{alltv} 'Vice' inspires 'Breaking' role

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There actually is a link between Breaking Bad and Miami Vice, of all things.

Physically speaking, the link is Giancarlo Esposito. He plays the largely silent but terrifying druglord Gus on Breaking Bad, which has garnered a stack of Emmy Awards and returns for its fourth season Sunday, July 17 on AMC.

Back in the 1980s, Esposito appeared on Miami Vice a handful of times. But there's a link with regard to acting technique, too, and it helped inform Esposito's portrayal of Gus.

"I likened (Gus) to a performance way back when I did about six or seven -- oh, maybe it was only four, I'm embellishing a little bit -- episodes of Miami Vice, where I played different characters each time," Esposito said. "There was an actor there outside of Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas who I admired, and it was Eddie (Edward James) Olmos.

"Eddie did very little and he was very convincing. I also thought he was a bit flat, but he did very, very little in playing (Lieutenant Martin Castillo) and I thought it was really effective.

"Juxtaposed to Philip Michael and Don, who were at times a bit full of themselves but were doing a little bit of acting, Eddie was just doing his job. And I wanted Gus to be in that mode."

Anyone who has watched Breaking Bad knows that Gus -- full name Gustavo Fring -- is all about just doing his job, which happens to be the factory manufacture of illegal drugs. Gus is quiet, polite, cultured, gracious, controlled ... but with a frightening gaze that could shatter glass.

So, Giancarlo, how often do you use that gaze in your real life? Once a month? Once a week? Once a day, God forbid?

"That's so interesting -- I don't use it in my regular life, I try not to," said Esposito, a longtime veteran of stage and screen.

"I've played a number of bad guys and I think audiences really like the person who creates the tension and the conflict in a story. And if a part of that character is likeable, it's even better.

"So I think I developed it through Gus. The stillness allowed that gaze to speak volumes."

Gus came along toward the end of Breaking Bad's second season. Esposito, who wasn't particularly interested at first, had no idea Gus would develop into the main nemesis for Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul).

"When I came onto this, it was a guest spot, and I'm the king of guest spots if you look back at my career, and I didn't want to do any more," Esposito said with a laugh.

"But my agent encouraged me to look at this script closely and watch the show. So then, of course, I loved it. I did one (episode) and within a week of completing the first one, they called and said, 'Would you do some more?' "

That was a good day for fans of Breaking Bad, but no so much for Walt and Jesse.

If it weren't for that damn Miami Vice, maybe minimalist Gus wouldn't be quite so scary.