Bryan Cranston, Diverse Actor: Part II Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. No doubt "Breaking Bad" made Bryan Cranston a household name. He won four Best Actor Emmy Awards, tying the record for most in that category. He had a brotherhood moment with his co-star Aaron Paul in 2013 where they commemorated the culmination of the "Breaking" journey. What did Bryan and Aaron do together?

Answer: Got "Breaking Bad"-inspired tattoos

Aaron Paul got an episode title, "No Half Measures" on his arm, and Bryan got the periodic table logo from the show on one of his fingers. The crew from "Breaking Bad" filmed Aaron and Bryan reading the finale script for the first time in read through.

After Bryan quietly said, "End of episode...end of series", Aaron broke down like he was losing a relation close to him. Both of them internalized so much of the show, it had become part of them, and the tattoos signify that.

2. With "Breaking Bad" taking so much of Bryan Cranston's energy and time from the years of 2008 to 2013, his filmography consisted of many minor guest roles or parts that didn't require long shooting times. Bryan played CIA supervisor Jack O'Donnell in 2012 in a movie that dealt with a lofty plan to free a handful of American hostages in Iran. What was this award winning movie called?

Answer: Argo

"Argo" was adapted from CIA operative Tony Mendez's book "The Master of Disguise". The movie tells the story of, during the Iran Hostage Crisis, a group of people who were hiding in Teheran but not known to be by the hostage takers. The CIA sent in a fake Canadian movie company into Iran to "scout" filming locations in order to free that group of hostages. Bryan Cranston played Tony's supervisor.

The movie won three Oscars.

3. Bryan Cranston certainly has his pick of roles now that he is top shelf on actor lists, but it wasn't always that way. In fact during early times when he was debating making it in the acting business, he took up another profession as an extra opportunity to make some money. What was this occupation?

Answer: Ordained Minister

Bryan ordained himself as a minister with the Universal Life Church, and charged $150 to be the officiant at weddings. The Universal Life church has no rules for ordination; if anyone asks to be, they have already done 90% of the work. There's a fee payable to the church to be declared a minister. Minimum wage in 1974 was $1.75 and he said in recent interviews, "I thought, 150 dollars? Sign me up!" He performed a ceremony on a plane, and one dressed as Elvis during his busiest time as an officiant, but he hasn't been active in decades.

4. In 2015, Bryan Cranston played a Hollywood screenwriter who was also a member of the U.S. Communist Party in the 1950s. What was the name of the movie for which he received praise for the title role?

Answer: Trumbo

Dalton Trumbo was involved in the Hollywood Blacklist scandal in the 1950s, even going to jail for 11 months. After that, Trumbo had to scrimp to get by, even selling one-of-a-kind Hollywood items he had obtained. Trumbo survived the ordeal, mostly by ghostwriting for producers and being paid under the table. With Joe McCarthy losing support for his witch hunt antics, Dalton Trumbo was able to get back into the industry with success. Bryan Cranston received an Academy Award nomination for this performance.

5. Bryan Cranston had two productions he was involved in, one in 2014 (a Broadway play) and one in 2016 (an HBO movie), where he played the same role. Both had the same title, "All the Way", and both had Cranston in the lead. What prominent 1960s historical figure did he play in both?

Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson

"All the Way" looks closely at the tumultuous year of Lyndon Baines Johnson immediately following President Kennedy's assassination. Johnson, in 1964, passed the Civil Rights Act, and was re-elected soon after. Bryan Cranston received a Tony Award for his portrayal of Lyndon Johnson, capturing the down home drawl of Johnson, along with the proverbial weight on his shoulders that year, impeccably.

He reprised the role on an HBO movie and earned an Emmy nomination.

6. "Nice place! When are you putting it on the market?" This was an opening comment by Bryan Cranston on location in 2016 when he was asked by a New York Times writer to do an co-interview with another prominent figure in their home. Who was the interviewee with whom Bryan shared the article?

Answer: Barack Obama

Bryan was referring to the White House in his comment, and Barack was on the homestretch of his eight years as president. During Bryan's portrayal of Lyndon Johnson, his set on stage was a replica of the Oval Office in the White House. So he did some comparison to the actual office and the virtual version once he was able to set foot in Obama's work environment. President Obama made a comment to Bryan that the fact Cranston had played Lyndon Johnson was not lost on him; it was LBJ's acts in 1964 that paved the way for, in Obama's words, "the election of representatives who look like me."

7. Bryan Cranston had a major television project starting in 2015 that had his name all over the credits; he was co-creator, he directed one of the episodes, he co-wrote the pilot, and starred in the first season. Giovanni Ribisi was the lead actor with Cranston playing the antagonist on the Amazon show. What was the name of the show?

Answer: Sneaky Pete

The pilot for Sneaky Pete came out in 2015, with the rest of the 10-episode season being released in early 2017. Ribisi plays a confidence man released from jail where he assumes the identity of his prison roommate to avoid his old dangerous life. Bryan Cranston plays the high rolling crime boss looking to gain a measure of revenge on Ribisi once he is released from jail.

8. During Bryan's early years in Hollywood, one of his good friends had his own recurring role on "Seinfeld", playing J. Peterman. Bryan was actually best man at this actor's wedding BOTH times he got married. After "Seinfeld", this actor would become host of "Family Feud" in the 2000s. Who was this?

Answer: John O'Hurley

John O'Hurley played Jacopo Peterman in 22 episodes of "Seinfeld". He was picked as host for "Family Feud" in the 2000s and held that role for seven years. When Bryan Cranston got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, John O'Hurley gave a very poignant induction speech at the event. He stated in 2013 in the speech he considered Bryan to be his oldest and dearest friend.

9. Bryan Cranston did some voice work for a television show in 1993, earning $50 and hour. In 2017 he did some voice work as Zordon in a movie based on the same television show; he pulled in a little better paycheck for this. What was the movie?

Answer: Power Rangers

In the 1990s Bryan Cranston did some English dubbing for "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" under the name Lee Stone. It turns out that the Ranger character Billy Cranston was taken from Bryan's name. He came back to do the face animation and voicework for Zordon, the spirit mentor of the Power Rangers.

10. Bryan Cranston has one daughter who is taking after her parents. She appeared as an extra in one episode of "Breaking Bad", and she also appeared on an MTV series, "Sweet/Vicious", for one season. What is her name?

Answer: Taylor Dearden

The other three were actresses from "Breaking Bad".

Born in 1993 as Taylor Dearden Cranston, Taylor has taken her mother's maiden name, Dearden, professionally. In addition to work mentioned earlier, she is part of a web series called "101 Ways to Get Rejected" which began in 2013. It is well received as an indie series. She studied theater at University of Southern California.

Source: Author Spaudrey

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ponycargirl before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

This quiz continues on the career of Bryan Cranston, leaving off from where "Bryan Cranston, Diverse Actor" ended in 2009.

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