-Bryan Cranston,
I am so happy to see you.
And you're looking great
and man, oh, man,
I heard that you got COVID,
and I was so concerned,
but I'm happy to see you
and talk to you.
And could you walk me
through what was it like
and when did it happen?
-Yeah, it was early on in March,
just around the same time
that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
got it.
My wife and I got it.
And I thought, you know,
they came out with it right away
and I thought, that's great.
There's no need for
another celebrity to say,
"Hey, I got it too."
So I just kept it quiet.
And we're very lucky,
very lucky.
So many people are suffering
desperately from this.
But my wife and I had about
a week of extreme exhaustion
and some body aches,
a little dry cough,
and then it was gone.
We didn't have any fever
to speak of,
and we were very, very lucky.
So when I realized
that I was no longer infected
but had the antibodies,
I was encouraged to give plasma.
I asked Tom where he went
and he said, here.
He gave me the address.
I went to give plasma
because it was so new.
I took my iPhone and was
recording the whole thing
and the phlebotomists,
sticking the needles in
and seeing the spinning dials
of the centrifuge
and the whole thing.
And he said,
"Would you mind posting this?
Because we've had
a drop-off in donors."
And I thought, "Okay, well,
there's a good reason
to just out myself
and say, 'I had it, I'm fine.'
And if maybe you had it
and you're fine now
to maybe you'll consider
donating the plasma"
because it really does
help them.
-I'm happy
that you're doing that.
But I'm happy you
and your wife are well.
You know, I was thinking
about you because "Contagion,"
that movie was trending on,
you know, Apple,
and I kept seeing it,
and I go --
And so I rented it
like everyone else in the world.
And I know you're in it.
But did you ever think
when you were filming, like,
one day we would be
living in it?
-I didn't.
I thought that if Scott Burns,
who wrote it,
and Steven Soderbergh,
who directed it,
were so on top of it.
And we had consultants
from the CDC
and it was really well-covered.
And I thought
with this much attention
on a Hollywood movie script,
the government's got this.
I wouldn't worry about it.
They were gonna take care of it.
We're fine.
-Wow. Were you wrong.
Oh, my goodness.
-Yeah.
So we're actually
living in it now.
And the the way in the movie
that the virus
became a contagion
is very similar
to what actually happened
in COVID-19.
-So strange, strange times.
I know recently
you got to revisit
two of your other characters
that you've played
two nights ago --
"Malcolm in the Middle"
Zoom table read
of the pilot,
a little reunion.
And also last year
you did "El Camino,"
the "Breaking Bad" movie.
-Yeah.
-Getting back into
"Breaking Bad," Walter White,
was it difficult to do
or was it like riding a bike?
-It was kind of like
riding a bike.
There's so many talismans.
You just left your house
to come back into the studio
to do your shows.
And I'm sure when you sat
behind your desk, you went,
"Oh, I know this,
I know this environment."
And you just kind of
get back into it.
And that's the same way
with Walter White,
I was able to fly
from New York to Albuquerque
under the cover of darkness.
It was really,
really filled with espionage.
And I slipped in,
put the the bald cap on
and the whole thing
and the desert boots
and Walter White's glasses
and things.
And all of a sudden
I'm looking across the table
and there's Jesse Pinkman, and
Vince Gilligan is directing it.
And I'm having, like,
little flashbacks.
"This never really ended."
And here we are.
It was fantastic, though.
I enjoyed the experience a lot.
-Did you get to keep your hat,
by the way?
The Heisenberg hat?
-You know what?
Not only -- Well, "keep"
is a very loose term.
I kind of...
Wait. Wait one second.
One second.
Okay, so, I'm here
in my office...
-No way.
-I have the glasses
and my original hat.
-How cool is that?
-Yeah.
-That is -- No way!
That is awesome!
-Isn't that sweet?
-Yeah, and it was a "gift,"
right?
-Yeah, yeah, it was a gift.
Yeah, that's right.
-Oh, my gosh.
There's a popular "Breaking Bad"
theory I just wanted your take.
A lot of fans are saying
that Walter White
did not die in the finale.
He actually survived
and got a new identity
and just became your character
in "Malcolm in the Middle."
So "Breaking Bad"
was actually a prequel to
"Malcolm in the Middle."
Your thoughts?
-I'm not at liberty to disclose
that kind of information
without security clearances.
I think it's fun,
but it's, you know,
it's -- it's -- it's --
I don't know.
No, Walter White
is definitely dead.
He's dead. He's dead. He's dead.
-Yeah.
You would tell me, right,
because I'm your buddy.
-I would always tell you
the truth.
I always have
told you the truth.
-Yeah. You know,
I was thinking about that
because you did
tell me the truth.
But last time you were here,
I think -- around
the time it was January.
I said, hey, is any rumors about
this "Breaking Bad" movie true?
And you said...
-And what did I say?
-You said there was truth
that there is a rumor.
[ Laughs ]
Which is great.
But that was -- Did you
know that you were shooting it?
-Yeah, I'm a big, fat liar.
I totally took you down.
-I knew it.
-As a matter of fact,
I looked at the calendar.
I was doing a play in New York.
I finished a matinee on Sunday
about 5:00 p.m.,
and they swept me out
to Teterboro,
get on a private airplane --
a private jet
to Albuquerque.
Two steps down off
onto the tarmac in Albuquerque,
and I'm in a dark car
driven by Dennis Milligan,
our driver captain.
And he zips me
out to an Airbnb.
He pulls me in. He says,
"You know,
you can't go anywhere,
but we've got everything.
We've got the whole refrigerator
stocked and everything set.
I'll come by at 6:00 tomorrow
morning and pick you up."
Sure enough, there he was.
I get into the dark car.
When we got to the base camp,
instead of having Walt and Jesse
or Bryan and Aaron
on the dressing rooms,
it said Bert and Ernie.
-[ Laughs ]
So it was Bert and Ernie? Wow!
You really kept it secret
because it worked.
-I did.
And I had to wear a cloak
like I was in "The Mandalorian."
I was -- I had this cloak
like Obi-Wan Kenobi,
and they couldn't see me.
It was very secretive.
And at the Owl Restaurant
in Albuquerque
where we were shooting,
they put signs out, you know,
that said shooting, you know,
mayonnaise commercial, you know,
just everything and anything
to divert the attention to it.
So I'm sorry I had to lie
to you. I really am.
-That was after
you were on my show?
-I shot in Albuquerque on Monday
and Tuesday in January.
And then I was on your show
on Wednesday.
And I was just --
When you asked me that question,
I went, "Oh, no. I have to go.
Hey, look at that shiny object."
-[ Laughs ] Yeah, and I probably
looked at it too.
Well done.
I mean, you're good,
but you are good.
Alright.
Well, I still love you, bud.
