Former Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston believes there may be a way back for Kevin Spacey and shamed Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment have triggered a series of stories and revelations designed to expose the industry’s long history of abuse.
Make no mistake, Cranston still roundly condemned Weinstein and Spacey for their predatory and wildly inappropriate behavior, and stressed that the latter’s career is ostensibly dead and buried: “He’s a phenomenal actor but he’s not a very good person.”
As for what the future holds, Cranston showed a hint of optimism, and told BBC News that, “it would take time, it would take a society to forgive them, and it would take tremendous contrition on their part,” beginning with the omission that they each “have a deeply rooted psychological and emotional problem.”
If they were to show us that they put the work in and were truly sorry and making amends and not defending their actions but asking for forgiveness then maybe down the road there is room for that. Maybe so. Then it would be up to us to determine, case by case, whether or not this person deserves a second chance. And I think in the face of it, we should let that open.
We shouldn’t close it off and say, ‘To hell with him, rot, and go away from us for the rest of your life.’ Let’s not do that. Let’s be bigger than that. Let’s leave it open for the few who can make it through that gauntlet of trouble and who have reclaimed their life and their dignity and their respect for others. Maybe it’s possible.
Again, it’s worth remembering that Bryan Cranston has been pretty unequivocal about the topic in the past, noting that sexual harassment and misconduct – not to mention the culture that allowed those in power to suppress subsequent allegations – is “beyond disgusting… almost animalistic.” He also welcomed those brave enough to come forward with their stories.
What’s so great [is] that it’s being exposed. Young men and women should not have to tolerate being mistreated. We’re an enlightened society—enough already… Let’s get rid of these people and that behavior, it doesn’t belong in our society.
Cranston, meanwhile, recently voiced the role of Zordon in Lionsgate’s Power Rangers reboot, and can now be seen in the London stage adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s Network.
