Vince Gilligan on Writing, Rejection and Breaking Bad

13 May, 2014

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with a few hundred other people to watch Vince Gilligan talk about the very show I have had a TV crush on for the past few years, Breaking Bad. Adam Spencer, also a huge fan of the show, had an almost childlike sense of excitement in questioning the 9-time Emmy Award winning show-runner.

First up, where did the idea for Breaking Bad come from? Apparently, in a manner similar to Walter White, Vince was discussing script-writing work (of which there was a current lack) with another friend of his – this friend mentioned a recent meth lab bust and joked, ‘Hey, how about we start up a meth lab in the backroom for a bit of money?’ This started Gilligan thinking about what kind of a character would actually do this, and eventually created the underpants-wearing, meth-cooking, scheming chemistry teacher we know and either love to hate or hate to love.

But it was far from smooth sailing from there, in fact, Vince’s original script for Breaking Bad was rejected a fair few times.

Spencer:  You got a lot of thanks, but no thanks?

Gilligan:  Everyone gets a lot of no’s. It’s almost always more no’s then yes’s.

An interesting compromise one producer gave was that the meth dealing was a little too extreme, and perhaps the show could revolve around counterfeiting banknotes.

Gilligan was calmly humble about his talent, when Spencer asked how he felt about arguably creating one of (if not the) best television series of all time, with some of the most enigmatic characters and gripping plotlines:

Gilligan:  It’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, that’s for sure.

And based on how Vince talked about the writing process and his role, it’s clear to see how he can be so easy-going about his success. Gilligan was full of praise for the actors of the show, crediting them largely for bringing the life to the characters. Vince shared a quick story about Bryan Cranston, specifically regarding the gushing fan letter he received from Sir Anthony Hopkins about his role as Walter White. As the story goes, Bryan calls Vince asking him out for lunch, “Oh, and I have a friend here with me” - when Gilligan turns up that friend turns out to be Anthony Hopkins himself, who was “Everything you'd hope and expect, absolute gentleman and as un-Hannibal Lector like as possible”.

Gilligan was quick to back off from giving objective truths about the loose ends of the show. He repeatedly made the point that while he had created the show, it wasn’t his anymore, it belonged to the audience and any wild conspiracy stories – of which there were many come question time – were as true as anything he could have come up with. So hold onto your theories that “Walt was actually dead in the last episode” or “Jesse is actually an alien” – they’re all true if you want them to be, according to Gilligan.

~ Zac Naoum @zacnaoum