Breaking Bad: 10 Behind The Scenes Facts You Didn't Know
9. The Ever Shifting Antagonist
After setting up Tuco to be the antagonist of season two it does seem strange that he was killed off two episodes into the season. Behind the scenes drama was actually the main reason for Tuco's sudden demise, Vince Gilligan stating the actor Raymond Cruz had become a regular on the TV series The Closer and was unavailable to them.
Cruz tells a different story claiming that he asked for his character's death citing a struggle to play such a horrific character which maybe triggered memories of the gang violence and meth addicts he was around growing up. While he eventually reprised Tuco in Better Call Saul it did leave Breaking Bad's second season with a gaping villain shaped hole in it.
Gilligan decided to go in a different direction compared to Tuco's manic energy and invented the stoic Los Pollos mastermind Gus Fring, which Giancarlo Esposito memorably brought to life. Esposito originally declined the role, Gilligan only intended to use Gus in seven episodes of season three, but he noted "then they offered me nine, and I wound up doing eleven". While the shifting antagonists could have potentially disrupted the show, these complicated behind the scenes antics resulted in the birth of Breaking Bad's signature villain.