10 Best Performances In Breaking Bad

4. Aaron Paul - Jesse Pinkman

It would be fair to say that Aaron Paul's performance as Jesse Pinkman took some time to really blossom. In the first season, he was an important plot point, but it was Walter's story and his development into Heisenberg that really mattered most, so there was some compromise on the detail in Jesse. He did tough-talking street kid with some complexities very well, but there wasn't really a necessary spectrum of performance.

As the show went on, the heart of the story became Jesse way more than Walter. It became a show about how Walter White's choices impacted everyone else and as that progressed Paul got better, until he offered his brilliant performance in El Camino.

Jesse is likeable despite being an obvious douchebag. Paul is great when he's showing Jesse swinging his dick around but also when he's dealing with profoundly difficult emotional moments and it's a performance that really grew.