Aaron Paul's Breaking Bad Residuals? Literally Zero
The beloved actor earns nothing.
Undoubtedly, Breaking Bad is one of the greatest television shows in history. The television landscape has forever been transformed by its tale of a high school chemistry teacher who has to resort to cooking meth to pay his medical bills after he is diagnosed with cancer.
Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, the leading actors, have received numerous awards for their performances. However, they're making surprisingly little money from their work on Breaking Bad.
No Residuals
With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes still in progress, Cranston and Paul decided to participate in street demonstrations. They disclosed that AMC refuses to pay them any residuals, even though Breaking Bad recently trended on Netflix after AMC sold streaming rights to the online giant.
'I don't get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad, if we're being totally honest, and that's insane to me. Shows live forever on these streamers, and it goes through waves. I think a lot of these streamers, they know that they have been getting away with not paying people a fair wage, and now it's time to pony up,' Paul said.
Indeed, it is quite astonishing that one of the main actors earns nothing from the success of his show, especially considering he devoted over five years to filming and promoting it.
Initially, some fans were against the strikes as they caused delays in the release of highly anticipated movies and shows. However, it seems that an increasing number of people are supporting the writers and actors as they realise how much profit companies like Netflix generate without adequately compensating the creators of these projects.
'It puts some of his post BB choices into perspective, I just assumed actors in roles like his would make residuals. Especially with how Breaking Bad blew up on Netflix. The more that comes out of the strike it's a realisation that streaming isn't syndication,' a fan said.
Justice For Paul
While some fans immediately started pressuring Netflix to pay Paul his residuals, it's evident that the streaming giant has no intention of doing so, as it would set a precedent for other actors to receive residuals as well.
Regrettably, it seems we'll have to wait until the conclusion of the current strikes to see any potential changes in Hollywood's dubious practices.