Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston Stars In Amateur Short Film ‘Writers Block’ [Video]

By now everyone knows that Bryan Cranston flexed his comedic chops as an actor before he took on the role of Walter White. Before Breaking Bad Cranston was the doofy husband on Malcolm in The Middle for years before he got recognition for his best role to date in the AMC drama. Now, another side of Bryan Cranston is emerging, one that came after his most well-known roles.

Cranston has decided to pitch in to help a fellow filmmaker’s dreams come true by appearing in a 13-minute black and white short film called Writer’s Block. The film which stars Cranston was directed by an unknown, who was a 20-something PA but will now probably be known as the guy that got Cranston to give a solid performance in what would have been an overlooked short film.

According to the Washington Post, Cranston’s appearance in the film came when he was filming Cold Comes the Night last year. During a break Cranston told the Texas native Brandon Polanco, who was a PA on the film, that he would read everyone’s scripts and act in his favorite one. This lead to Cranston picking Polanco’s script for Writer’s Block. The short film is described in Polanco’s own words via the Austin Chronicle as “a chaotic love affair that evokes my true feelings towards writing.”

From PA to a freelance filmmaker and producer, Polanco’s resume and professional life is perhaps changed for the better by the talents of Bryan Cranston. As one can imagine Writer’s Block is strange in an amateur noir way, terrifically acted, and of course a promising start for another young filmmaker.

On Polanco’s Facebook, the filmmaker wrote:

“I literally had to pull myself away from my computer last night. The amount of support and buzz that has been swirling around this little film… well I just don’t know what to say other than thank you.”

We have to commend Bryan Cranston for seeing the potential in the people around him, and have to wonder if this may start a line of PAs on his upcoming film sets looking for a shot to stretch their filmmaker skills.