17 years after creating one of TV's most famous anti-heroes, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan wants more good guys

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Vince Gilligan wants to see more good guys

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad
(Image credit: AMC)

Vince Gilligan might have created one of TVs most famous anti-heroes – and eventual villains – in Walter White, but he's looking for more good guys going forward.

Breaking Bad debuted back in 2008 and follows high school chemistry teacher Walt as he begins manufacturing meth to pay his medical bills after a cancer diagnosis, and he descends more and more into villainy as the show goes on.

"For decades, we made the villains too sexy," he said. "I really think that. When we create characters as indelible as Michael Corleone or Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader or Tony Soprano, viewers everywhere, all around the world, they pay attention. They say, 'Man, those dudes are badass. I want to be that cool.' When that happens, fictional bad guys stop being the cautionary player that they were created to be. God help us, they become aspirational. So maybe what the world needs now are some good, old fashioned, Greatest Generation types who give more than they take. Who think that kindness, tolerance and sacrifice aren’t strictly for chumps."

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.