8 Little Known Tics In Bryan Cranston's Performance That Made Walter White Awesome

2. He Based White's Appearance On His Dad

The early appearance of Walter White is part of what makes the character really work. You look at him and easily believe he could be a down-on-his-luck teacher, a family man, and also a person that would never convincingly be a drug lord. The look of White was down to Cranston, and not just in the obvious sense that he's the one playing him. It was the actor who decided that his character should have a moustache, one that looks like a dead caterpillar; that he should be a little flabby (Cranston put on around 10 pounds for the start of the show); that the wardrobe should be full of greens and browns. Most of all, though, he looked to his own elderly father for inspiration, wanting Walt to come across as a man older than his years. He studied his dad's posture and incorporated that into Walter's, a man who carries a burden and is often a little bit hunched over, and a few of his mannerisms and facial expressions as well.