Bryan Cranston, of Breaking Bad fame, released his memoir A Life in Parts, a meditation on creativity, devotion and craft. For the very first stop on his book tour, he visited the historic Loew’s Jersey Theater for a book talk hosted by TV critic Alan Sepinwall. Cranston read from his book, took questions from the audience, and opened up about his childhood and what it was like to live inside the mind of Walter White.
The event was sponsored by WORD – an independent community bookstore with locations in Brooklyn and Jersey City – which has also hosted book talks by authors such as Stephen King. Later this month, they will host comedians/authors Will Forte and Joel McHale, also at the Loew’s Jersey Theater.
This landmark theater itself is worth making a trip to Journal Square. Dating back to 1929, it’s the only original Loew’s Wonder Palace still showing films. In addition to cinema, the theater also hosts concerts, plays and cultural programs, in line with their mission to present a broad spectrum of programming “that breaks down preconceived divisions between different performance disciplines.”
Under the opulent Rococo ceiling and crystal chandelier, Sepinwall asked Cranston to recall “the hardest scene in terms of shaking it off afterwards.” Cranston reminisced on an episode of Breaking Bad in which his character witnesses a young girl’s death:
“It may seem odd. It may even seem ghoulish… to call that work. To call that your job. But it’s not odd to me. Actors are storytellers. And storytelling is the essential human art. It’s how we understand who we are. I don’t mean to make it sound high-flown. It’s not. It’s discipline and repetition and failure and perseverance and dumb luck and blind faith and devotion. It’s showing up when you don’t feel like it, when you’re exhausted and you think you can’t go on. Transcendent moments come when you’ve laid the groundwork and you’re open to the moment. They happen when you do the work. In the end, it’s about the work.”
Out of Cranston’s myriad TV appearances, he remains legendarily remembered for his role as Walter White. A Life in Parts is a representation of all of the parts Cranston has played throughout his life – from Seinfeld’s dentist, to LBJ, to lover, estranged son, student, father. To quote his book’s preface, and William Shakespeare: “One man in his time plays many parts.”
For more upcoming events at the Loew’s Jersey Theater, visit: http://loewsjersey.org/calendar
For more book talks by WORD Jersey City, visit: http://www.wordbookstores.com/event
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Snapchat: @lfakete
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