On days like this, we wonder if Bryan Cranston ever wishes he could take a trip in a time machine back to the days when he was working on Malcolm In The Middle and thrill his younger self with the number of solid acting jobs he’d be winning in the future. His latest? Cranston is in negotiations to join Ben Affleck’s next directorial gig, Argo.
Affleck’s been steadily building his cast over the last week or so, with Alan Arkin and John Goodman already aboard the true-life hostage tale. And Cranston is not the only actor cast in the last few hours, as the director has also tracked down someone he definitely knows he can work with – himself.
Yes, in the story of US diplomats smuggled out of the American embassy in Iran in 1979 under the guise of a film crew scouting for a sci-fi movie, Affleck is playing Tony Mendez, a CIA officer who steered the operation. Cranston is agent Jack O’Donnell, a former bodyguard to President Eisenhower, who is now Mendez’ boss.
Arkin is Hollywood power producer Lester Siegel and Goodman will play John Chambers, the special make-up effects guru who helped with the scheme.
Cranston, meanwhile, has a role in Rock of Ages and will also play the villain in Total Recall. Add to that the fact that he’s got Contagion, Red Tails and John Carter all in various stages of their trips to the screen, and he’s one very busy performer. He’ll next be seen in Larry Crowne, which opens here on July 1. Oh, and not forgetting his ongoing role in the excellent Breaking Bad…