While AMC’s Breaking Bad is often given praise for its leading man Bryan Cranston, the show truly comes together because of the strengths of the supporting cast.
One stand-out is actor Bill Burr who plays Sal Goodman’s henchman, Kuby. Burr was previously best known for his standup acts. In an interview with AMC, he said he learned a great deal about acting in a drama. Burr said, “I hung around the set as long as I could. I watched Bryan [Cranston] and Bob [Odenkirk] do a scene in the law office and I felt like I was watching 10 years of acting class. Watching the adjustments they made—they make it look easy.”
Burr said he did get inspiration for his character from his personal life. He said, “I met this guy one time who used to do security for the Rolling Stones. He said the reason he got hired was not because he kicked the shit out of anybody, but because he didn’t have to. And that was sort of the vibe. I looked at the scene and I tried to go into it like a guy who works in customer service, like, ‘Hey, how ya doing, we need this check, just write it and then we’ll cash it and we’re all good and you don’t have to get hurt and we don’t have to make a mess.’ This guy doesn’t want to get into a fight. That’s messy and it hurts your hands.”
The fifth, and final, season of Breaking Bad will air in July.
