Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston Confirms Retirement Plans

After a lengthy career and bringing to life one of the most iconic antiheroes in the history of television, Bryan Cranston is ready for retirement. Well, at the very least, he’s ready to step away from the entertainment world for a while. Cranston has plans to walk away from acting in a couple years, heading to Europe with his wife for a much more relaxing life.

Speaking to GQ, Cranston confirmed that he’s got retirement plans on the horizon. In 2026, the Emmy-winning star of Breaking Bad will be taking no more roles, reading no more scripts, and getting rid of his stake in entertainment. He’s even shutting down his production company, all in an effort to be more focus on living a Hollywood-free life.

I want to change the paradigm once again,” he said. “For the last 24 years, Robin has led her life holding onto my tail. She’s been the plus one, she’s been the wife of a celebrity. She’s had to pivot and adjust her life based on mine. She has tremendous benefit from it, but we’re uneven. I want to level that out. She deserves it.”

Cranston and his wife will be heading to Europe, likely somewhere in France, and spending a good chunk of time living a much less hectic lifestyle. They have plans to learn a new language, learn to cook different things, and start their own garden.

“I want to have that experience,” he added. “I want to go for day trips and have the fire in the fireplace and drink wine with new friends and not read scripts. It’s not going to be like, ‘Oh, I’ll read and see what I’m going to do.’ No, it’s a pause. It’s a stop. I won’t be thinking about [work]. I’m not going to be taking phone calls.”

If anyone had been hoping for some kind of Breaking Bad or Malcolm in the Middle revival, Cranston’s future plans like puts an end to those ideas. Of course, that doesn’t seem to bother him one bit.