Bryan Cranston: Walter White and Lyndon B. Johnson have 'a lot in common'

Following his Emmy-winning turn as Walter White on Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston took to Broadway to portray President Lyndon B. Johnson. And according to Cranston, the mindset of a drug kingpin is not so far removed from that of the 36th President of the United States.

“There’s a lot in common actually,” Cranston told EW at the Television Critics’ Association press tour on Thursday. “I think if you drew a Venn diagram, there would be a lot more in common than outside the circle. Very ambitious, very exceptional in what they do,” he said. “[They] can be selfish, can be self-righteous, very talented. There’s a tremendous amount that they have in common. It’s really just serendipitous to me that I was in the right place at the right time.”

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Cranston filled LBJ’s shoes at the American Repertory Theater from 2013–2014, resulting in a Tony Award for Best Actor; he’ll reprise the lead role as HBO adapts the play into a biopic, due out in the spring.

Reporting by Christina Dugan