How losing a role he “really wanted” saved Aaron Paul’s career: “I can’t tell you how depressed I was”
It’s hard not to look at Aaron Paul and think of one particular one. I won’t say what it is, but I will say that it starts with ‘b’ and ends in ‘itch’. As Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad, the profanity-spewing star created one of the most recognisable and interesting characters in television’s recent history.
For his work on the show, he has been greatly rewarded. Not only did the series land him three Emmys, but it also led to dozens of other gigs across film and TV.
When you’ve been in something like Breaking Bad, you’re pretty much employed for life. Things weren’t always so easy, though. Prior to his breakout role, Paul toured the usual circuit of bit parts and pot-boilers just trying to make ends meet. You can find him playing tiny parts in Mission: Impossible III, Bones, The X-Files, and more, all before anyone knew his name. There’s also his appearance on The Price is Right, lest we forget.
Speaking on an episode of Hot Ones, Paul spoke about how frustrating it was to be an actor on the verge of success. In between chowing down on some spicy chicken wings, he talked about one opportunity in particular that was sold to him as his ‘big break’, but didn’t end up working out.
“I remember after Friends, the creators of Friends were doing their next show,” he recalled. “It was already picked up for two seasons. It was going to be, they were saying, the next big Friends. All my friends that were actors were trying out for it and everybody really wanted it.”
Paul revealed that he went up for one part, didn’t get it, was told to audition for another part, but then didn’t get that either. “I can’t tell you how depressed I was for just way too long,” he said.
The show Paul’s on about is The Class, a short-lived sitcom from David Crane – yep, the same bloke behind Friends. It followed eight old schoolmates who cross paths again years later, which, let’s be honest, does sound a bit Friends-lite. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t quite catch on. After just one season, it got the chop, and Crane wouldn’t have another proper hit until Episodes landed in 2011. Still, a few of the cast managed to come out the other side alright – Jesse Tyler Ferguson went on to smash it in Modern Family, and Jon Bernthal’s been busy punching his way through The Walking Dead and The Punisher. So, all’s not lost.
Turns out, everything worked out just fine for Paul in the end. If he’d been locked into The Class, he wouldn’t have been free to go for Breaking Bad. It’s your classic case of one door closing and another one bursting bloody wide open. What felt like a gutting missed chance at the time actually ended up being one of the best things that never happened to him. Funny how it goes, eh?
Paul’s story might have worked out in the long run, but you can’t blame him for being upset at the time. He didn’t know that The Class was going to suck. Nobody did.
