Can you picture Penn playing Jesse Pinkman instead? (Picture:AP/Getty)
Penn Badgley has recalled how close he came to playing Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad… before Aaron Paul pipped him at the post.
When the crime drama aired between 2008 and 2013, it became a cultural phenomenon, following the tale of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who’s diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer, and decides to launch a meth business.
Walter is joined by his former student Jesse, with the pair becoming one of the most iconic duos on TV, having recently reunited for a Super Bowl commercial.
While many fans can’t imagine anyone but Aaron playing the role, it could have been You star Penn in his place instead.
During a recent interview, the Gossip Girl actor was asked if there was a role that he auditioned for that people may be surprised he didn’t get.
‘A bunch. One I got close on was Breaking Bad,’ he told BuzzFeed during an adorable interview featuring an array of excitable puppies.
‘It was between me and Aaron Paul, we tested. And actually that was the best television script I’d read at that point. That was the one that got away.
Penn’s Gossip Girl co-star Chace Crawford previously recollected finding out that the actor had screen-tested for Breaking Bad, telling The Independent: ‘If you want an interesting story, Penn screen-tested for Jesse. He didn’t even test for Gossip Girl; they offered it to him – but I remember him telling me he screen-tested for Jesse.
‘He would have been kind of a different choice, but right around the time of Gossip Girl was getting cast, he screen-tested but Aaron Paul got it instead.’
Penn might not have been cast in Breaking Bad, but his portrayal of Joe in You is second to none (Picture: Courtesy of Netflix)
Meanwhile, a few years ago, Aaron also remembered screen-testing for Jesse with Penn and several other actors.
‘I tested against three other guys, and I knew it was really between me and this other guy. Penn Badgley was one of the guys that was testing and then it was so long ago that I’m blanking on the two other guys. I did not recognise them at the time,’ he told Entertainment Weekly.
‘But this other guy, just really… right when he walked in, I was like, “Oh my god, that guy looks like a meth addict.” In a good way! He was just like, in the role. I was like, “Oh my god, this guy is gonna steal it from me.”’
Nonetheless, two weeks after the screen test, Aaron’s agonising wait ended up being worth it, as he found out that he’d bagged the part.
‘Usually after you test you find out fairly quickly, and this was during pilot season, I was desperate. The moment I heard everyone talking before they told me, I knew I had landed the job,’ he said.
You and Breaking Bad are available to watch on Netflix.
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The You star said the role was ‘the one that got away’.
