Just like most of Game of Thrones, with each consecutive season becoming more critically successful and popular than the last, Breaking Bad attracted some huge and prolific actors. And even in its early days, it featured some familiar faces that appear all over TV.
However, with fans becoming so enamored and wrapped up in Walter White going full Heisenberg in its final episodes and being engrossed in who could possibly be picked off next, many of these performances have since been slept on. On top of that, some of the characters that these actors portray are so much fun, but they, unfortunately, get a criminally small amount of screen time.
DJ Qualls (Getz)
Being one of those actors that tend to pop up in all your favorite TV shows, DJ Qualls is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, even if not many people have actually heard of him.
The actor had his breakthrough all the way back in 2000 when he was just 20 years old, as he starred in the Todd Philips movie Road Trip. And in Breaking Bad, he featured in a small but genius scene, in which he tries to convince Badger that he isn’t an undercover cop, but he really is.
Bill Burr (Kuby)
Now possibly the most famous of the lot due to his stand-up comedy and hit TV shows, as well as also starring in The Mandalorian, before he was half as big as he is now, Bill Burr played one half of Saul Goldman’s A-team, Kuby.
Being something of a criminal handyman, as he could just about get any odd job done, Kuby was a fun character, especially when paired with Huell, and he’s one of the reasons why season 2 is one of the best seasons of the show.
Larry Hankin (Old Joe)
Having been jumping around odd TV shows for decades now, Larry Hankin has seemingly played an old man since his 20s. Hankin has been type-cast as an angry old man for as long as audiences can remember, playing that type of character in Friends and Malcolm in the Middle, to name a few.
The crown jewel of Hankin’s old man roles is Old Joe, the junkyard owner who is somehow well versed in law, and he saved the day during one of the times Hank almost caught Walt.
Jessica Hecht (Gretchen)
Hankin isn’t the only Friends alum to have scored a role in the greatest TV show of all time, as Jessica Hecht, who played Susan’s partner in the first few seasons of the sitcom, has an infrequent role where she crops up throughout the whole series.
Being one of Walt’s oldest friends, she and her husband, Elliot, try to offer him a job that would cover his hospital bills, but the stubborn Walt ultimately turned it down.
Sam McMurray (Dr. Victor Bravenec)
Being yet another actor who is perhaps well known for his role in the most popular sitcom ever, Sam McMurray plays the doctor who operated on Walt to remove his lung tumor.
The actor, who was once Chandler’s annoying sexist boss, has a huge filmography that isn’t tied only to sitcoms, and he even featured in Bryan Cranston’s other hit TV show, Malcolm in the Middle.
Damon Herriman (Scary Skell)
Damon Herriman has an unfortunate likeness to Charles Manson, but fortunately, he has turned that into a money maker as he’s now most famous for portraying the cult leader in not just a TV show, but a completely unrelated movie too.
The actor starred in Mindhunters and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as Manson, which has turned him into something of a star. But before that, Herriman appeared in an episode of Breaking Bad, playing Scary Skell, the crazy shotgun wielding meth addict.
Robert Forster (Ed)
Part of what brings the characters in this show to life and resonates with the audience is the way they’re portrayed by the amazing cast, and that’s no different with the late Robert Forster’s take on Ed.
Robert Forster, the incredible character actor, is arguably underused in the show, as he only appears in one episode and in El Camino, but his role as the vacuum shop owner who gives people new identities is completely captivating.
Charlie Rose
Though Charlie Rose isn’t technically an actor, he does appear in the penultimate episode of the show, and it often comes as a surprise every time the finale comes on.
In the Breaking Bad world, the Charlie Rose show seemingly exists, as he interviews Gretchen and Elliot in the dark room about their relationship with Walter after the news has gone worldwide, which leads to one of the reasons the series finale is perfect.
Krysten Ritter (Jane)
After her break out role in Veronica Mars and then in Gossip Girl, Krysten Ritter became one of the biggest TV actors of the 2010s with her very own TV shows Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23 and Jessica Jones. But right in the middle of those shows is her role as Jane in Breaking Bad.
Though she didn’t make it past season two, she had an extremely important role in the show, as her father caused the plane crash that would continue to ripple through the series all the way to the very end and her death marked a huge change for Walter.
Danny Trejo (Tortuga)
Trejo is a Hollywood veteran as he seems to be the tertiary character in an uncountable amount of movies since the '80s, and being such a huge name in the industry, his role in the show could be chalked up to a cameo, as it's so brief.
Many people even forget the way the character went out with a bang, quite literally. After Tortuga struck a deal with the DEA to become a rat, the last time viewers saw him was with his chopped off head sitting on top of a tortoise trailing through the desert. When the DEA approached the tortoise, Tortuga’s head blew up, taking a bunch of DEA agents with it.