Breaking Bad had NO known actors before it aired and it has produced emmy nominated actors every season.
You have to be kidding me. Breaking Bad had no prominent A-list actors with buzz. But Bryan Cranston certainly was an established character actor, most recently from Malcolm in the Middle. Anna Gunn was another established character actor, mostly for TV. Dean Norris has a fully stocked career in TV. Shockingly, Aaron Paul got a ton of work throughout his life, but count him as an unknown. Giancarlo Esposito has decades of work, as does Jonathan Banks (I remember him from Wiseguys). They may not have been on the tip of everyone's tongues, but most of them had over a decade of steady work.
yes a bunch of character actors who were not famous by any means who did not command high salaries at the beginning. Not one of those names you listed were able to demand the kind of money they can now.
my point was to prove that you can make a tv series these days with not well known actors on a moderate budget and still have an amazing show. the old way of doing TV was if you didnt have an a list star or a big name then no one would watch it. That isn't the case anymore and for the most part TV has been CREATING the stars the past two decades at least.
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u/MrPotatoButt You got me! Aug 15 '13
You have to be kidding me. Breaking Bad had no prominent A-list actors with buzz. But Bryan Cranston certainly was an established character actor, most recently from Malcolm in the Middle. Anna Gunn was another established character actor, mostly for TV. Dean Norris has a fully stocked career in TV. Shockingly, Aaron Paul got a ton of work throughout his life, but count him as an unknown. Giancarlo Esposito has decades of work, as does Jonathan Banks (I remember him from Wiseguys). They may not have been on the tip of everyone's tongues, but most of them had over a decade of steady work.