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It's very exciting to be able to just work in this business, let alone on stuff you are extremely proud of. So it does make me a little nervous, because Breaking Bad is so special. It's great being part of something so great because people pay attention to you, hopefully because you're doing good work.
― Aaron Paul[src]

Aaron Paul (born as Aaron Paul Sturtevant), is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying drug dealer Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, El Camino, and Better Call Saul.

He has won several awards for his role as Jesse, including the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2014), Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film (2013), and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He has also won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television three times (2009, 2011, 2013), more than any other actor in that category.

He reprised the role of Jesse six years after the end of the series in the 2019 Netflix film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, earning further critical acclaim. He reprised the role again during the sixth and final season of the spin-off series Better Call Saul in 2022.

History[]

Paul began his career with roles in several music videos, guest roles in television, and minor roles in films. He appeared in television shows such as The Guardian, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, ER, Sleeper Cell, Veronica Mars, The X-Files, Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, Bones, and 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Paul first became known for his role as Scott Quittman on HBO's Big Love, on which he appeared fourteen times. In 2008, he began playing Jesse Pinkman on the AMC series Breaking Bad. His character was originally meant to die during the first season, but after seeing the chemistry between Paul and the lead actor Bryan Cranston, the series creator Vince Gilligan changed his mind and modified the original plans to include Jesse as a main character. For his role in Breaking Bad, Paul was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014; he won the award in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

Following Breaking Bad, he starred in films such as Need for Speed (2014), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), Eye in the Sky (2015), and Central Intelligence (2016). He also voiced Todd Chavez in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020), on which he was also an executive producer, and portrayed Eddie Lane in the Hulu drama series The Path (2016–2018) and Caleb Nichols in the HBO science fiction drama series Westworld (2020). He has also reprised the role of Jesse on a few occasions, in El Camino and the sixth and final season of 'Better Call Saul.

Appearances[]

Breaking Bad[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5A
Season 5B

Better Call Saul[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • Aaron Paul was paid $150,000 per episode in both parts of season 5.[1]
  • To commemorate the final episode of Breaking Bad, Paul and his co-star Bryan Cranston both got Breaking Bad tattoos on the last day of filming in April 2013; Paul had the phrase "no half measures" tattooed onto his biceps, while Cranston got the show's logo tattooed on one of his fingers. In 2019, Paul and Cranston released their own line of mezcal called Dos Hombres.
  • He played a psychopath in the 2009 remake of the the 1972 film, The Last House on the Left, playing opposite Michael Bowen, in a minor role. His character, Francis, along with a gang of psychopaths, brutally murders Michael Bowen's character, Morton.
  • Paul originally auditioned for the role of Francis on the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which starred Bryan Cranston as the father, Hal. The role would be awarded to Christopher Masterson.
  • Paul starred on an episode of the CBS game show The Price is Right under his birth name Aaron Sturtevant on January 3, 2000. Which aired six days prior to the premiere of Malcolm in the Middle.[2]
  • Paul and Cranston appeared together in the sixteenth season of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia in the episode "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab".

Notes[]

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