Bryan Cranston’s The X-Files Episode Proved How Great He Was Before Breaking Bad

Ten years before Bryan Cranston starred as Walter White in the hit series Breaking Bad, he made a guest appearance in an episode of The X-Files. The Emmy-winning actor cemented his place in TV history from 2008 to 2013 through the role of Walter, a former chemistry teacher with terminal lung cancer who starts a methamphetamine business with an old student to fund his family’s future. Cranston’s all-time great performance in Breaking Bad was preceded by less iconic, yet still impressive, roles in projects such as the show Malcolm in the Middle and the movie Little Miss Sunshine. Some of Cranston’s other notable TV appearances prior to Breaking Bad include Seinfeld, Babylon 5, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. But, perhaps the most outstanding and relevant TV guest role of Cranston’s remains his character portrayal in one X-Files episode.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 2 – “Drive” aired in 1998. Written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, the episode sees Cranston portray Patrick Crump, a man tortured by a sound in his mind that will make his head explode if he stops moving West at a constant high speed. FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) encounter Crump after he’s caught by police driving on a highway with his wife, who doesn’t make it. Crump then breaks out of an ambulance and forces Mulder at gunpoint to drive him Westward. Based on Scully’s own investigation and a description of Crump’s symptoms, the pair of agents determine that extremely low frequency (ELF) waves have induced a major pressure buildup in the heads of Crump and others nearby. Mulder and Scully talk on the phone and devise a plan to save Crump, but when they meet, Crump has already died. “Drive” garnered a hefty amount of critical and fan praise upon its release. In his only X-Files appearance, Cranston makes a fantastic impression that set him up well for Breaking Bad.

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Bryan Cranston Delivered an Outstanding Performance in The X-Files Episode, “Drive”

Cranston’s performance in “Drive” makes an excellent case for the best X-Files guest-starring role. When Crump begins feeling the pressure build in his head after witnessing his wife’s head explode in the backseat of his car, he grows restless and frantic. Cranston expertly interprets the increasing desperation and discomfort his character feels, especially when Mulder stops the car or heads in the wrong direction. During their long drive, Crump also accuses Mulder of being part of a government conspiracy. There’s a spitefulness blended with Cranston’s portrayal of Crump’s genuine suffering, which transforms into compassion and acceptance when the end for the character grows near and he learns that the only procedure that could save his life would leave him deaf. Excruciating and layered, Cranston’s performance is hard to watch at times, which proves the star’s supreme acting talent.

How Bryan Cranston’s The X-Files Role Prepared Him for Breaking Bad

Although Cranston’s X-Files tenure lasted just a single episode, one can easily see how he was the perfect choice to play Walt in Breaking Bad. In “Drive,” Cranston’s character begins the episode in the midst of a highway chase with the police. Fascinatingly, Breaking Bad‘s 2008 pilot episode opens with Walt furiously speeding away in his and Jesse’s (Aaron Paul) van. The series’ first episode introduces Walt as a reckless individual from the start, and Cranston seamlessly fits into the character. The derangement, desperation, and agony Cranston brings to Crump in The X-Files are all qualities reminiscent of Walt’s downward spiral in Breaking Bad Seasons 4 and 5, when Walt embroils himself deeper in the meth business, culminating with him turning against those closest to him.

Cranston has rightfully been lauded for his intricate portrayal of Walt’s moral depravity over the course of Breaking Bad‘s five seasons, but most TV viewers don’t know that Cranston delivered a superb performance of turmoil and anguish much earlier. Crump in The X-Files and Walt in Breaking Bad are both similarly ill-tempered and afflicted people, and Cranston amazingly brings them to life with sincerity and nuance. Cranston’s first collaboration with Gilligan directly led to his casting in Breaking Bad‘s lead role, and both projects turned out to be spectacular successes.

All seasons of The X-Files are available to stream on Hulu.