Bryan Cranston Talks His Coronavirus Experience & Weighs In On The ‘Breaking Bad’/’Malcolm In The Middle’ Fan Theory With Jimmy Fallon

Bryan Cranston recalled his experience with coronavirus with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Monday. He told Fallon he and his wife contracted the virus in March, around the same time Tom and Rita Wilson revealed they had tested positive, but kept his diagnosis quiet because “there was no need for another celebrity to say, ‘hey, I got it too.'”

He said all-in-all he and his wife were “very lucky” and were not ill for an extended period of time. “My wife and I had about a week of extreme exhaustion and some body aches, a little dry cough, and then it was gone.” He added that neither “had a fever to speak of.” He said he decided to come forward after he realized he was no longer infected and had the antibodies and was encouraged to give plasma. “Because it was so new I took my iphone and was recording the whole thing.” The phlebotomist then asked him if he would mind sharing the video because they had had a drop-off in donors, and that is when Cranston said he decided to come forward and could say “Hey, I had it I’m fine and if maybe you had it and you’re fine too maybe you’ll consider donating the plasma because it really does help them.”

More from Deadline

Cranston also talked about the secret lengths he went through in order to film his scene in the Breaking Bad movie El Camino. He said the undercover operation began with a private jet to Albuquerque.

“Two steps down off onto the tarmac in Albuquerque and I’m in a dark car driven by Denis Milligan, our driver captain, and he zips me out to an Airbnb,” said Cranston. “When we got to the base camp, instead of having Walt and Jessie, or Bryan and Aaron on the dressing rooms, it said Bert and Ernie. And I had to wear a cloak like I was in The Mandalorian, I had this cloak like Obi-Wan Kenobi and they couldn’t see me. It was very secretive. At the Owl Restaurant in Albuquerque where we were shooting, they put signs out that said, ‘Shooting mayonnaise commercial.’ Just everything and anything to divert the attention.”

Cranston also weighed in on the Breaking Bad/Malcolm In the Middle fan theory that Walter White did not die in the finale and actually became Cranston’s character in Malcolm in the Middle (hence Breaking Bad was a prequel to Malcolm in the Middle). After initially hedging, Cranston quashed the theory. “Walter White is definitely dead. He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead!,” he declared.

You can watch Cranston’s entire interview with Fallon above.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.