A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston

eBook Memoir

My husband and I really enjoyed watching the television series Breaking Bad! It quickly became one of our favorite all time television series ever.

Bryan Cranston played the leading role of Walt White in Breaking Bad. Essentially, up until reading Bryan Cranston's soon to be released memoir titled, A Life In Parts, that's all I knew about Bryan Cranston's life.

So, when I learned that NetGalley was allowing readers to request a free copy of A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston in exchange for an honest review, I decided to submit a request for Bryan Cranston's new memoir... And, lucky me, I received a free ebook edition of A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston to read and review! The following is my honest, unbiased review of A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston.

First off, let me state that I normally don't read celebrity memoirs or biographies very often. However, because I respected Bryan Cranston's work on Breaking Bad, I decided that it may be worthwhile in reading Cranston's soon to be released memoir to learn more about him and his acting career. I wasn't disappointed with Bryan Cranston's memoir at all.

I love the title of Bryan Cranston's new memoir, A Life In Parts. The title is perfect as Cranston highlights many aspects of his colorful life and his career. Knowing very little about Bryan Cranston's life prior to reading his memoir, I was surprised at how candid he was about what he did share of his personal life... The good, the bad, the ugly, but mostly wonderful life he has lived. Cranston writes with candor and humor as he talks about his childhood and family growing up, odd jobs he had growing up and before he became famous, how/when he finally decided he wanted to become an actor, riding motorbikes across the USA with his brother, his various acting roles,  running marathons, meeting his wife, having their daughter, Taylor, and what fatherhood has meant to him, and more. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston. It's really well written and flows nicely. I've come to respect Bryan Cranston's viewpoints on acting and his views on life in general. Bryan Cranston seems well grounded and he doesn't seem to be one of those difficult, spoiled actors who has an inflated ego since becoming famous, which I admire.

The following is more information about A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston from Amazon:

A poignant, intimate, funny, inspiring memoir—both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on creativity, devotion, and craft—from Bryan Cranston, beloved and acclaimed star of one of history’s most successful TV shows, Breaking Bad.

Bryan Cranston landed his first role at seven, when his father, a struggling actor and director, cast him in a United Way commercial. Soon, Bryan was haunting the local movie theater, memorizing and reenacting favorite scenes with his older brother. Acting was clearly the boy’s destiny—until one day his father disappeared. Suddenly, destiny took a back seat to survival.

Seeking something more stable, perhaps subconsciously trying to distance himself from his absent father, Cranston decided on a career in law enforcement. But then, a young man on a classic cross-country motorcycle trip, Cranston one day found himself stranded at a rest area in the Blue Ridge Mountains. To pass the time he read a tattered copy of Hedda Gabler, and in a flash he found himself face-to-face once again with his original calling. Suddenly he thought: This was what he wanted to do, what he would do, with the rest of his life. Act.

In his riveting memoir, A Life in Parts, Cranston traces his zigzag journey from his chaotic childhood to his dramatic epiphany, and beyond, to mega-stardom and a cult-like following, by vividly revisiting the many parts he’s played, on camera (astronaut, dentist, detective, candy bar spokesperson, President of the United States, etc.) and off (paperboy, farmhand, security guard, dating consultant, murder suspect, dock loader, son, brother, lover, husband, father). With great humor, and much humility, Cranston chronicles his unlikely rise from a soap opera regular, trying to learn the ropes and the politics of show business on the fly, to a recurring spot as Tim Whatley on Seinfeld, finding himself an indelible part of popular culture. He recalls his run as the well-meaning goofball, Hal, on Malcolm in the Middle, proving to writers and fans that he was willing to do anything, anything, for a laugh, and he gives a bracing account of his challenging run on Broadway as President Lyndon Johnson, pushing himself to the limit as he prepared, physically and mentally, for a tour de force that would win him a Tony, to go along with his four Emmys.

Of course, Cranston dives deep into the grittiest, most fascinating details of his greatest role, explaining how he searched inward for the personal darkness that would help him create one of the most riveting performances ever captured on screen: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.

Discussing his failures as few men do, describing his work as few actors can, Cranston has much to say about innate talent, its benefits, challenges, and proper maintenance, but ultimately A Life in Parts is about the necessity and transformative power of hard work.

I am giving A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!