'Glad he didn't give up': Giancarlo Esposito shocks fans with confession he considered suicide before bagging 'Breaking Bad' role

Giancarlo Esposito's breakthrough performance came with ‘Breaking Bad’, playing Gus Fring
PUBLISHED APR 19, 2024
Giancarlo Esposito, 65, played the popular Gus Fring in 'Breaking Bad' (Getty Images)
Giancarlo Esposito, 65, played the popular Gus Fring in 'Breaking Bad' (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Giancarlo Esposito had a clear escape plan in his head when he was broke.

The 'Breaking Bad' star shared that he was close to committing insurance fraud to make sure his family didn't suffer.

“My way out in my brain was: ‘Hey, do you get life insurance if someone commits suicide? Do they get the bread?’ My wife had no idea why I was asking this stuff. I started scheming,” he said while discussing his difficult past on the SiriusXM podcast ‘Jim & Sam'.

“If I got somebody to knock me off, death by misadventure, [my kids] would get the insurance. I had four kids. I wanted them to have a life. It was a hard moment in time. I literally thought of self-annihilation so they could survive. That’s how low I was,” the 65-year-old said.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 26:  Giancarlo Esposito attends the Better Call Saul FYC Event a
Giancarlo Esposito made his breakthrough in Hollywood with the 'Breaking Bad' series (Getty Images)

How 'Breaking Bad' saved Giancarlo Esposito

Esposito has been working in the industry for years now, but his breakthrough performance came with the ‘Breaking Bad’ series, playing Gus Fring.

After some serious thought, he decided to not go ahead with his plan.



 

“That was the first inkling that there was a way out, but I wouldn’t be here to be available to my kids,” Esposito added, per Variety.

“Then I started to think that’s not viable because the pain I would cause them would be lifelong, and there’d be lifelong trauma that would just extend the generational trauma I’m trying to move away from. The light at the end of the tunnel was Breaking Bad," he noted.



 

Internet thanks Esposito for not giving up

"I’m glad he never gave up because we got one of the best actors in the world," one person said on X.

A second wrote, "Woah did not expect this to be dark I thought it was fake honestly. So glad my f**king GOAT is still with us."

"I’m grateful he is still with us. What an actor. 🙏🏼," a user said.

One opined, "95% of Hollywood is dead broke. This is a fact a lot of people ignore."

"We need a Gus backstory movie or series," a user noted.

A user praised the star, "He’s a great actor & I’m glad his life has gotten better since then!"



 



 



 



 



 



 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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