Bryan Cranston and Catherine O’Hara Tried Mushrooms Before a Grateful Dead Show to Prep for ‘The Studio’
Bryan Cranston recently opened up about trying mushrooms for the first time while preparing for his role in the Apple TV+ series The Studio during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, September 10.
The Emmy-winning actor, known for Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle, plays Griffin Mill, the CEO of Continental Studios, a character who experiments with mushroom chocolates on the show.
Cranston, 69, admitted that he had little experience with drugs before tackling the role. “I’m playing this character who is wiped out and I had never had any experience in that. Not many drugs at all, as a matter of fact, and so I didn’t know really how to behave,” he said. To get guidance, he turned to co-creator Seth Rogen and co-star Ike Barinholtz, asking for advice.
“So I was asking Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz, ‘You guys are huge druggies! What can you tell me?’” Cranston recalled. They suggested trying a microdose, something the actor was initially unsure about.
During filming in Las Vegas, the cast decided to see the Grateful Dead at the Sphere, and Cranston saw it as the perfect moment to test the mushrooms. “If God wasn’t telling me to do microdosing, what was he telling me?” he said.
His co-star Catherine O’Hara, 71, joined him in the experiment, though both were nervous. “We were nervous. And Ike Barinholtz was our drug dealer. Can I say that?” Cranston joked.
Barinholtz handed them thin chocolate squares, which Cranston broke in half and ate. “I took it … nothing. I didn’t feel anything,” he admitted. When he tried more, he said, “It felt like maybe I took three sips of wine. It was nothing! Nothing!” Kimmel suggested that his performance might still be impressive because it was all acting, to which Cranston responded, “It was acting. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
This appearance came shortly after Cranston won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in The Studio at the 2025 ceremony. He was not able to attend, so Gwendoline Christie accepted the award on his behalf.
It’s clear that Cranston went to great lengths to inhabit Griffin Mill, even if the mushrooms didn’t have the intended effect.
Personally, I think it’s hilarious and impressive that Cranston and O’Hara were willing to experiment in the name of acting. What do you think about actors using real-life experiences to prepare for roles? Share your thoughts in the comments.
