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Bryan Cranston may have earned his breakthrough in Hollywood by playing Hal in the superhit sitcomMalcolm in the Middle, but his best work to date still rests atBreaking Bad. Not only did it elevate his reputation and position in the entertainment industry but it also helped him bag and get acknowledged for several accolades.
In fact, his fame from the crime drama series was at such a peak that it not only blew away Hollywood but even gave him the chance to replace actor Kevin Spacey for one of the biggest gaming franchises of all time, the $31 billionCall of Dutyfranchise for the lead role inCall of Duty: Advanced Warfaregame.
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Kevin Spacey Was Almost Replaced By Bryan Cranston InCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare
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Back in 2014, after the end ofBreaking Bad,Bryan Cranstonwas literally at the peak of his fame in his entire career. As it turns out, that was not restricted to the cinema only but went all the way to gaming franchises as well.
This included the the $31 billionCall of Dutyfranchise too, in which he almost replaced Kevin Spacey for the lead role of Jonathan Irons inCall of Duty: Advanced Warfaregame. During an interview withIGN, Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey shared how theBreaking Badactor was on the shortlist for the role at the time.
“On the shortlist, well, it was a short list,” Condrey confessed. “It was always Kevin, but at one point at the height of Breaking Bad, I thought this could be a [Bryan] Cranston role. Bobby Kotick, the president of Activision, is close to Angelina and Brad, so you kind of have this pie-in-the-sky sort of, well, if this actor…”
Continuing, he further emphasized the peak of fame that Bryan Cranston was at at the time.
“But really, for the character, [on] the list the gap between Kevin and everybody else was pretty wide. Cranston just won the Emmy so he’s clearly a remarkable actor. I think he would have been great. I got to act with Kevin Spacey, so I’m glad we went with him.”
Nonetheless,Kevin Spaceygot the part and absolutely nailed it, making it so that no other actor could replace him in a better way.
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How Kevin Spacey Bagged A Lead Role InCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare
During the same interview,Michael Condreythen revealed that while they were considering Bryan Cranston as a backup, Kevin Spacey was always their top choice for the role. Sharing the events that led up to theHouse of Cardstar getting selected, Condrey said:
“I remember it was our second performance capture shoot, and we were doing an emotionally impactful scene,” he recalled. “It was called ‘Power.’ We were there on set and the director looks around and says, ‘Wow, this scene’s not right. Kevin’s character (Jonathan Irons) wouldn’t be saying this emotional speech to his assistant. So we’re an actor short.’”
Thus, the search began until they landed on Spacey.
“We’re all sitting there looking around going ‘Wow, there are no other Pcap actors here.’ And Hirshberg goes, ‘Condrey, suit up.’ So an hour later I’m standing in front of Kevin Spacey and he’s face to face with me, delivering the ‘Power’ speech. It was remarkable.”
Continuing, Condrey let out how immensely pleasured he was to have worked with theBaby Driveractor.
“On some level, it was like a bucket list, an unexpected bucket list to think that, wow, one of the greatest living Hollywood actors is three feet in front of me delivering a line as powerful as Frank Underwood has ever said. I get to check off the, ‘I acted with Kevin Spacey’ box.”
DespiteCall of Duty: Advanced Warfarebeing the first video game he had worked on throughout his entire career, Kevin Spacey still did spectacular performance-capture work, earning worldwide acclamation for the same.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
