FOLKS, MY FIRST GUEST IS AN EMMY AND
TONY-AWARD WINNING ACTOR YOU KNOW FROM "BREAKING
BAD," "ALL THE WAY," AND "ISLE OF DOGS."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE SHOW," BRYAN CRANSTON!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> HI!
HOW ARE YOU?
NICE TO SEE YOU!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
HI!
HOW ARE YOU?
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: I LIKE IT.
YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST AUDIENCE.
>> Stephen: I DO.
AND YOU ARE ONE OF THE BEST AT MILKING THEM.
ABSOLUTELY.
YOUR DADDY WAS A DAIRY FARMER.
( LAUGHTER ) WELCOME BACK.
NICE TO SEE YOU.
>> NICE TO SEE YOU, TOO, STEPHEN.
>> Stephen: SIR BRYAN CRANSTON.
>> IS THAT WHAT IT IS?
>> Stephen: YEAH, AT A CERTAIN POINT OF YOUR ACTING CAREER AND
ADULATION FOR YOUR ACTING CAREER THAT GOES ON THE FRONT.
>> AMERICANS JUST DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF ROYALTY.
>> Stephen: I KNIGHTED YOU TONIGHT.
>> WE SHOULD COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT NAME THAN SIR.
>> Stephen: THAN SIR?
UH -- BUDDY.
>> HBUDDY BRYAN CRANSTON.
>> Stephen: I LIKE IT.
WHY NOT?
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: SOUNDS LIKE YOU
PLAYED MINOR LEAGUE BALL.
>> YEAH, OLD BUDDY.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE BACK HERE TALKING ON BROADWAY, YOU ARE
HOWARD BEHL IN THE BROADWAY STAGING OF "NETWORK."
( APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: WHERE DID YOU GUYS
START THIS?
>> WE DID IT IN LONDON AT THE NATIONAL THEATER FOR SIX MONTHS
LAST YEAR, AND IT WORKED OUT SO WELL, IT TRANSLATED -- YOU KNOW
PATTY IS A GENIUS.
>> Stephen: UNBELIEVABLE.
CERTAINLY THE ORIGINAL FILM AND THIS SHOW, YOU HAVE -- EVERY
CHARACTER GET THEIR MOMENT BUT CERTAINLY YOU AS HOWARD BEHL,
YOU AS THE MAN WHO IS MAD AS HELL AND ISN'T TAKING IT
ANYMORE, YOU HAVE SOME OF THE BEST MONOLOGUES EVER WRITTEN.
>> IT'S LIKE CAT NIP TO AN ACTOR.
WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH A SCRIPT AND SEE BIG SPEECHES WITH THIS
BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE HE WAS WEAVING TOGETHER, IT'S
FANTASTIC.
>> Stephen: AND THEY BUILD!
YOU LITERALLY PASS OUT AT THE END OF EACH ONE OF THESE.
>> I KIND OF GO A LITTLE CRAZY, YEAH.
I GO MAD.
BUT IT'S A BEAUTIFUL TRANSITION.
THIS MAN WALKS THE LINE BETWEEN IS HE GOING CRAZY OR DID HE
ACTUALLY HAVE AN EPIPHANY?
DID HE ACTUALLY HAVE AN EXPERIENCE WHERE HE IS BRINGING
BENEFIT TO SOCIETY NOW AND HE WANTS TO SHARE IT WITH HIS TV
AUDIENCE?
>> Stephen: HE BELIEVES HE'S HOOKED INTO A UNIVERSAL LIFE
FORCE WHAT THE HINDUS CALL PRANA.
>> THAT'S WHERE I FIRST LEARNED THE WORD.
>> Stephen: WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH A BIG VIDEO
MONITOR.
THAT THE YOU DOWN HERE.
>> THAT'S ME.
>> Stephen: AND YOU UP THERE BEING CONTROLLED BY YOUR
PRODUCER.
>> YES.
IT'S A MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT BRINGS YOU BACK TO THE MID 1970s AND THEN
SHOOTS YOU BACK INTO 2018 QUICKLY.
SO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, IN THE SHOW
ABOUT BEING ADDICTED TO WHATEVER THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS AT THE
TIME, IN THIS CASE HE TALKS ABOUT THE TUBE, TELEVISION,
WELL, WE ARE JUST LOOKING AT TELEVISION NOW IN THE PALMS OF
OUR HAND.
OR HOW ABOUT FAKE NEWS?
THAT'S AN ELEMENT WE DEAL.
WITH AND THE MANIPULATION OF AUDIENCES BYING HAVING A NEWS
OUTLET, OF HAVING AN AGENDA OF WHAT THEY WANT THEIR AUDIENCE TO
LISTEN TO.
>> Stephen: AND WRITTEN IN 1975, THE FILM RELEASED IN '76.
>> RIGHT.
>> Stephen: PATTY REALLY SEEMS LIKE A PROPHET IN THIS BECAUSE
SO MUCH OF IT IS ABOUT EMOTION DRIVING THE NEWS.
>> YEAH, AND IDEOLOGY AND AGENDA AND PURPOSE.
THEY'RE OUT TO SHAPE YOU.
AND WHAT HOWARD BEHL RAILS ABOUT, IN ONE OF THE SPEECHES,
AS YOU WELL KNOW, HE SAYS ONLY THREE PERCENT OF YOU PEOPLE READ
BOOKS, ONLY 15% READ NEWSPAPERS BECAUSE THE ONLY TREATY YOU KNOW
IS WHAT YOU GET ON YOUR TELEVISION, AND IF YOU LIMIT
YOURSELF TO ONE SOURCE OF NEWS, THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GOING TO GET.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE TUNNEL VISIONED TO THAT -- WHATEVER
AGENDA THAT OUTLET HAS.
