Just five years ago, nobody could have predicted that Hal from Malcolm In The Middle would go on to become one of the most chillingly realistic characters in TV history. His goofy, well-meaning and clumsy paternal figure held together the fractious but always loving family, separating the voluminous fury of Lois from the bad-for-bad’s-sake behaviour of Reece, Malcolm, and Dewey.
That he, Bryan Cranston, would go on to take the bad behaviour of his fictional children and multiply it tenfold, fiftyfold, one millionfold, in the guise of Heisenberg, seemed impossible at the time. We now appreciate Bryan Cranston as a villain, and he has proven himself one of the most versatile and popular actors working today.
None of this prologue is particularly related to this news piece, I just love Bryan Cranston. Everything about him. This especially. And now, after his second career-making role in Breaking Bad, he has his pick of projects. He played a relatively minor (in terms of screen time, if not importance) role in Ben Affleck’s Argo, and now he’s back with a more straight-forwardly villainous role in the upcoming Cold Comes The Night. The trailer has just been made available online – here it is:
Bryan Cranston plays a Russian gangster, complete with accent, and appears completely horrible. Throughout Breaking Bad, Walter White would gives occasional flashes of humanity, but in Cold Comes The Night, the single-minded sense of purpose involved in his hunt for his money gives him an air of the iconic villain Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men, without the lady hair.
Cold Comes The Night also stars Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness), and is directed by Tze Chun. It’s due for a UK release in September, with no word on a US release yet. With the golden touch of Bryan Cranston, it’s only a matter of time. Did I mention that I love him?