To celebrate ten years since the making of Pineapple Express, one of the stars, Seth Rogan, took to Twitter to send out some little known facts and bits of trivia about the movie, but it was producer Judd Apatow who chimed in and blew everyone away.
It seems Apatow didn't think actor Bryan Cranston of legendaryBreaking Bad fame seemed scary enough to play a drug kingpin. Apatow wrote:
I've got one. Bryan Cranston auditioned. He may have even read at a table read and I said, 'I don't think he seems scary enough to seem like a real drug dealer.' If he did PE, maybe the Breaking Bad people would have said, 'not him, he always plays drug dealers.
That's certainly one way to look at it, and to be fair, Cranston was chosen to play Walter White for his credibility as a mild-mannered science teacher before turning bad-to the-bone meth dealer. So there is that.
I’ve got one. Bryan Cranston auditioned. He may have even read at a table read and I said “I don’t think he seems… https://t.co/H4KJ5sJnD8— Judd Apatow (@Judd Apatow) 1533603834.0
Some folks couldn't believe Apatow couldn't see it.
@JuddApatow https://t.co/plN7kWo0AJ— Will Privette (@Will Privette) 1533609762.0
@JuddApatow https://t.co/kXguUujwqU— Mo (@Mo) 1533610572.0
@JuddApatow Judd Apatow once interviewed a table for the role of ‘table’ but said his performance was too wooden to… https://t.co/apN5JS8JMN— Dr Boris Johnson 🎃 (@Dr Boris Johnson 🎃) 1533651151.0
@JuddApatow HE IS THE BEST 4 THE PART, ANYONE WHO SAYS ANYTHING LESS CAN TAKE THIS GIF AS A DIRECTIVE FROM ME TO YO… https://t.co/fBvkGf4Ftk— DOC (@DOC) 1533609776.0
But others understood the trepidation in casting Cranston.
@JuddApatow I see what you mean! https://t.co/1Huyqm8I7q— Ian (@Ian) 1533645889.0
@JuddApatow Wasn’t that the point of the show? Horrible things can make “normal” people do extreme things?— OTC Whisperer (@OTC Whisperer) 1533652146.0
@JuddApatow hehe I can see how you ruled out Cranston and am still amazed the Breaking Bad folks chose him. Brilliant selection though.— WHB (@WHB) 1533662120.0
@JuddApatow I agree, he is NOT scary enough to be a drug dealer. Bryan Cranston isn’t scary in that sense, but that… https://t.co/33xlgYT3bZ— Jonathan Ross (@Jonathan Ross) 1533656416.0
@JuddApatow And he is not scary. Breaking Bad was about being desperate and not having or losing a moral compass.— Dolores S. Sweets (@Dolores S. Sweets) 1533658665.0
People are happy Cranston did get his chance to play an epic drug dealer.
@JuddApatow Thank you for not choosing him, because I can't imagine a world without Walter White as we know him.— Jessica | BLM (she/her) (@Jessica | BLM (she/her)) 1533612442.0
@JuddApatow Thanks for turning him down! Casting for BB was probably the closest to perfect you can get. All actors… https://t.co/usEWydwa6y— Drew Oswell (@Drew Oswell) 1533667398.0
@JuddApatow @Iqaluitkid Thank this man for being wrong, we got one of the best drug dealers of all time on TV— Travis 'Sofa King' Cooper (@Travis 'Sofa King' Cooper) 1533663283.0
Regardless of your career, this is a great reminder that we never know what may be.
@JuddApatow Honestly this is great motivation for all actors. There is always someone who just isn’t sold on you an… https://t.co/3Sal0EpNg6— Liz Jenkins (@Liz Jenkins) 1533653770.0
H/T: Huffington Post, Time