and the billowy clouds, and the red mountains, and the Sandias, the valleys, the vastness of the desert, the culture of the people—the mix of cultures, which is so wonderfully diverse, I love it. The Hispanic culture, the American Indian culture, the Anglo culture—just mixing in and taking what you can, take the best of all of that. And food.
What are your favorite restaurants?
I love El Pinto. It’s good food and a good atmosphere and a good way to show any guests that come into town authentic New Mexican cuisine.
Probably my favorite area is where I live, in Nob Hill. … It reminds me of some very hip places in California where you can walk. I leave my place and I walk into Nob Hill and I go to restaurants, whether it’s Zinc, or Scalo, or Nob Hill Bar & Grill, Shogun Sushi—I go to them all. And Flying Star. Love Flying Star. I’ll go there with my coffee and my computer and to get my oatmeal for the morning. It’s always consistent.
Every time I go to Flying Star I come away thinking, “Man, that isn’t worth what I just paid for.” Then a couple of months later, I go back.
Oh, and Cranston’s interview includes this answer: “I think it’s time that Michael Jordan step aside, don’t you think?”
