Bryan Cranston has an incredible run of movies and TV shows, but one of his few bad ones, Why Him?, was Paul Rudd’s fault. Cranston’s filmography is an impressive one and covers plenty of genres, starring in TV shows such as Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle, and most recently, Breaking Bad. The actor’s movies are just as impressive and include Saving Private Ryan, That Thing You Do!, and Wes Anderson’s soon-to-be-released Asteroid City. While building this filmography, Cranston has achieved very positive responses from critics and audiences alike.
Cranston’s role as Walter White in Breaking Bad is one of his most tortured yet, and Breaking Bad has managed to achieve above 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for seasons 2 through 5. His ability to choose the scripts that will create this sort of response is the main reason he has such a high success rate with his movies and TV shows, but that is not always the case. Cranston has deferred from his methods in the past, and it has meant he participated in one poorly rated movie in particular, but he did have some support from Paul Rudd.
Paul Rudd Convinced Bryan Cranston To Do Why Him?
In an interview on Hot Ones, Bryan Cranston revealed that Marvel star Paul Rudd convinced him to do Why Him?, a father-vs-fiancee comedy where Cranston plays the protective father determined not to let his daughter marry Laird Mayhew (James Franco). Why Him? has an ensemble cast, and alongside Cranston and Franco, it stars Zoey Deutch, Keegan-Michael Key, Megan Mullally, and Adam DeVine. Despite this, it fell flat among critics and audiences alike, as many felt the concept was tired and the movie itself lacked any major comedic moments.
In the Hot Ones interview, Cranston spoke about his indecisiveness about accepting the Why Him? role. Since the script did not impress him much, he called Rudd, who had starred in multiple of these comedy movies. Rudd convinced Cranston by explaining how the script is not what makes this type of movie good, but it relies heavily on the ensemble cast to be able to “punch it up.” Cranston then revealed while filming that the cast improvised and added lines that made it really fun. However, as much as Cranston enjoyed it, Why Him? still failed to perform, and Cranston probably would not have accepted it without Rudd’s advice.
Why Him? Proved Cranston’s Role Criteria Model Right
Cranston explained how his use of a strict role criteria is what helps him decide which scripts to accept or decline. According to the interview, he is very meticulous about his roles and uses a “full-blown story assessment script,” which breaks down every aspect of the script. Cranston revealed Why Him? actually scored very low on the writing aspect of his assessment, managing to get a few laughs out of him but lacking in any real wow factor. Granted, Rudd helped him understand the appeal of this sort of movie and help him understand how the movie will go beyond the script.
Cranston said making Why Him? was really fun and proved his scale was not always accurate, but that is not completely true. Although the script may adapt with the actors’ involvement, the essence of the story does not change, and actors can only add so much without affecting the plot. Cranston’s other roles have been extremely well received, which also shows the success of his criteria. Cranston may believe he should divert from his strict criteria, but the reception of Why Him? proves Bryan Cranston doesn’t need insight from outsiders when it comes to picking movies.
Sources: Hot Ones (via YouTube), Rotten Tomatoes
