Bryan Cranston opens up on modern truth and media overload
The Breaking Bad star warns that perception now often outweighs reality, calling it a 'scary thing'
Bryan Cranston is raising a cautionary flag about modern society, describing the current cultural climate as a “post-truth era” that leaves him uneasy.
The 70-year-old actor, currently starring as Joseph Keller in Arthur Miller’s 1947 drama All My Sons, told Sky News, “Post-truth era, it makes me shiver. But it's true that the perception of the truth is even more powerful than the truth itself. And that's a scary thing.”
Cranston, who often draws from his own life in his performances, said his portrayal of Keller carries echoes of his father.
Reflecting on a therapy session he took his dad to, Cranston shared, “He recited back to me and my siblings. We thought this was a great breakthrough [that we'd be] able to finally talk about his past and the war. It wasn't that way. He was too closed down. He quoted Oedipus. I don't think he realized it, but he did. He said: 'I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than go through that again.' It's like, that's how painful it was.”
Asked whether his father would recognize himself in the character, Cranston admitted, “I hope that he would be able to see it. But you know, it's easier to see other people in someone else than it is yourself.”
Beyond the stage, Cranston emphasized the crucial role of comedy in today’s world.
In an interview with The Guardian, he argued that humor provides relief from the relentless negativity of 24-hour news cycles.
“It's not even important; it's essential. Because it's a break from the bombardment of nonstop information. People who have the news on 24 hours a day in their homes, I don't think they realize the damage they're doing. You might as well make a house full of asbestos or just have radiation constantly emitting through your house,” he said.