Bryan Cranston is preparing to enter the final stretch of his acting career.
The 67-year-old actor, who has made audiences laugh and cry for years in shows like “Breaking Bad” and “Malcolm in the Middle,” revealed that he intends to retire from acting in 2026.
He announced his plans in a recent interview with British GQ, published on June 8.
Cranston told the publication that in three years he wants to close his production company, Moonshot Entertainment, and sell his half of the mezcal company Dos Hombres, which he shares with former “Breaking Bad” co-star Aaron Paul.
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But, most importantly, he hopes to travel abroad with his wife, Robin Dearden, whom he has been married to since 1989.
“I want to change the paradigm once again,” he explained. “For the last 24 years, Robin has led her life holding onto my tail. She’s been the plus one, she’s been the wife of a celebrity. She’s had to pivot and adjust her life based on mine.”
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He added, “She has tremendous benefit from it, but we’re uneven. I want to level that out. She deserves it.”
In 2026, the Emmy-winner will turn 70 years old. He looks forward to relocating to a small village, studying a new language, cooking and gardening at that point in his life, according to the publication.
Speaking more about his retirement plans, he continued, “I want to go for day trips and have the fire in the fireplace and drink wine with new friends and not read scripts.”
He further clarified he will not take on any new projects, so don’t expect him to answer his phone.
“It’s not going to be like, ‘Oh, I’ll read and see what I’m going to do,’” he said. “No, it’s a pause. It’s a stop. I won’t be thinking about (work). I’m not going to be taking phone calls.”
As for Dearden, he pictured her reading a few classic novels and enjoying quiet dinners with her husband.
During the interview, he also opened up about his 34-year marriage.
“My wife and I have been going to therapy together since before we were married,” he revealed.
The “Asteroid City” star compared going to couple’s therapy to “the warning light going off on your dashboard.”
“It’s telling you, ‘You might want to pay attention to this.’ I love my wife, and we want to go the distance, but I want to do it in a healthy way. I don’t want to just be with her. I don’t want to just have the two of us go into a restaurant and no one says a word,” he shared.
Until his three-year deadline arrives and he can spend more time with his wife, Cranston will be taking on more roles. He told British GQ that he uses the “Cranston Assessment of Project Scale,” or CAPS, to determine if a part is the right fit.
His checklist includes five categories: story, script, role, director and cast. But he added another stipulation after his widely popular series, “Breaking Bad,” aired its final episode in 2013.
Cranston told his agents he needed to take a break from television for three years.
“I’m in a very, very opportune position where I don’t have to work,” he shared.
After some time away, he returned to the medium in 2020 for his current role on the Showtime drama “Your Honor.”
In addition to his CAPS system, he started asking himself, “How can I challenge myself next?”
“I don’t need a job,” Cranston said. “I don’t want a job. But I love to work. And there’s a big distinction between the two.”
Although every role should be “special,” he learned a few years ago after chatting with Paul Rudd about his film “Why Him?” that having a good time while making a movie is important, too.
So, he told the publication he is working on a musical he would produce and star in. He has also been in talks about a “Malcolm in the Middle” reunion.
“I’m curious about that family 20 years later. Where are they? What are the kids doing?” he asked.
Cranston then corrected himself and said, “They’re grown men now.”
However, revisiting his “Breaking Bad” character Walter White appears to be off limits.
“They wanted to do a ‘Breaking Bad’ 15-year reunion,” he shared. “And I thought, ‘In a quick five years from now we’re going to do the 20 and then the 25, then the…’ It’s like, let’s not try to do too much.”
He briefly reprised his character when he appeared alongside Paul in a Super Bowl ad in February.
In their PopCorners commercial, the duo referenced lines from the series as they enjoyed the snack.
Cranston described the collaboration as “fun” in a February interview with TODAY.com.
“In the seven years that we were doing ‘Breaking Bad’ from the beginning of the pilot to the end, it was a very intense show,” he said at the time. “So there wasn’t a lot of room to just have fun and smile a lot and laugh a lot during shooting, because you’re so intense on those characters, that this change was so welcomed to us.”
He expressed his gratitude for being a part of the show and its lasting success.
“Then to be able to pull it out again, like an old, treasured sweater, and be able to put it on again and just smile throughout the days and just have a great experience — and so ... we were just like kids in a playground,” he said.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
