Cranston: Fame is like pregnancy

Bryan Cranston thinks fame is like being a pregnant woman.

The 59-year-old reached a new level of success with his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad. Even though the hit series ended in 2013, he still finds the attention he gets bemusing.

“Being [famous] is almost like being a pregnant woman. People think they can just put their hand on your belly and tell you, ‘Oh, you're going to have a boy!’” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “It's like having a complete stranger fondling you. And they have this sensibility where they feel comfortable coming up to you and saying, ‘You know that thing you did' I didn't like that movie.’”

Bryan doesn’t mind people critiquing his work, even if they didn’t enjoy it. He thinks the time to worry is when a viewer feels nothing at all after watching a performance.

“The only failure in art is when you move someone to no emotion whatsoever. I'd rather have people fiercely angry with me so long as they're moved to some emotion,” he continued. “Even if the emotion was off-target — even if I was trying to move the audience one place and they go another. You missed, but at least they felt something.”

After Breaking Bad, lots of opportunities have come Bryan’s way and he will soon be seen as President Lyndon Johnson in HBO's version of All the Way. While the star still enjoys working, he has the luxury of picking and choosing the best parts that come his way.

“I don't want to appear smug, but I don't need a job,” he confessed. “I've been really poor, foreclose-on-your-house poor. And I've been rich. Rich is better. But I'm just now starting to get used to the hour of fame. I haven't been able to let the dust settle yet.”