What Giancarlo Esposito Will Miss About Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring

Giancarlo Esposito reveals what he will miss about his time portraying Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s calm, calculating antagonist Gustavo Fring.

Giancarlo Esposito shares what he misses about portraying Breaking Bad‘s celebrated villain Gustavo Fring. While the star has since portrayed intimidating figures in The Mandalorian, The Boys, and Harley Quinn, Esposito’s portrayal of Fring across Breaking Bad seasons 2 to 4 and Better Call Saul defined the actor’s approach to dangerous, powerful figures. Across three seasons of Breaking Bad, Gus Fring was a cutthroat businessman at the helm of a secretive but expansive drug empire, who soon came to blows with Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he set out to build his own operations.

When speaking to THR on the red carpet for the 2023 SAG Awards ceremony, Esposito reflected on his Breaking Bad role, sharing what he misses most about portraying Fring and what lessons he took from the series.

A lot of it ties into sentiments he’s shared before about his Breaking Bad character. Check out Esposito’s full explanation below:

I miss the cool, calm and collected nature that I was able to fall in line with in regard to Gus. If you’ve read some of the articles I’ve done talking about how I built the character, it really came out of a breathing practice, a relaxed state, listening more than speaking, which sometimes intimidates people. That space and time is very important to me, so it’s taught me a lesson for the rest of my career not to jump into playing Gus, but to give myself the time and space to be thoughtful and to hear and react. Acting is also reacting, so I will miss playing him, I will miss that everyone thinks I’m so villainous, I’ll miss that in a way, but I’d like them to see a different side of myself in the new things that I’m about to accomplish.

Related: Better Call Saul Death Explains 2 Gus Fring Breaking Bad Murders

What Made Gustavo Fring One Of Breaking Bad’s Greatest Villains

In Breaking Bad, Gustavo Fring was one of Walter White’s greatest adversaries following his dealings with the imposing kingpin Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz). While Tuco’s unpredictable brutality often placed Walter and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in immediate physical danger during their dealings, Fring was a much more composed, patient, and cunning figure that built his empire over many years, driven by a personal vendetta over the murder of his partner. To do so, Fring crafted not only a powerful criminal persona, but a perfect disguise through his legitimate entrepreneurial efforts, such as businesses including the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurants.

Though Gus and Walt begin as associates in Breaking Bad, it is soon established just how dangerous the observant Fring is when the businessman notices connections between Walt and the Alberquerque criminal landscape. While Gus offers Walt resources, he also uses the aftermath of Tuco’s death to subdue the cartels while making Walt and Jesse feel dependent on his approval to survive. As such, Gus’s manipulations not only got the best of White and Pinkman, but also allowed him to utilize them to further his own businesses.

Through Fring, Esposito endeared himself with how he turned seemingly mild-mannered people into terrifying figures. As such, many of the calmer, chilling aspects of his Breaking Bad role can be seen in his later villainous portrayals of characters such as Moff Gideon and Stan Edgar. While Esposito is keen to take on new characters, it is clear that his time on Breaking Bad taught him new techniques to craft further captivating performances.

Next: There’s Still 1 Huge Gus Fring Mystery Unsolved After Better Call Saul

Source: THR