Some incredibly successful stars endured endured hard times that would test anyone's mettle. In many cases, they overcame obstacles of all kinds, such as severe financial troubles, or family woes. Maybe they dealt with all that and much more. Actor Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair opened up recently about this melancholy subject. He spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the major challenges that he and his family faced. Cranston's story is gut-wrenchingly bleak. Nevertheless, in the end, he persevered and triumphed.
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Cranston's Family Had a Picture-Perfect Life Years Ago in California
The Cranston family consisted of father Joe, mother Peggy, plus three children - Bryan, Kyle, and Amy. Cranston shared with the outlet, "When my mother and father were together, they were hands-on, involved parents. "...[M]om, Peggy, was a Cub Scout den mother, and my dad, Joe, was a Little League coach.That's what made their sudden split so shocking and derailing when I was 11. My father walked out for another woman, and I didn't see him again until I was 22. My mother had been fun-loving and sweet, and was devastated and turned to alcohol."
Cranston's folks met while they were making a TV sitcom. It sounds like after they split, young Bryan Cranston went into an emotional tailspin. He confided, "After he left, I was less confident, more introverted and couldn't figure out what had happened at home or why." A sudden family rupture like that would be tough for an adult to process, let alone a for a child to comprehend.
The Cranstons Were Troubled
They went from being a typical, all-American family to a sadly fractured one. Cranston, who is now 70, said, "Newly single, my mother had it rough. She had many male drinking buddies and loved their attention. After the bank foreclosed on our home, my mother sent Kyle and me to live with her parents on their 4-acre chicken farm....She took Amy, and lived with my father's parents in Canoga Park. That was odd, but she had nowhere else to go."
He and his brother must have been miserable. Per the outlet, the actor recalled, "Kyle and I went kicking and screaming. We were two L.A. kids who suddenly found ourselves in the middle of nowhere." Finally, their mom was able to rent a home and bring the family back together under one roof. But the damage was done. Cranston turned inward and came alive solely with sports. He struggled with his schoolwork.
His brother prepped to get into the Los Angeles Police Department. Cranston was interested in police science in college. Then he got immersed in acting and his world wonderfully burst open.
His Family Situation Eventually Came Full Circle
Bryan Cranston found tremendous success as an actor, along with the joy and stability that eluded him as a youngster. He reminisced to the outlet, "When I was 22, my brother and I reached out to our father. We had a pleasant visit but I found him to be terribly sad. I ended up financially supporting my parents in their later years. By then, our roles had reversed—I was the parent and they were the kids. That was weird, but it gave me closure."
