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Bryan Cranston is known for playing iconic roles in his genre-spanning acting career — including Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle, Better Call Saul, How I Met Your Mother, Your Honor and many more — and he’s got a new biopic subject in mind: Willie Nelson.
Cranston recently spoke with NME on a Zoom call, speaking about his role in Your Honor, the potential for a Malcolm in the Middle reboot and more. When asked whether there was “a musician or rock star” he would play, Cranston said: “Willie Nelson comes to mind. The hair and the beard. I think there’s some physical resemblance. He’s very old and wrinkled, and I can relate to that,” he said with a laugh. “So I wouldn’t have to wear a lot of makeup.
“Willie’s had a fascinating career – as a writer and as a performer, and as a free speech person, being anti-war and on the forefront of hemp [culture],” Cranston continued in his interview with NME. “That’s kind of interesting to me, even though I don’t vibe with that stuff. I don’t like smoking, it just doesn’t do it for me.”
Nelson played music in many genres while growing up in Texas, and sold songs to legendary artists (including “Crazy,” by Patsy Cline) before launching his own decades-long career as an artist in the 1970s. The Country Music Hall of Famer — who was recently nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction — is getting ready for a star-studded 90th birthday celebration in April, hosted at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. The event will include performances by Nelson, Charley Crockett, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Orville Peck, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, The Chicks and many others. The music legend is turning 90, “as vibrant, active, and dynamic as ever.”