How to Accept a Compliment
Two words is all it takes
For Bryan Cranston, acting had always been an end in itself. While many of his colleagues burned out groveling for a part in the next Hollywood megahit, he marched steadily forward, perfectly content with honing his craft on less glamorous jobs. An artist, through and through, unperturbed by fantasies of vanity, he spent most of his career playing in commercials, obscure TV shows, and yes, soap operas.
It was, therefore, no small surprise when suddenly, in his fifties, he was a megastar. Almost overnight, his face was everywhere — woven into hoodies, molded on Halloween masks, shaved on the back of peoples’ heads, even inked permanently on some asses. Breaking Bad had taken off, and Cranston along with it.
Fame added a whole other dimension to Cranston’s life as an actor. In addition to having to please the audience on-screen, he now found his energy drained by his fans off-screen. It wasn’t so much the incessant requests for pictures and autographs that tired him, but the accolades he was now subject to. Ever the humble craftsman, he was uncomfortable taking credit for what he considered as simply doing his job.
The encounters always ended up awkward. Whenever someone gave him a compliment, Cranston would downplay it. This, in turn, had the unintended consequence of prompting…