>> Stephen: WELL, CERTAINLY THE MOST FAMOUS LINE IN THE
ENTIRE PLAY, I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT
ANYMORE.
>> RIGHT.
NOW, PATTY WROTE, I'M AS MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE
IT ANYMORE.
BUT PETER FINCH WENT THROUGH ONE AND A HALF TAKES OF THAT SCENE
AND HE COLLAPSED.
HE COULDN'T DO ANYMORE.
AND HE TOLD THE DIRECTOR, I'M DONE.
AND HE ACTUALLY INADVERTENTLY DROPPED THAT ONE "AS" AND PATTY
WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
>> Stephen: LITERALLY THAT ONE TWO-LETTER WORD.
>> I'M AS MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE
BECAME I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE.
I BELLOW THAT EVERY NIGHT AT THE PULASCO.
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: AS AN ACTOR WHO
HAS TO CALL UPON HIS OWN EMOTIONAL TRUTH FOR THAT MOMENT,
WHAT ARE YOU MAD AS HELL ABOUT AND WILL NOT TAKE ANYMORE, DRIEN
CRANSTON?
( LAUGHTER ) >> I THINK WHAT MAKES ME ANGRY
IS PEOPLE ACCEPTING DUPLICITY AND THE DIMINISHING OF INTEGRITY
AND THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAT WE'RE FINDING NOW IN OUR
SOCIETY.
( APPLAUSE ) AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT
OF DISCOVERIES AN ACTOR MAKES WHEN DEVELOPING A CHARACTER, BUT
ONE OF THE THINGS I DIDN'T QUITE PICK UP ON IN LONDON BUT I'M
REALLY KEYING IN ON NOW IS THE SOCIAL NON-ACCEPTANCE OF THE
EMOTION OF ANGER.
TO BE MAD.
WE ACCEPT INTOLERANCE, WE ACCEPT IRRITABILITY, WE ACCEPT, YOU
KNOW, IRRASABILITY AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT TRUE ANGER
DISPLAYED SOCIALABLY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND PERHAPS WHAT WE
DO NEED, AS HOWARD BEHL SAYS, FIRST YOU'VE GOT TO GET MAD, AND
WHEN YOU'RE MAD ENOUGH, THEN WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH
IT.
THEN SOCIAL CHANGE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE PLACE IS WHEN YOU GET MAD,
AND, PERHAPS, WHEN YOU SEE INJUSTICE LIKE WE DO OFTEN THESE
DAYS YOU DON'T WANT TO BE TOLERANT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE
ACCEPTING OF THAT.
YOU WANT TO SAY, NO, THIS MAKES ME ANGRY, IT IS WRONG AND WE
HAVE TO STAND UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: CERTAINLY AS A
CLACARICATURE, BRITISH PEOPLE AR THOUGHT OF AS BEING VERY
RESERVED EMOTIONALLY.
>> YES.
>> Stephen: YOU MUST HAVE BEEN OVER THERE THE BERT PART OF A
YEAR GETTING READY AND PERFORMING.
DO YOU THINK THAT'S TRUE?
COMPARED TO AMERICANS, ARE THEY BETTER AT SHOWING THEIR EMOTIONS
ANGER AND OTHERWISE OR WORSE?
>> I THINK THEY ARE MORE RESERVED.
AMERICANS HAVE A TENDENCY TO BE ABLE TO LET IT GO.
AND THERE'S SOME GREATNESS TO THAT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN IT'S CALLED FOR AND APPROPRIATE TO BE
MORE TOLERANT AND CONTROLLED, AMERICANS SOMETIMES HAVE A
DIFFICULTY IN PUTTING IT BACK INTO A BOX.
>> Stephen: SEE, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT EVERYBODY PRETTY
MUCH NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CULTURE IS HIDES THEIR FEELINGS FOR
SELF-PRESERVATION THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BE REVEALED, THAT WE'RE
AFRAID TO REVEAL OURSELVES TO EACH OTHER WHICH IS WHY I'LL PAY
MONEY TO GO SEE YOU ON STAGE HAVE AN EMOTION PUBLICLY.
>> BUT I THINK IT'S THE ANGER PART YOU WANT TO HIDE.
WHEN WE STAND THERE AND WE'RE ABOUT TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH WITH
ANYBODY -- >> Stephen: YES.
-- OUR KNEE-JERK REACTION IS TO SMILE.
AND EVERY PICTURE THAT WE TAKE, WE'RE JUST BEAMING AS IF WE ARE
INCREDIBLY HAPPY AT THAT MOMENT.
IF WE WERE TRULY HONEST, WE WOULD JUST BE THERE AND JUST
ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE FEELING WHATEVER IT IS AT THAT MOMENT TO
BE HONEST. BUT IT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE.
IN THIS SOCIETY, WE ALWAYS WANT TO SHOW THINGS THAT ARE POSITIVE
SMILE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, AND PEOPLE SEE SOMEONE CRYING, OFTEN YOU WILL
HEAR, OH, DON'T CRY, DON'T CRY, DON'T CRY, AND IT'S LIKE, NO,
THEY SHOULD CRY, THEY'RE SUFFERING A LOSS OR SADNESS OR
SOMETHING, AS OPPOSED TO JUST PUTTING YOUR ARM AROUND THEM AND
ALLOWING THEM TO FEEL WHAT THEY'RE FEELING AT THAT MOMENT.
>> Stephen: MAYBE CRY WITH THEM.
>> CRY WITH THEM.
OR BE ANGRY WITH THEM.
( APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A
BREAK.
BACK WITH MORE BRYAN CRANSTON.
PLEASE DON'T GO.