10 TV Performances Way Better Than Anyone Expected

Few remember Bryan Cranston as the clumsy, bumbling Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. Back then he was certainly receiving praise, for such a wonderfully slapstick and frantic comedy performance. But, as so often, Cranston the comedy actor drifted into this huge dramatic role seamlessly. Perhaps it's a humility that comedians have, to be able to laugh at their own misery allows them to draw on that during a true tragic role.

And draw on that, Cranston did. For five years of jaw-dropping performances, each episode topping the last. As Walter White he rewrote the rules of the protagonist and screen-writers still call on the DNA of his ground-breaking character to inspire them. His journey from high school chemistry teacher to drug empire kingpin should not have felt as believable as it did but Cranston did it exceptionally.

Bryan Cranston, and many of the others on this list, are a symbolic message to aspiring actors out there that it only takes one role to define your talent as an actor.