{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Giancarlo Esposito was struggling financially before landing the role of a lifetime in Breaking Bad.
Esposito, who played Gus Fring on the hit AMC drama, hit such a low point in his life in 2008 that he considered arranging his own murder so his family could take advantage of his life insurance policy.
“My solution in my brain was, ‘Hey, do you get life insurance if someone kills themselves?’ Do they get their bread?” he said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jim & Sam show. “My wife said, ‘That’s kind of tricky’ … She had no idea why I was asking her these things.
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“Breaking Bad” star Giancarlo Esposito almost took drastic measures to support his family before he found fame on television. (Getty Images)
“Now I started gossiping. If someone dropped me, death by accident, they would get insurance.
“I had four children. I wanted them to have a life. It seemed like a tough moment. I was literally thinking about self-destruction so they could survive. That’s how low I was.”
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Despite the bankruptcy and long-term mental anguish, the idea of harming his family was too much to bear.
Giancarlo Esposito played drug kingpin Gus Fring in the show. (Getty Images)
“That was the first inkling that there was a way out, but I wasn’t going to be here to be there for him or be a part of it or be there for my kids,” Esposito said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Then I started thinking that it wasn’t viable because the pain I would cause them would be lifelong and lifelong trauma that would just prolong the generational trauma that I’m trying to distance myself from. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. ‘Breaking Bad.’
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Esposito’s role as a corrupt drug kingpin earned him an Emmy nomination in 2012 for Outstanding Supporting Actor and opened the door to new career opportunities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Breaking Bad” debuted in 2008 with Bryan Cranston starring as chemistry teacher-turned-addict Walter White. (Getty Images)
“Breaking Bad” premiered in 2008, starring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn. The drug drama was regularly nominated for awards and earned 16 Emmys before it ended in 2013.
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Esposito starred in The Mandalorian, The Boys, Revolution and Once Upon a Time. He received two Emmy nominations for his performance in the “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul.”
