Breaking Bad 

Breaking Bad: The 5 Tallest (& 5 Shortest) Actors In The Cast

Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, Anna Gun, Raymond Cruz...what are the heights of the cast of Breaking Bad? Who makes the tall and short lists?

Breaking Bad is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV dramas of all time. Much of that acclaim boils down to two primary aspects – the stellar writing and acting. Breaking Bad contains a fantastic cast, all of whom portray their respective character to near perfection. The cast contained some unknowns and some famous names. It also contained some short and some sizable performers.

It’s not often easy to judge height on television, as all sorts of tricks could be utilized to make actors appear taller and shorter than they actually are. Luckily, there are some good tools out there to gauge actor height – primarily celebheights.com.

Tallest: Bryan Cranston – 5’10”

Walter White In Breaking Bad

At the heart of Breaking Bad is Walter White, who was played to absolute perfection by Bryan Cranston. Cranston is not a very tall man, but he remains one of the tallest members of the Breaking Bad cast at 5’10”.

In fact, he towers over a large majority of the major male stars, most of whom hover around the 5’7” range. This is made quite apparent whenever he shares the screen with Aaron Paul, as Paul is one of the shortest actors on the show. Speaking of which…

Shortest: Aaron Paul – ~5’8”

jesse pinkman

Aaron Paul is quite a small man. He is quite skinny (as seen numerous times throughout the show – particularly when Jesse wears a baggy T-shirt), and he stands at just under 5’8”. According to celebheight.com, Paul stands at 5’7 3/4”.

Paul explicitly described his height during an interview with The New York Times, saying, “They’re like, ‘so, how tall are you?’ I’m like, ‘Depending on what time of day it is, 5-8, 5-8 1/2’.” All told, 5’8” seems like a very solid approximation.

Tallest: Anna Gunn – 5’9”

Saul advises Walter Jr to call him if he ever gets in trouble in Breaking Bad

It’s made quite obvious throughout Breaking Bad that Anna Gunn is quite a tall woman. She appears taller than Jesse during their brief scenes together, and she often matches Walt whenever standing next to him. That’s because Anna Gunn comes in just one inch shorter than Bryan Cranston at 5’9”.

However, it’s also interesting to note that the website’s users typically see her as taller, with the “average guess” hovering on 5 feet 9.63 inches. Therefore, it’s quite possible that she is pushing 5’10”.

Shortest: Giancarlo Esposito – 5’7”

Gus in Breaking Bad

Gus is a very intimidating figure, but he proves intimidating through his intelligence and power – not necessarily his physical frame. In fact, if it came to physical blows, it’s very likely that Walter would have handily beaten Gus.

Giancarlo Esposito is also a small man, and he actually stands a little bit shorter than Aaron Paul at just 5’7”. This is in keeping with the site’s “average guess,” which places Esposito’s height at 5 feet 7.28 inches.

Tallest: RJ Mitte – 5’11”

It may not seem like Walter Jr. is taller than Walter, but that’s only because Walter Jr. was slightly hunched over throughout the entirety of Breaking Bad owing to his disability and crutches.

In real life, RJ Mitte does not actually require crutches, and when standing completely upright, he stands slightly taller than Bryan Cranston at 5’11”. In fact, this measurement makes Mitte the tallest member of the primary Breaking Bad cast.

Shortest: Dean Norris – 5’7”

Hank Schrader is by far the “toughest” character – at least in terms of brute strength. He certainly proves this in season three when he viciously beats Jesse and puts him in the hospital after Jesse tricked him with Marie’s “accident”.

But again, Dean Norris is quite a small man, measuring in at just 5’7”. This is made obvious in the aforementioned beating scene (as both he and Jesse stand evenly matched in terms of height) and any time Hank shares the screen with Walter and Skyler.

Tallest: Jesse Plemons – 5’10”

Uncle Jack and Todd confront Hank in Ozymandias Breaking Bad

Jesse Plemons doesn’t appear until the fifth and final season, but he made an incredible impression playing Todd. In fact, Todd quickly became one of the most despised characters on Breaking Bad, and the role helped launch Plemons’s career.

Plemons stands as one of the tallest members of the Breaking Bad cast, measuring in equal with Bryan Cranston at 5’10”. This is made especially prevalent throughout El Camino, as Plemons shares a lot of screen time with the much shorter Aaron Paul.

Shortest: Laura Fraser – 5’1”

Lydia and Todd from Breaking Bad.

Laura Fraser was also introduced in the fifth and final season, playing Madrigal employee Lydia Rodarte-Quayle. As is made quite obvious throughout the show (at least in any scene that sees Lydia standing next to other characters), Laura Fraser is a very small woman.

By most estimates, she stands at a tiny 5’1”. This height is mirrored in an old Sunday Times piece from 1999, which claims, “She is tiny, just a couple of inches over 5ft.”

Tallest: Betsy Brandt – ~5’9”

Marie on the phone in Breaking Bad

As can be seen numerous times throughout the show, sisters Skyler and Marie are both quite tall. In fact, Marie stands significantly taller than her husband, Hank and equal with her fictional sister.

Like Anna Gunn, it’s estimated that Betsy Brandt stands at just under 5’9” – 5 feet 8 3/4 inches to be exact. Brandt has continuously referenced her height on Twitter, often saying that she is “just shy” of 5’9”.

Shortest: Raymond Cruz – 5’6”

Tuco Salamanca warns Walt not to cross him

It’s interesting to note that the most physically imposing antagonist on Breaking Bad is also the shortest. Tuco only appears for a few episodes throughout season one and the beginning of season two, but he makes an impression by beating Jesse half to death, kidnapping both him and Walt and giving Hank PTSD.

Raymond Cruz is one of the shortest actors on Breaking Bad, coming in at just 5’6”. This is slightly less than the “average guess,” which pits Cruz at 5 feet 5.92 inches.

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