Giancarlo Esposito Reveals His Favorite Gus Fring Moment

Actor Giancarlo Esposito always makes any project he’s a part of that much better with his involvement, and by far, one of his most popular roles is that of Gustavo Fring. Introduced in Breaking Bad as the big bad of the series, Gus would later return in the prequel series Better Call Saul with Esposito reprising the role. Esposito would be nominated for an Emmy for his role as Gus on two separate occasions, once for Breaking Bad in 2012 and again for Better Call Saul in 2020.

Throughout both shows, there are many memorable moments featuring Gus. Fans will have their own favorites, and for Esposito (per DiscussingFilm), it’s a bit challenging as well. With that said, the scene that comes to mind for the actor is in the final season of Better Call Saul, when (WARNING: SPOILER ALERT) Gus has his final confrontation with Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) underneath the laundromat. Esposito says he loves everything about the scene, even the way Lalo kicks Gus to the ground in a demeaning way. In fact, the actor was even insistent on doing that stunt himself, as Esposito explains:

There are so many moments of this show that allow me to feel so warm and tingly, but I didn’t allow myself that feeling when I was there because I stayed to myself and I felt like Gus had a certain trajectory. I loved the victory, personally, in my episode with Lalo in that lab, knowing that at the end, I’m going to get him. But he kicks me down the steps, right? So Vince and everyone were so worried and it was like five steps up. They kept asking if we should get the stunt guy, but I kept saying ‘I’m doing it!’”

Esposito then further recalled working on that scene with Dalton, who had to be encouraged to give the kick some force so it would look better on camera. The actor also notes how he’s happy with keeping up with Dalton for the Spanish-speaking scenes along with the tense moment when Gus is shot in the laundromat before the big scene.

“Tony is so respectful, so I had to say ‘Tony, kick me’ because I wanted to build up that hatred for this guy. My face winds up in the dirt with my glasses and the whole thing was demeaning. So it’s a weird thing to love, but I knew that a few minutes later I was going to get my comeuppance or revenge. It was also a challenge for me to get that Spanish seamlessly. I speak some Spanish but I’m not Spanish, and so to be able to stand toe to toe with Tony took a lot of work. The moment before we get into the lab where Tony shoots me is also a phenomenal moment that fueled the rest of the episode for me.”

Related: Bryan Cranston Isn’t Ruling Out Another Return as Walter White

Giancarlo Esposito Takes On Something New

Esposito excels at playing villains, but he also spoke about how he’s looking to take on a different kind of role with his next series. He is the star of a new show for AMC, the same network that aired Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, though it has yet to be given a release date. Esposito teased how fans will be able to see him playing a much more “ordinary” character with this role.

“I have a show for AMC, which doesn’t have an airing date announced yet, but my focus for the last two or three years has been telling a story of someone who’s ordinary, and then finds themselves in a situation where they have to be extraordinary because it’s the story of many of us in our world. I want to empower people to know that inside they are extraordinary if they only see it first for themselves, and then live that!”

Esposito is likely referring to Parish, a crime drama show based on the BBC One series The Driver. Not many details have been revealed about the show but it is expected to debut sometime this year.