Why El Camino’s Walter White Cameo Was Almost Impossible

Bryan Cranston's return as Walter White wasn't quite as simple as you'd expect.

by Andrew Pollard
El Camino
Netflix

After what felt like an eternity, fans were finally given a follow-up to Breaking Bad with last year’s impressive El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

Picking things up with Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman, the Netflix feature highlighted what happened in the immediate aftermath of Breaking Bad and beyond. For Jesse, this involved going on the run and desperately trying to find a wad of cash that would allow him to start a new life.

Now while Aaron Paul was indeed back in the Breaking Bad saddle, one fan-pleasing surprise to turn up in El Camino was Bryan Cranston’s Walter White.

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To get around the small matter of Walter White being dead, El Camino treated audiences to a flashback in which Heisenberg and Jesse chew the fat over breakfast.

Bryan Cranston returning to his most iconic of roles may have been brilliant to see, yet it was a far more painstaking process than one might first imagine.

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Due to Cranston starring in the Broadway production of Network during the filming of El Camino, the actor was only afforded a 36-hour window between performances in which to shoot his Walter White appearance.

While a private plane helped to jettison Cranston in and out of El Camino in between his Broadway turns, there was still the matter of the actor’s physical appearance.

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Unable to shave his head or grow a moustache due to his Network commitments, Cranston had to don a bald cap and face facial fuzz. Even that in itself produced problems, mind, for the bald cap didn’t sit well on Bryan Cranston’s head due to the full head of hair he still obviously had. And thus, some digital wizardry was required to make sure that the noggin of Walter White looked perfect.

All in all, the transformation from Bryan Cranston to Walter White took a staggering five hours!

So, the next time you revisit El Camino, just spare a moment for the logistical nightmare that was Walter White's brief, five-minute return.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.