Bryan Cranston Praises Daughter Taylor Dearden Role in The Pitt
Bryan Cranston is one proud father these days. The Breaking Bad star, 69, couldn’t stop gushing about his daughter Taylor Dearden and her performance in the Max hit medical drama The Pitt.
While walking the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival, Cranston opened up about Taylor’s growing success in the industry. He told reporters that watching his daughter shine brings him unmatched joy.
“There is nothing that’s more gratifying than when your kid receives praise. Nothing,” Cranston said. “No one could say anything to me that’s better than that.”
Taylor’s start wasn’t all glitz and glamour
Taylor, 32, is the only child of Cranston and his wife, actress Robin Dearden. The couple has been together for over 35 years. Taylor’s first on-screen role came in a small part on Breaking Bad, where she played a “Sad Faced Girl” in one episode.
But she didn’t ride on her dad’s fame for long. After her early debut, she carved out her own path. She appeared in several short films and made waves with her role as McKenzie in the web series 10 Ways to Get Rejected.
From there, she picked up parts in MTV’s Sweet/Vicious and Netflix’s American Vandal. More recently, she was seen in Apple TV Plus shows For All Mankind and The Last Thing He Told Me.
Now starring as Dr. Melissa King in The Pitt
Taylor currently stars as Dr. Melissa King in The Pitt, which just wrapped up its first season in April. The medical drama has been a big hit, pulling in over 10 million viewers per episode around the world. A second season is already on the way.
Her performance has been widely praised, and she’s even being talked about as a possible contender for Best Supporting Actress when the Emmy nominations are announced next month.
Bryan Cranston beamed with pride as he spoke about her dedication. “She’s a very hard working person, she grew up in it,” he said. “It’s in her bones. She’s in it for the right reasons and she loves it.”
No lectures, just leading by example
When asked if he had given Taylor advice about the business, Cranston made it clear he preferred to show, not tell.
“Because I’m her dad, she picks up advice hopefully by the way I behave in this business and navigate my way through,” he said. “I don’t ever say, ‘Now, young lady, here’s some advice I’m going to give you.’ Kids don’t want to hear that,” he joked.
He’s confident that Taylor’s motivation comes from within. He said she loves what she does, and that’s what truly matters.
Taylor opens up about her role and real-life connection
Taylor has spoken openly about her experience playing Dr. Melissa King. In an interview with Gold Derby last month, she said filming the show while it aired was a strange feeling.
“We’d get texts from people saying like ‘ah that one thing that happened’ and I’m like still at work going, ‘No I just did something else,’” she laughed.
Her character, Dr. King, is a neurodivergent second-year medical resident. Taylor herself is neurodivergent, and she said that made the role feel personal.
She admitted that the way neurodivergent characters are portrayed in media often bothers her. “There is a show that will not be mentioned that I saw and I was like wow they’re really trying to play autism there in a very unflattering light,” she said.
Taylor said she wanted to bring something more human to the screen. “It’s just I think what’s frustrating is it is this idea of robots as opposed to humans and people who have a lot of things going on,” she explained.
She’s aware of how delicate the role is and said she hopes she’s doing justice to it. “It tends to be very one note and I’m hoping that I’m doing a good job,” she added.
With the first season of The Pitt wrapped and a second on the horizon, Taylor Dearden’s star is clearly rising. And her dad? He couldn’t be happier.
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