Bryan Cranston’s traumatic childhood
Bryan Cranston has opened up about his traumatic childhood.
The ‘Breaking Bad’ actor’s father Joe abandoned the family when Bryan was 11 years old and his mother Peggy turned to alcohol to cope, leading Bryan – who has two sisters – to be sent away to live on his grandparents’ farm and he is still "dealing with the pain" from his youth.
He told the Sunday Times: "There’s still a lot of pain I’m dealing with. It’s worse than if they died in a car crash, because they were still there physically, somewhere. My mum and dad up through 10 years old were really wonderful, that’s what was so awful about it. My mother was engaging and my dad was my coach; we did things together and he brought home a donkey for us to play with. Then it all disappeared.
"He chose not to be with us or see us or be a father. My mother chose to become an alcoholic and drown her sorrows and sadness and resentment. She was like a ghost of herself. And no one ever explained why he left."
However, Bryan, 60, reconciled with both his parents before they died and revealed he found a note from his father, which read: "The highlight of my life was when my children forgave me."
Speaking about dealing with his mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, Bryan added: "I feel far more sorry for those people who had really good relationships with a parent and then, all of a sudden, in a matter of a few months, that person slips away. That’s cruelty. With me, it was more fortunate that the disconnect happened when I was 13 years old."
