Aaron Paul Took Hulu Role Because It Was The ‘Polar Opposite’ Of Jesse Pinkman From ‘Breaking Bad’

Aaron Paul is best known for his role as Jesse Pinkman on the AMC hit show Breaking Bad, a character who may make a cameo appearance on the spin-off Better Call Saul. But despite the actor’s strong affiliation with the role, Aaron Paul claims he took his newest role on the Hulu original show The Path exactly because it was nothing like Jesse Pinkman.

Aaron Paul spoke to Vulture about the complete change of personality he took on as the family man of faith, Eddie Lane. While Jesse Pinkman was an on-and-off drug addict who used his knowledge of the street to cook and sell meth, Lane is a loving husband and father who’s devoted to a righteous cause. That cause is not a traditional religious upbringing, but rather a fictitious cult called the Meyerist Movement, which only vaguely references real-life doomsday cults.

Though the religion may not be real, Aaron Paul’s character in The Path follows its teachings with realistic conviction, and Aaron Paul himself found the concept of the Meyerist Movement extremely compelling.

“When they sent me the first two episodes, and I read them, I just was so drawn into this world, into the Meyerist Movement,” said Aaron Paul. “So I couldn’t wait to see what was around the corner.”

It wasn’t just the show’s religion that interested him, but also the nature of his character. When asked what drew him to Eddie Lane, Aaron Paul claimed it was primarily his dissimilarity to Jesse Pinkman.

“I was really trying to find something that was the polar opposite of what people viewed me as. Most people that know my work know me just as that one character on Breaking Bad, so I wanted to try to do something a little different.”

However, there are still some things about Aaron Paul’s new character that resemble Jesse Pinkman. The Breaking Bad character was frequently caught in a state of fear and uncertainty, often torn between impossible choices that would force Jesse to stretch his moral boundaries to the furthest limit. Paul’s character in The Path is also plagued by doubt and indecision, because while his wife Sarah is a true Meyerist believer, Eddie Lane is struggling with his faith.

According to USA Today, those internal conflicts will be at the crux of The Path’s story. With Aaron Paul’s character following a religion that preaches honesty, it’s difficult for him to follow the teachings perfectly when he has so many secrets.

“[In the Meyerist Movement] if you have any sort of doubt, you’re a nonbeliever, and are considered weak and thrown out to the curb by the ones you love,” Aaron Paul explained. “He’s extremely afraid to be transparent with his family because he knows he will no longer have them anymore. He doesn’t want to lie to (them), but he feels that he must in order to keep them close.”

You can catch a first look at Aaron Paul as Eddie Lane in the trailer for The Path below.

Aaron Paul has many real-life ways to connect to his character, having been raised by a Baptist minister and landing one of his breakout roles on HBO’s Big Love, which also follows a secluded religious sect.

“I’ve always been so fascinated by religions, by movements, by cults,” Aaron Paul explained. “I grew up in a very religious upbringing with very specific beliefs… I think I got a hint of [who Eddie Lane is] reading the pilot episode, but definitely by the end of the second episode, I was in his corner. I understood what he was going through and I could relate to it.”

While Aaron Paul insisted it’s “time to go in a different direction” from Jesse Pinkman, he also admitted he’d be willing to revisit the role for Better Call Saul.

Will you be catching Aaron Paul’s new role on The Path?

(Aaron Paul photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)