9 Famous TV Characters Who Were Originally Much Smaller Roles

3. Jesse Pinkman - Breaking Bad

The Character: Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) is a small-time meth cook who had the bad luck of being a former student of chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston). When Mr. White needed addition income to help with his cancer-related medical bills, he blackmails Jesse into cooking meth with him. From there, the two embark on a long and violent journey to building a drug empire.

What Almost Happened? Before even the pilot episode was shot, the show's creator, Vince Gilligan, had an idea for Jesse's demise. The plan was for him to be killed in the ninth episode of the first season by a drug dealer who he and Walter had crossed paths with.

Jesse's death was meant to ignite Walter's dark side much earlier as he would seek revenge against the man that killed his partner. As Gilligan tells it, by the second episode everyone knew that idea needed to be scrapped as Paul's performance was too good to throw away.

How'd It Turn Out? Like Boyd in Justified, Jesse went from a disposable character to the co-lead of the show. As the series went on, it became as much about Jesse's desire to leave his life of crime and start fresh as it was Walt's transition from teacher to drug lord. As Walt turned into more and more of a villain, the audience needed Jesse as someone to sympathize with.