Bryan Cranston promises his retirement isn't real, can't hurt you

To those still in line for a Breaking Bad reboot… stay in line! After lightly implying his retirement in a recent interview, Bryan Cranston clarified the comments in a post shared to Instagram on Friday, sharing: “Some news came out that wasn’t entirely clear… even to me. So I wanted to set the record straight. I am not retiring.”

On Thursday, British GQ ran a profile on Cranston reporting that he “will retire — at least temporarily,” shut down his production company, sell his half of his mezcal venture with Aaron Paul, Dos Hombres, and then travel with his wife, Robin.

“I want to go for day trips and have the fire in the fireplace and drink wine with new friends and not read scripts,” Cranston told the magazine. “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.”

Although that spiel sounds a whole lot like retirement, Cranston explains in his post that he’s not imminently planning to leave the industry. What he is hoping to do is “hit the pause button for a year” when he turns 70 in 2026 in the hopes of spending more time with Robin and giving his career a “reset.”

“I’ve had such an unbelievable ride for over two decades – with playing characters on TV, films, and on stage that I could only have dreamt about…until it actually happened. I could not be more grateful and thankful for such opportunities,” Cranston shares. “That said, I feel as though I’m beginning to run out of fresh ideas in how to play characters that I’m being offered. So exploring a more expanded life experience will give me the chance to replenish my soul and prepare for whatever roles I may be afforded in a more authentic way.”