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Breaking Badtransformed pop culture, began the Netflix renaissance, and lifted Bryan Cranston out of his relatively obscure career in Hollywood. If not for Vince Gilligan and his eye for talent, the majority of the series cast would have been encased in guest/supporting roles or in Cranston’s case, as a middle-aged dad in a dysfunctional family sitcom afterMalcolm in the Middle.
In hindsight, however, not all facets of the AMC sleeper hit are laudable. There are darker truths, allegations, and unsolved mysteries hidden within the annals ofBreaking Badhistory. Cast members were accused of crimes so flagrant that they would be blacklisted by the industry in today’s socio-political climate. One such accusation almost destroyed the reputation ofBreaking Bad, if not tarnished its legacy entirely.
The World ofBreaking BadGets a Bit Too Realistic
Murder, theft, armed robbery, gang violence –Breaking Badis a who’s who of criminal offenses. For its cast, the story is not too far from the truth and their roles are not entirely incomprehensible to re-enact.Bryan Cranstonhimself has repeated the story about his days as a murder suspect time and again in talk shows and podcasts. Dean Norris was accused of sexual assault in 2018. Meanwhile, Danny Trejo’s past as a career criminal is known far and wide.
However, it wasRaymond Cruz, the actor playing Tuco Salamanca inBreaking BadSeasons 1 and 2, who left the show’s legacy crippled due to the much-publicized abuse allegation made against him byOrange is the New Blackactress Taryn Manning.
Breaking Bad’s Tuco Actor Raymond Cruz Says “Fans are Drawn to” a Salamanca Spinoff: “They have such amazing storylines and amazing characters”
In a since-deleted Instagram post, Manning not only accused Raymond Cruz of violent behavior and physical abuse but also called out other industry names like Ashton Kutcher and Terrence Howard for numerous wrongdoings.
Taryn Manning Takes Down Tuco Salamanca
In September 2023, Taryn Manning went on a social media rant against Raymond Cruz, among others, accusing him of physical assault while working together in the Lifetime TV movie,Cleveland Abductionin 2015. Cruz played the part of the kidnapper while Manning played one of his three female victims. Speaking of their time on the sets of that film, Manning recalled (viaCinemaBlend):
They didn’t have to put bruises on me in the makeup trailer anymore cause I was COVERED from your abuse. You can legit burn in HELL since you loved talking about it daily anyway. Also traumatizing. Most evil actor I’ve ever worked with hands down.
Around the same time, the actress was also suffering from a potentially manic episode after being dropped by her talent agency and PR rep for making pro-Trump statements and supporting Danny Masterson amid his rape trial and conviction.
“I’d feel bad”: Bryan Cranston Was Ready to Lose Breaking Bad Fans Over the One Thing That Vince Gilligan Kept Pushing Till the End
Her erratic posts on social media had thefans concernedfor her health and well-being and although that should not take away from her alleged experience of assault at the hands of Raymond Cruz, her mental health also gets drawn into the equation along with her accusations, leading to doubts about their veracity.
Breaking Badis streaming on AMC+.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2408
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
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Breaking BadVince Gilligan
