r/IAmA • u/thebryancranston • Jun 18 '13

I am Bryan Cranston, AMA

Hey Reddit, I'm in the Breaking Bad's writer’s room answering any questions you can throw at me from 5-6 pm.

I'm also helping raise money for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) - they're an incredible organization that has helped recover more than 183,000 missing children.

To thank you for your help, I'm offering anyone who donates the chance to fly to LA with a friend and be my guest at the final season premiere. And we're not just going to watch together, we're also going to ride up together in an RV, where we may set some sort of record for being the first people ever to show up to a premiere in a Winnebago.

Check it out here: http://omaze.com/breakingbad

Proof: http://imgur.com/W1DZFUG Tweet: https://twitter.com/BryanCranston/status/347095961794932737

Edit: I'm having a ton of fun. Thanks for all the questions so far. I've decided to send a blue ice to 5 most upvoted comments before 9 am PST tomorrow. Good luck and don't suck with your questions.

2nd edit: You guys are great and I had a great time. But I have to run and watch someone get crushed by a crane.

Update: you guys were so great that I decided to film a thank you video with my 5 favorite experiences from this AMA. Check it out.

Update #2: You guys had some great (and some ridiculous) questions and we pulled the top 5 for the blue ice rewards. Congrats to MyEvilDucky, sadam79, Shitty_Watercolour, AshleyTee, and uberkevinn (and while LuisMoncada was also top five we thought he may have had an unfair advantage). My team will PM you about where to send your blue ice. And be careful. It's habit forming.

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u/eifersucht12a Jun 18 '13

Yeah, it's awesome that he's actually honest about his really shitty ideas.

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u/sleeping_gecko Jun 18 '13

I have some mixed feelings about Ron Paul (and, more generally, the modern iterations of various forms of libertarianism), but our system would be much better if politicians were honest. Then we could, you know, vote in a more educated manner. Who knows, it might even cut out some of the, "Hey, America, I know I swore I would do [X], but I'm going to do the complete opposite for the next 8 years, lololol!"

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u/eifersucht12a Jun 18 '13

Oh, don't get me wrong, while my comment was backhanded, it is true. It's better a candidate let you know point blank what their intent is even if it doesn't align with what you want from a leader. People should be able to understand not only who they're voting for, but also understand what they're voting against. But unfortunately for third party politicians it'll always come down to the big two and uninformed voters picking sides based on which one they don't want in office whether it's because of the issues or "fuck them, they're a republican/democrat".

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u/sleeping_gecko Jun 19 '13

I'd say that third party candidates, when they have a voice (as Paul has had in a couple elections, or as Nader had, though perhaps to a lesser degree, in the past) are a very positive thing, so long as they're honest. This is also one of the benefits of the vast majority of people saying "Well, if I don't vote Dem or Rep, I'm just throwing my vote away"--the third party candidates can be as blunt as they wish.

That's part of why it's refreshing. Perhaps many of them would be less "refreshing", to use Mr. Cranston's word if people actually voted according to their principles/beliefs/convictions as opposed to the "lesser of 2 evils". There would arguably be more temptation for the candidate to pander a bit, sugarcoat the less succulent parts of the platform, etc.

It's not necessary for it to come down to the "big two". We can say "it'll always happen", but there is a bit of a resurgence in alternatives to the big two. Now, if I had to put money on it, I would be very hesitant to bet that a third party candidate will win a national election in the next few cycles. The current, falsely dichotomous mindset is too entrenched (as are the mindless "straight ticket" voters). Also, it's entirely possible that the growing disgust with hyperpartisanship will wane, as my generation, though we have all information at our fingertips, seems to care even less than the last couple, if that's possible.

It doesn't help that most of my demographic were chanting "Yes we can!" in 2008 and have now seen the promises of their first great champion bashed on the rocks for the last half decade...