As the end ofBetter Call Saulapproaches, Giancarlo Esposito wants more time with Gus Fring.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Emmy Insider
The Emmy race has begun!
Vulture is taking a close look at the contenders until nomination-round voting closes on June 27.
Giancarlo Esposito has inhabited Gustavo Fring, off and on, for more than a decade.
But now that the prequel series is ending its run, Esposito wants more time with the character.
What will I do without that guy?
In reflection, my hesitancy came out of not wanting to play the same character again.
Out of my conversation with Vince came a certain revelation: I wanted to discover Guss backstory.
I wanted to know if he did have a family.
I wanted to know more about his Chilean roots.
I wanted to know how he got here.
The character comes out of circumstance, but it also comes out of behavior.
Now what are the events of his life that created his behavior six years or more beforeBreaking Bad?
I agreed with that.
I didnt want to go back and play a cardboard cutout of myself.
I didnt want a parody of what I think Gus is.
I wanted to be where I am now in episode six, where Im not so self-assured.
Im actually a little tweaked.
Now the family Salamanca is a menace, but Lalo Salamanca is a true menace to Gustavo Fring.
When I felt awkward, I had to finally realize I am in the right place.
This is how it would feel.
Thats a good thing.
Gus sees that, notices it, understandsthose pills Nacho had, and gets very upset inside.
Because that revenge is Guss revenge.
It also gives Gus the opening to be able to clearly state, You are mine now.
In this later incarnation of Gustavo, there are more than just those elements.
Theres the elements of the cartel.
Theres the elements that have been planted back inBreaking Badof Juan Bolsa, whom Gus is controlling as well.
He takes that away from his interaction with Hector.
Something tells him Lalos still out there.Its a great moment because that one little piece is so very telling.
Tell me again, he says to Tyrus and Mike.
Hes thinking it through, and this is what I love.
I realize Im an actor who honors what the writer writes.
In this case, the writers write incredible stuff.
I loved playing these beats because what did it lead to?
What was the answer?
The answer for Gus was,Im off.
Im off to see Hector Salamanca because then I will know if Lalo is alive.
That is Gustavo Frings superpower.
In looking into Hectors eyes, it was the last moment of that scene.
Then he saw that hatred.
He saw that Im going to kill you, and thats when he knew.
The quality that defines Gus in so many ways is his sense of calm.
That is a practice Ive had for years.
In returning to Gustavo Fring, it deepened and reignited that practice.
I once again realized this was the only thing that was going to give me pause.
Because my energy is very different from that of Gustavos.
So people are mirrors.
Someone smiles at you, you smile back.
Someone says, Oops.
You go, Oops.
Its cute; you laugh.
Someone says something they get tickled by, you want to be tickled, too.
But what if you dont really feel tickled?
What if youre just honoring what their emotion is?
That really helped me.
Its the voice inside Gus.
I was one man of many.
I believe you are unable to lead unless you’ve got the option to follow.
I say that because Gus is a leader in his own world.
I also feel that Gus came from a military background.
You dont leave your flank open.
Is Gus being in the military part of the backstory you constructed for him?Absolutely.
It points to the moment inBreaking Badwhere he walks out and theres a sniper.
Hes just killed one of his men by the Pollos truck.
He walks out and he has his arms wide open into the desert and just says, Shoot me.
That moment was very telling.
I carry that with me because hes a made man.
Hes not afraid of dying, but you cant touch him.
Because what hes doing now is basically a coup of the Salamanca organization.
They look down on him.
Its a racist, jealous attitude they have toward Gustavo because he came from a different background.
Hes not the Spanish they are.
I think hes someone who worked his way through the ranks all the way to the top.
He realized he would have to do someone elses bidding and he didnt want that.
Gus is a businessman, which is why he really chides Walter for being involved with a drug addict.
He does not condone that.
His standards are very high, and this is just like he could be selling toothpaste.
That gave me some distance and something to work with.
It would have been easy to go back and make a run at play what Ive already played.
Thats when I realized Gustavo Fring isnt done.
Why dont you feel done with him?As I get older, I get younger somehow.
What am I going to do?
This year I feel more enthused that there is a possibility.
I would like you to know that Gus.
Its intriguing to know where he came from.
I still hold out for that possibility.
Its not up to me; its up to Vince Gilligan and his team and partners.
Could that ever be realized?
I think it could be something good.
What is the likelihood of that happening?
But a part of me has become Gustavo because a part of Gustavo was me before it was Gus.
Before Gus owned me, I owned me.
I say that only because I believe what you think grows.
I believe that our thought form is a direct, energetic channel to the universe.
Im saying it because its a direct connection to the energy of the universe and the energy of me.
Somewhere, Im not done with it.
If I could think that thought, then Im not finished.
I could be finished Id still be fulfilled.
I was fulfilled the first time after it was done.
It was a godsend for it to come back.
I thought it was going to be a burden.
It turned into a challenge and a godsend, but here we are.
Time flies, man.
four years on this thing.
Its really been 13 years.
I never expected to carry a character this long in my life.
Obviously for me, you’re free to see Im still excited.
Im still like a kid in the candy store.
This year, I had the opportunity to do something I hadnt done before.
Rhea Seehorn and I were the first actors from the show to direct.
To be asked put me in an ecstatic position.
Once you get that call, you have to live up to it.
So I was also very nervous.
Ive directed before, but thats a great honor.
Its not lost on me that they asked me.
What were you thinking when you put your leg out?
Bob might go, I wasnt thinking anything.
Rhea might go, Well, what do you think I was thinking?
I said, Well, your leg went one step toward the door, although thats where youre going.
Are you in anticipation?
Were you a little anxious about going that way?
Maybe I was anxious about going that way.
I think you nailed it.
I say, Well, whatever that is, its great.
Sometimes I dont even say anything because I want them to do it again.
In episode 606, Axe and Grind, theres a young Kim.
I want that young Kim to be reflective of older Kim.
Directing is not about me.
Ive had enough of me.
I had a T-shirt made up that is in my home out west.
It says, I am so over me.
Its a picture of Gus.
I gave it to some of my close friends.
I want it to be more about the creation itself.
My job is to go in and say, Heres how I see it.
I dont want to get in the way of the look of the show.
I dont want to re-create the wheel.
But I see this as this.
I believe, because I come from theater, that the writers intention is what is most important.
The words are important, but the intention is of even greater importance.
My job is to interpret that.
As an actor, Im an interpreter and a channeler.
