The Early Roles of Your Favorite "Breaking Bad" Stars

Remembering the early and often forgotten roles of Breaking Bad's best actors.

October 1, 2013

Image via Complex Original

If you're anything like us, you're likely still smarting from the sting of Sunday night's Breaking Bad finale. Sure, the thought of Jesse getting a second chance at making a life on the straight and narrow is about as happy an ending as one could expect. But knowing that we'll never watch Walter and Jesse cook up another batch of their blue-hued product—or witness them harness the power of any more magnets, bitches—is enough to make even the most recent of Breaking Bad fans a little depressed.

Just as all good things must come to an end, they also must start at the beginning. For many of Breaking Bad's stars, that beginning came decades ago, in roles you may have forgotten about completely, or never even knew existed. In honor of five seasons' worth of television greatness, and in anticipation of their (hopefully) great projects yet to come, we're taking a look back at some of the earliest roles of our favorite Breaking Bad actors. These are Breaking Bad Stars: Then and Now.

Michael Bowen, a.k.a. Uncle Jack

We're pretty sure that if Uncle Jack ever met up with Tommy, the pastel-loving preppy who gets his girl stolen by Nicolas Cage in 1983's Valley Girl, he'd shoot him. Right in the popped collar. Jack would probably like Bowen's character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1, named Buck (who, yes, likes "to fuck"), much better.

Jesse Plemons, a.k.a. Todd

Jesse Plemons' uncanny resemblance to Matt Damon has not been lost on Hollywood. In 2000, Plemons was cast as the Oscar-winning actor's younger self in Billy Bob Thornton's adaptation of All the Pretty Horses.

Laura Fraser, a.k.a Lydia Rodarte-Quayle

An accomplished in her native country of Scotland, Laura Fraser is now every Breaking Bad fan's favorite basket case, thanks to her work as the Albuquerque drug scene's neurotic supplier of methylamine, Lydia. Back in 1998, though, she was sexy, not unhinged, as "Bedroom Beauty" opposite Leonardo Dicaprio in The Man in the Iron Mask.

Jonathan Banks, a.k.a. Mike Ehrmantraut

Prior to directing the biggest meth operation in the American Southwest, Jonathan Banks was helping to land an aircraft gone comically awry as air flight controller Gunderson in the 1980 comedy classic Airplane!

Mark Margolis, a.k.a. Tio Salamanca

Breaking Bad wasn't Mark Margolis' first foray into the drug trade. In 1983 he played Alberto "The Shadow" in Scarface, right-hand man to drug lord Alex Sosa. He was as much a badass 30 years ago as he is today. Even without the bell.

Betsy Brandt, a.k.a. Marie Schrader

A black leather jacket is the last item of clothing one might expect to see prim Marie Schrader sporting, but it was Betsy Brandt's favorite fashion accessory in the 2005 indie Shelf Life. At least her hair has Marie's signature purple.

Dean Norris, a.k.a. Hank Schrader

Breaking Bad may have been the project that made Dean Norris a household name, but he has been acting steadily in both film and television since the mid-1980s. Yes, he is indeed the man behind all the makeup as "Tony" in Total Recall.

Giancarlo Esposito, a.k.a. Gus Fring

A year before he became a regular on Sesame Street, Giancarlo Esposito played yet another careful man: Cadet Captain J.C. Pierce in 1981's Taps, where he starred alongside such other burgeoning talents at Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise, and Sean Penn.

Bob Odenkirk, a.k.a. Saul Goodman

Bob Odenkirk's career began behind the camera as a writer for Saturday Night Live from 1987 to 1991 and as co-creator of HBO's Mr. Show with David Cross. But he was wheeling and dealing in front of the camera long before the role of Saul Goodman came along, too, most notably as asshole agent to the stars Stevie Grant in The Larry Sanders Show.

RJ Mitte, a.k.a. Walter "Flynn" White, Jr.

We're not sure what Walt Jr.'s stance on twerking is, but we do know that before he was getting made fun of for his "big boy pants" on Breaking Bad, RJ Mitte was the one doing the bullying as a jock on Hannah Montana.

Anna Gunn, a.k.a. Skyler White

Remember the time when Jerry Seinfeld was dating a woman who George swore he saw making out with Jerry's cousin, Jeffrey? That woman was Anna Gunn. It wouldn't be the last time one of her characters was accused of philandering (except in Seinfeld it turned out to not be true).

Aaron Paul, a.k.a. Jesse Pinkman

A year after scoring minor roles on Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Suddenly Susan and 3rd Rock from the Sun, Aaron Paul starred as himself as a contestant on The Price is Right, where he told Bob Barker: "You're my idol!" Three words: Showcase Showdown, bitches!