Bryan Cranston has set a date for his temporary retirement and a move to France in the future.
The Breaking Bad actor revealed to British GQ that he plans to temporarily retire from acting and his business ventures in 2026 for at least six months, in order to spend more time with his wife, Robin.
“I want to change the paradigm once again,” he told the publication. “For the last 24 years, Robin has led her life holding onto my tail. She’s been the plus one, she’s been the wife of a celebrity. She’s had to pivot and adjust her life based on mine. She has tremendous benefit from it, but we’re uneven. I want to level that out. She deserves it.”
He said his plan is to move to a foreign country and spend time relaxing with gardening and cooking.
“I want to have that experience,” he said. “I want to go for day trips and have the fire in the fireplace and drink wine with new friends and not read scripts,” the actor said.
“It’s not going to be like, ‘Oh, I’ll read and see what I’m going to do.’ No, it’s a pause. It’s a stop,” he claimed. “I won’t be thinking about [work]. I’m not going to be taking phone calls.”
In a post to Instagram, Cranston later clarified his comments after incorrect stories of his “full” retirement surfaced online.
In response, he wrote: “Hey everyone, I hope this little message finds you well. Some news came out that wasn’t entirely clear…even to me. So I wanted to set the record straight. I am not retiring.
“What I am going to do is hit the pause button for a year after I reach my 70th birthday in 2026. Holy crap – 70! I’m not even sure what ‘pausing’ means entirely, but at this moment, I think it means that by taking a year off it will provide several things;
“First, it will allow me to spend time with Robin (my beautiful wife of 34 years now) in a way that I haven’t been able to in the last 25 years…not as a wife of a celebrity, but as a loving married couple entering into – well, let’s be honest, our latter years, with new hopes and goals and experiences.
“Secondly, it gives me a sort of ‘reset’ in my career. I’ve had such an unbelievable ride for over two decades – with playing characters on TV, films, and on stage that I could only have dreamt about…until it actually happened. I could not be more grateful and thankful for such opportunities. That said, I feel as though I’m beginning to run out of fresh ideas in how to play characters that I’m being offered. So exploring a more expanded life experience will give me the chance to replenish my soul and prepare for whatever roles I may be afforded in a more authentic way.
“I will unplug from social media, step off the hamster wheel of business, and dive into the classic novels that I’ve always promised myself I would read but haven’t…But before that happens, I’ve got some unfinished business.
“Several films are coming out soon that I’m very proud of, I am producing a few stories for TV that I really love, and I am circling my attention on returning to Broadway – but this time in a new light…more on that later. For now, let me just express my deep gratitude to all of you who have been so incredibly kind and generous with your time in reading my posts and following my career. I never take my good fortune for granted. I am blessed, and man, do I know it. I wish all of you well…and I’ll see you down the road.”
Earlier this year, Cranston said a Malcolm In The Middle reboot won’t happen unless it’s got a “really good idea” behind it.
Cranston said he was “interested” in returning to the role of Hal. However, he went on to explain that the show’s creator, Linwood Boomer, won’t do it just so the cast and crew can make some money.
In an exclusive interview with NME, Cranston said: “I can tell you that Linwood Boomer, the creator of Malcolm In The Middle, is interested in developing an idea for a rebooted series or a movie.
“He won’t do it unless there’s a really, really good idea though. He won’t just do it so that everyone makes a paycheck. And I’m not interested in that either.”
Speaking about how a rebooted Malcolm In The Middle could work, in his mind, Cranston added: “I’m interested in what happened next. It’s 20 years since we last saw Malcolm! What are the family doing now?”