Bryan Cranston: One Thing All Young People Should Do While They're Still Young | Big Think

One Thing All Young People Should Do While They're Still Young
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Actor Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Trumbo, Last Flag Flying) is easily one of the greatest actors of his generation. But he has a remarkable perspective on art and how its tenets might be useful to other areas of life. For instance, Bryan posits, don't get into something unless your heart is fully in it. This applies to actors signing up for projects they're not earnestly invested in just as much as it does people working in jobs they aren't passionate about. "Trust your feelings. Trust your instincts," Bryan says, because embracing ambiguity instead of looking at life as a series of steps leading to a goal can lead to a much healthier outlook. Bryan Cranston's new book is the spectacular memoir A Life in Parts.
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BRYAN CRANSTON:

Bryan Cranston won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad. He holds the honor of being the first actor in a cable series, and the second lead actor in the history of the Emmy Awards, to receive three consecutive wins. In 2014 he won a Tony Award for his role as Lyndon Johnson in the bio-play All the Way. In film, Cranston received an Academy Award nomination for his leading role in Trumbo. Among his numerous television and film appearances, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and three Emmys for his portrayal of Hal in FOX’s Malcolm in the Middle. He is the author of his memoir, A Life in Parts.
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TRANSCRIPT:

Bryan Cranston: You know Americans have a lot of great qualities, and one of them is a general work ethic. I think we’re a nation of hard workers.

And that being said I think sometimes we reach down too far into our youth and expect them to produce sooner than they should be able to.

I think people gain a tremendous amount of wisdom when they travel, when they wander—when they allow themselves, as I did, to get lost. And maybe you’ll find yourself somewhere. Or at least traveling forces you to be social. You have to get directions, you have to learn where things are, you’re attuned to your environment, you have to be more careful about the weather and where you’re lodging is going to be, where you’re going to eat, how you’re going to get from one place to another.

When you’re there what is it you want to see? How can you find a place for you to actually just rest? It’s an experience like no other. I love to travel and I enjoy not knowing where I am. It’s an unusual thing. I’d purposefully teach that to my daughter, who’s now 24 years old, to not be afraid of not knowing where you are. So I’ll go for a drive or go for a walk in a different city and my wife will say, “Do you know where you’re going?” “Not really. Just kind of exploring different places.” As long as you have a sense of direction you’ll find your way, you’ll figure it out. And I do that in foreign countries as well: Just kind of wander and meander and trust that you’ve paid attention to at least the basic requirement of where you have to get back to in order to find your way home.

But I think it is, I think we look down now to 16 year olds and say, “Where are you going to go to college? What are you going to do for the rest of your life?” And it's like... they’re not fully baked yet! How do they know? Give them a break.

Just say, look, “I think after high school take a year off, take two years off. Join the Peace Corps. Travel. Go figure things out or just enjoy yourself.”

For the first time in their lives they’re adults and they don’t have to be somewhere. They’re not told to be somewhere. Get used to that freedom. Get used to having the need to self-govern yourself, to be able to employ self-discipline—or not. Or you realize “Oh my god, I’m really slovenly! If I’m not told I need to go to class I don’t go.” You might discover something about yourself.

“I need order. I need that. I like that.” Some people love to be, say, “this is where you have to be and this is what you need to do.” Are you that type of person or are you a type of person that wants more freedom in your life? And I think exploration, travel, it provides that.

In 1976 I had just finished my second year of college and realized that, after an experience in an elective acting class, that I wasn’t going to be the policeman I thought I was going to be. It was better if I didn’t continue on with two more years of an Administration of Justice major because I knew I wasn’t going to become a policeman...

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