Jeremiah Bitsui may have the magic touch in terms of finding roles on iconic television shows. The 41-year-old actor has played memorable parts in both Breaking Bad and Yellowstone. He has since returned to the Breaking Bad universe as Victor, one of Gustavo Fringe’s henchmen, in the prequel spinoff Better Call Saul. That’s as impressive as it gets especially when you consider Bitsui came to Hollywood at the age of 19 to become a director, not an actor.
Yeah, good point. I think you have a feeling, in the sense. I think similar to the current show, Dark Winds, there’s definitely a corporate culture in the sense that the cast and crew feel engaged. It always helps to have leads that are energetic and happy to be there. I think that’s kind of the secret sauce, you know. The writers as well feel like they can have the liberty to take off with the material.
Chris is great. He understands actors. At the same time, he’s very technical on the directing side and knows exactly what he wants. He can speak to a DP and speak the right language, and then speak to an actor and speak the right language to get the performances, which is really a gift. At the same time, keeping everybody at ease, which is a challenge on its own. So you find some directors that maybe they’re a little bit more technical.
He’s also experienced a lot of trauma in his life. There are things he’s never dealt with, and you’re seeing all of that kind of unfold. So he’s tricky. He’s got a lot going on in his head, and I think the way he’s trying to make sense of that is mixed-up objective, which he’s trying to accomplish. That’s what he pours himself into.
The show has been renewed for season two so this type of storytelling is clearly resonating with the audience. So it was in reverse for me and never really thought about coming back to Breaking Bad. They came back and they said, in true Breaking Bad fashion, “Hey. Welcome, and your character’s name is Victor.” I think it was actually Aaron Paul who welcomed me to set and revealed this so it was pretty amazing. I was excited.