--- description: "My father disappeared when I was 11, and I didn't see him again until I was 22" title: Mayor Bryan Cranston? Actor Teases Political Ambitions image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6471189408de571/69887074cf40a8ab91c40999/gettyimages-496555592.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mayor Bryan Cranston? Actor Teases Possible Political Ambitions, Opens Up About Painful Childhood by [Jodi Guglielmi / People](/author/people/) ## Jodi Guglielmi / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 11, 2015 4:36 AM CUT  Actor Bryan Cranston speaks with his "The Heisenberg Hat" on during a donation ceremony of artifacts from AMC's "Breaking Bad" show at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC on Nov. 10, 2015 Actor Bryan Cranston speaks with his "The Heisenberg Hat" on during a donation ceremony of artifacts from AMC's "Breaking Bad" show at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC on Nov. 10, 2015Kris Connor—Getty Images by [Jodi Guglielmi / People](/author/people/) ## Jodi Guglielmi / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 11, 2015 4:36 AM CUT [Bryan Cranston](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:BryanCranston,00.html "undefined") is known for his wise-cracking, outgoing personality both on- and off-screen. But, it turns out, he was a far cry from the class clown in school while growing up. “I was introverted in high school. I was unremarkable. There was nothing special about me, nothing unique,” Cranston admitted in a new interview with [_Playboy_](http://www.playboy.com/articles/playboy-interview-bryan-cranston "undefined"), in which the actor opens up about his painful childhood. Cranston, 59, said that his shy demeanor in high school began after his father abandoned his family when he was 11, leaving Cranston and his brother at home with his alcoholic mother. “My father disappeared when I was 11, and I didn’t see him again until I was 22\. My mother was an alcoholic. I was reeling from all of it, because up until the age of 11, it was a good childhood, he said. “Then the rug got pulled out from under me.” Cranston said he always felt like he was waiting for the next part of his life to fall apart. “I lost the mother to alcoholism; I lost the father physically; I lost the home. Our house went into foreclosure. So then I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.” The _Breaking Bad_ actor said he thought if he remained unnoticed, trouble would eventually stop following him. “I was too shaken to be assertive. It felt safer to keep my back against the wall, to just observe.” But Cranston certainly didn’t let his troubled past hold him back in life. Instead, he used his experiences as inspiration for some of his more dramatic roles, including his breakout part as Walter White in _Breaking Bad_. Cranston revealed that he based much of the character on his father, both mentally and physically. “My dad had Walter’s body shape. He carried the burden of missed opportunities on his shoulders, and therefore they were rounded,” he said. And while Cranston considers being an actor his “highest professional achievement,” [working steadily](http://www.people.com/article/bryan-cranstons-dream-role "undefined") since he was 26 and racking up an impressive resume including a gig on the hit sitcom [_Malcolm in the Middle_](http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20133018,00.html "undefined") and in the film_Godzilla_, he admits that his passion for politics could lead him to his biggest role yet. “I’m a closeted politician in my heart. I would love to be involved in politics, just for the altruistic feeling of making people’s lives better,” he said. “I think at some point in my life, if I stop acting and am living in a little community, like a town of 700 people – nothing as big as Los Angeles – I might throw my hat in the ring and become a candidate for mayor.” [_This article first appeared on People.com_](http://www.people.com/article/bryan-cranston-childhood-political-ambitions-trumbo "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4107808/bryan-cranston-playboy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4107808/bryan-cranston-playboy/"},"headline":"Mayor Bryan Cranston? Actor Teases Possible Political Ambitions, Opens Up About Painful Childhood","datePublished":"2015-11-11T04:36:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:30:30.908Z","description":"\"My father disappeared when I was 11, and I didn't see him again until I was 22\"","url":"https://time.com/4107808/bryan-cranston-playboy/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6471189408de571/69887074cf40a8ab91c40999/gettyimages-496555592.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jodi Guglielmi / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6471189408de571/69887074cf40a8ab91c40999/gettyimages-496555592.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Smithsonian's National Museum of American History \"Breaking Bad\" Collection","caption":"Smithsonian's National Museum of American History \"Breaking Bad\" Collection","creditText":"Kris Connor—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4107808/bryan-cranston-playboy/","name":"Mayor Bryan Cranston? Actor Teases Possible Political Ambitions, Opens Up About Painful Childhood"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Exclusive Trumbo Clip","description":"Helen Mirren and Bryan Cranston appear in the biopic about the blacklisted screenwriter","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/CnfVlGUR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-29T18:44:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CnfVlGUR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4107808/bryan-cranston-playboy/","duration":"PT45S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4107808/bryan-cranston-playboy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```