Giancarlo Esposito, a popular face from the iconic show ‘Breaking Bad‘, revealed that a victim of poverty and had almost given up before he landed the role in the acclaimed show. After he played the iconic character of Gus Fring on ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul‘, his fortune changed. But before landing the role, Esposito’s life had become intolerable for him and he had therefore decided to kill himself.
Opening up about the dark chapter in his life before finding success in the world of television, Esposito revealed how he had decided to plan his own murder to secure financial gains for his children after his death. Speaking about his dire situation during a candid interview on SiriusXM’s Jim & Sam, the actor narrated his desperate days back in 2008.
Esposito said he considered insurance fraud as a solution to his unending misery and poor financial conditions. “My way out in my brain was: ‘Hey, do you get life insurance if someone commits suicide? Do they get the bread?’ My wife had no idea why I was asking this stuff,” he recalled.
“I started scheming. If I got somebody to knock me off, death by misadventure, [my kids] would get the insurance,” he said of his four kids and he wanted them to have a life. “It was a hard moment in time. I literally thought of self-annihilation so they could survive. That’s how low I was,” he added.
Related: Skyler White’s Original Fate On ‘Breaking Bad’ Would Have Made Walter White Even More Sinister
‘Breaking Bad’ Was The “Light At The End Of The Tunnel” For Giancarlo Esposito
Though he rose to fame after ‘Breaking Bad‘, Giancarlo Esposito’s acting career began in childhood. He took up various roles on Broadway and in film and television. A few years later, the harsh realities of the industry’s financial instability struck him and there was no way out that he could think of to escape it.
Although he initially tried to use suicide as a way out with some financial benefits for his children as well, Esposito ultimately decided against the idea of insurance fraud. “That was the first inkling that there was a way out, but I wouldn’t be here to be available to my kids,” he said.
“Then I started to think that’s not viable because the pain I would cause them would be lifelong, and there’d be lifelong trauma that would just extend the generational trauma I’m trying to move away from. The light at the end of the tunnel was Breaking Bad,” he added.
His character on the show, Gus Fring, not only propelled him to newfound fame but also came as a ray of hope in the darkest moments of his life. His acting on the show garnered widespread acclaim and also earned him multiple Emmy nominations. The role also paved the way for several other roles that he took on in his further career.
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