Actor Aaron Paul’s star is blazing-hot in Hollywood. Until several years ago, he was one of those actors whose face you recognized but whose name you couldn’t quite place. Not anymore. The Emmy-winning scene-stealer from Breaking Bad was on the most-wanted list this month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), thanks to his indie dramedy Smashed.
He plays Charlie, a binge drinker accustomed to wild benders with his wife (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She eventually reaches rock bottom and tries to turn her life around, aided by costars Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) and Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer (The Help).
“Charlie’s an interesting role for Paul,” notes ComingSoon.net, “because the movie leaves you wondering how large a factor the character plays in keeping [his wife] from recovering, yet he’s also a completely sympathetic character, which is a testament to Paul’s portrayal.”
“We shot the entire film in 18 or 19 days, in three six-day weeks, I think. We did it all for no money,” Paul says. “I think every single one of us just did it for the love of the story, the love of the craft, and something that challenged us.”
Smashed is a dramatic comedy, while Breaking Bad is most decidedly a drama, but both projects mine humor from dark situations. It requires a level of tightrope acting that is uncommon among Paul’s peers, male and female.
“I never really do comedies. I might do dramas that have some comedic elements in it, but I’m just not funny,” he jokes. “I can’t do the slapstick sort of humor. I wish I could, but I just can’t. I’d look like an idiot… I always gravitate towards the darker side of things, I think. Just for me I think it’s more exciting to play. I don’t know. I just love zipping on different skins.”
Paul may be best known for his riveting, Emmy-winning role on Breaking Bad, but that’s about to change. IndieWire notes that Charlie in Smashed “likes his vices a bit too much, but [Paul’s] performance—loving, gentle, lightly hammered—is in a very different key than his work” on the TV show.
Smashed earned rave reviews when it debuted at Sundance earlier this year; the TIFF raves have now amped up the buzz in advance of its October 12 release date.
Next up: He’s currently filming a cinematic adaptation of Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down in London. And the final batch of Breaking Bad episodes are set to unspool next summer.
CLICK HERE for Smashed page at TIFF 2012