Exploring Bryan Cranston’s funny side: his best comedic moments

Bryan Cranston has won numerous awards for his portrayal of drug-dealing menace Walter White on Breaking Bad, but the actor also has a knack for comedy.

In his latest comedic appearance, in a video released on Tuesday, Cranston assumes the role of the creator of a one-man show about the MLB playoffs. His character is so obsessed with his own brilliance that he can’t see what a terrible idea it is.

But this is hardly the first time Cranston’s dazzled us with his comedic skills. Here’s some of his best work over the past couple of years.

The Tonight Show (August 2013): “Let Us Play With Your Look”

If there’s anything we can take away from Bryan Cranston’s approach to comedy, it’s that he commits – hard. How else can any of us explain his ability to stay in character during Jimmy Fallon’s serenade? (Or his embracement of that wig? Or his flirtation with the camera? Or anything that happens in this clip at all?) We should all be so lucky to be that audience member.

Conan (September 2013): Erotic fan letter

However, Cranston may actually be funniest when he’s being himself. Or, more specifically, he may be funniest when he’s reading an erotic fan letter – which is less about him, more about his co-star, but still sufficiently awkward.

Breaking Bad series box set extras (2012): Alternate ending

Considering the intensity of Breaking Bad, it would’ve come as a relief if Cranston had woken up as Hal, his character from Malcolm in the Middle. Obviously, he did not. But for a few precious moments, our nerves were spared as his former TV wife Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) calmed Cranston down and put “I am the one who knocks” into an entirely new context.

Emmys 2014 (August 2014): “Barely Legal Pawn”

Well, you know what they say: comedy is easy – drama is hard. Or at least that’s how Cranston made it look in a 2014 Emmy promo that reunited him with Aaron Paul and his former Seinfeld co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Barely Legal Pawn. Playing the creepy and well-accessorized Buzz Jackson, Cranston reminded us that while he’s known as a dramatic force, we shouldn’t be surprised when he too walks away with an Emmy for comedy. (That he will later pawn after buying an island, of course.)

Emmys 2014 (September 2014): the kiss

A few months later, the 2014 Emmy ceremony saw Louis-Dreyfus and Cranston pay tribute to their former Seinfeld characters (Cranston was “The Dentist to the Stars”) when Louis-Dreyfus was named outstanding lead actress in a comedy for Veep and Cranston congratulated her accordingly.

The Colbert Report (August 2013): “Get Lucky”

But maybe Bryan Cranston’s true talent lies in dancing. After Daft Punk cancelled their appearance on The Colbert Report last summer, Stephen Colbert recruited everyone from Jimmy Fallon to Hugh Laurie to Jon Stewart for a dance-off to Get Lucky. And this was all very impressive until Colbert interrupted a Breaking Bad roundtable to bring us Cranston roller-skating in a plaid suit.

Which was almost as good as when Bryan Cranston roller-skated to Queen in a leotard on Malcolm in the Middle. Almost.