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Bryan Cranston
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Bryan L. Cranston (born March 7 1956 in San Fernando Valley, California) is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director, best known in his role as Hal, the father of the family in the Fox Network television situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle. He also played Dr. Tim Whatley on Seinfeld and other roles in numerous movies and television programs.
Biography
Bryan Cranston is the son of actor Joe Cranston. Cranston grew up in the Los Angeles area and graduated from Canoga Park High School. He began his acting career after college in local and regional theatres, getting his start at the Granada Theatre in the San Fernando Valley, California. Cranston is married to Robin Dearden, who he met on the set of the show Airwolf (1984). He was playing the villain of the week, and she was his hostage (held at gunpoint). They have a daughter, Taylor. Cranston was previously married to Mickey Middleton, a writer.
Though best known for his work on
Malcolm in the Middle beginning in
2000, Cranston has worked regularly since the late
1980s, though mostly in minor roles. His advertising work includes commercials for
Lay's potato chips,
Excedrin,
Honda Accord, and
Carnation Coffemate. His voice acting includes English dubbing of Japanese Anime, under the name "Lee Stone". The last name of the
first Blue Ranger on
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (1993) was named after him. He did various work as part of the crew (voice-overs, etc.), so the Blue Ranger's full name became
Billy Cranston.
His largest role prior to Malcolm was as astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon. Cranston has also played astronaut Gus Grissom in the film That Thing You Do! He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan as a one-armed military officer.
His role as Dr. Tim Whatley, Jerry's dentist on Seinfeld, earned him some fans. A famous moment from the show is when Jerry suspected that Whatley "converted to Judaism purely for the jokes."
He has also had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens as Doug Heffernan's annoying neighbor, Tim Sasky. He works as a water purifer salesman and in one episode he recruits Doug to sell them as well.
Cranston has directed several episodes of
Malcolm in the Middle and received an
Emmy nomination for his performance on the show. He also wrote and directed the
1999 movie
Last Chance. He appeared in
Little Miss Sunshine as a business colleague of
Greg Kinnear. He also had a guest role in late 2006 on the CBS sitcom
How I Met Your Mother, playing main character Ted's obnoxious co-worker and former boss Hammond Druthers.
On July 6, 2006, Cranston was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. On August 27, 2006, the award was given to Jeremy Piven of the HBO series Entourage.
Trivia
- Other titles he voiced for were "Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise", and "Macross Plus".
- In the original Armitage III Polymatrix 4 episode home video release (also know as an OAV), he's listed as "Lee Stone", but in the movie edition of the same name, he's listed under his real name "Bryan Cranston".
- Produced his "Kidsmartz" safety video with his Malcolm in the Middle (2000) crew during one of their weeks off.
- Always grows a beard and mustache during his "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) hiatus.
- His favorite episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) is the first season episode "Rollerskates". He spent six weeks before filming learning how to rollerskate.
- Presented the category "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" at the 2004 Emmy Awards with his "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) co-star Jane Kaczmarek. Bryan had been eligible for that category (for directing the "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) episode "Stereo Store") but did not receive a nomination.
- Was singled out by frequent "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000) director Todd Holland during his Emmy speech in 2001. Cranston had been overlooked that year, and Holland proclaimed that he would "stand up here soon." Cranston was nominated for the first time the next year.
- Became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church in order to perform a friend's wedding. For this, he received $50.
