His role as The Host in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City sees the actor return to the desert. He reflects on how Covid protected his privacy, his secrets to acting success, and how his estranged father tried to cash in on Breaking Bad
“The circus,” says Bryan Cranston, gesturing to the window of his seafront Cannes hotel. He is indicating the film festival fray on the promenade below. The crowds and the cordons; the limousines and the red carpet. He could walk down and join it, but he is happier staying put. “I’ve never been a keen participant of the circus.”
Cranston is in town for the premiere of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, a light-footed account of “brainiac” students at a stargazer convention. It is the 67-year-old actor’s first visit to Cannes: in part because his greatest triumphs have been on TV, most notably in Breaking Bad; in part, perhaps, because he prefers to avoid the hurly-burly of big events. The publicist suggests cracking open the window to let in the breeze. He must be boiling in his cream suit. His Wyatt Earp moustache may start to wilt. “No, leave it,” he instructs. “The air-con is good.”
