In anticipation of theBreaking Badseries finale on Sunday, September 29th,Rolling Stonewill publish an exclusive interview with a new cast or crew member every day, Monday through Friday. Yesterday, Laura Fraser discussed the mysterious meth dealer Lydia Rodarte-Quayle. Today, Emmy-nominated director Michelle MacLaren explains why audiences are still rooting for Walter White.
Do you root for Walt or against him?
I root for Walt, and it amazes all of us that the audience cares so much for this character whos done horrible, diabolical things.
Have you had Breaking Baddreams?
I dreamt about the show all the time. Id wake up in the middle of the night because I had dreamt about how I was going to shoot a scene I read before I went to bed, and I had to keep a pen and paper beside my bed. Thats what kept me up at night, the challenge of wanting to deliver a great show.
Have you told anyone how the show ends? Your dad, your best friend, the guy who runs the car wash?
Absolutely not. In fact, if anybody ever asks me about it, I go completely blank in the face, so that I show zero emotion, zero response, and dont give away anything.
Why are so many people rooting for such an evil prick?
That is a great question, and one Im not sure any of us can answer. I think Vince Gilligan and the writers were brilliant to make Walt so sympathetic in the first season, and then it was fascinating to watch Walts ego take control and drive him into a darker and darker place. Its amazing that audiences still root for him. But its the writing.
How much Walter White have you seen in Vince Gilligan?
[Laughs.] Every character a writer creates has some of themselves in it, somewhere. As Vince says, theres Walter White in him. Or hes in Walter White.But the truth is, Vince is generous, and kind, and giving. Ive known him for a very long time, and he has an incredible ability to combine a somewhat sick and twisted sense of humor, and the darkness of human beings, into great entertainment. But does he ever bring that darkness to people around him? No, not at all. Vince is hardest on Vince. Thats his dark side.