Albuquerque Unveils Bronze Statues of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman From ‘Breaking Bad’ (UPDATE)

Both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul showed up for the unveiling of statues dedicated to their Breaking Bad​​​​​​​ characters in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

breaking bad stars standing next to statues
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breaking bad stars standing next to statues

UPDATED 7/30 10:55 a.m. ET: Both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul showed up for the unveiling of statues dedicated to their Breaking Bad characters in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

As KRQE reports, the leading duo of the beloved AMC series came to thank the city’s mayor, Tim Keller, for hosting the cast and crew. “Thank you to all of us, all of us had a hand in this including the city of Albuquerque, which was as the mayor said ‘not just a location, not just a host, you were a character in the show," said Cranson, who obviously portrayed Walter White in the show.

“It really represented us and brings people here so they can identify with a certain part of that. It’s really good economically the tourism dollars are just phenomenal,” added New Mexico Film Foundation member, Royd McCargish. Keller reiterated how much the series has done for tourism in the city.

The statues were unveiled on Friday at the Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque. 

See original story below.

The city of Albuquerque has been given “larger-than-life” bronze statues of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad, NBC affiliate KOB reports.  

Sculptor Trevor Grove was commissioned in 2019 by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan, who recently donated the statues to the city that helped bring the iconic duo to life. “Over the course of fifteen years, two TV shows and one movie, Albuquerque has been wonderful to us,” Gilligan said in a press release. “I wanted to return the favor and give something back.” 

The statues will be unveiled on July 29 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The next day, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who played Walter and Jesse, respectively, are scheduled to appear at a game for the Colorado Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate team, the Albuquerque Isotopes. They are expected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

“We also appreciate that the statues will be indoors, and therefore protected from pigeons depositing their critiques on our heads,” Cranston and Paul jokingly said in a joint statement.

Even though Breaking Bad concluded nearly a decade ago, Cranston and Paul remain close friends. The two launched Dos Hombres mezcal in 2019, and were seen handing out samples at a Costco just last month. 

In April, Paul revealed on the Tonight Show that he asked Cranston to be the godfather of Rydin, his second child with wife Lauren Parsekian. “He was very excited, very honored, I love the man to death,” he said. “He’s one of my best friends in the world, so it was a no brainer.” 

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