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Walter Hartwell "Walt" White Sr., also known by his drug-lord alias Heisenberg, is the main protagonist of the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad. The character is portrayed by Bryan Cranston. Although AMC officials initially hesitated to cast Cranston due to his previous comedic role on Malcolm in the Middle, Gilligan cast him based on the actor's past performance in The X-Files episode "Drive", which Gilligan wrote. Cranston contributed greatly to the creation of his character, including Walt's backstory, personality, and physical appearance.
Within the series, Walt is a chemist and graduate of the California Institute of Technology, who co-founded the company Gray Matter Technologies. He left Gray Matter abruptly, selling his shares for $5,000. Soon afterward, the company made a fortune, much of it from Walt's research. Walt subsequently moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he became a high school chemistry teacher. On his 50th birthday, he is diagnosed with Stage IIIA lung cancer. After this discovery, Walt resorts to manufacturing and selling methamphetamines with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to ensure his family's financial security after his death. He is pulled deeper into the illicit drug trade, becoming more and more ruthless as the series progresses, and later adopts the alias "Heisenberg", which becomes recognizable as a kingpin figure in the Southwestern drug trade. Walt becomes less sympathetic throughout the show, as series creator Vince Gilligan wanted him to turn from "Mr. Chips into Scarface".
Both the character and Cranston's performance have received critical acclaim, with White frequently being mentioned as one of the greatest and most iconic television characters of all time. Cranston won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, three of them being consecutive. He is the first man to win a Critics' Choice, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance. Cranston reprised the role of Walt in a flashback for Breaking Bad's sequel film El Camino, and will reprise it again in the sixth and final season of the prequel series Better Call Saul, making him one of the few characters to appear in all three.
