‘You’ star Penn Badgley opened up about losing a major role in the superhit show, “Breaking Bad.”
The actor revealed the news when asked about a role he auditioned for but didn’t get in an interview with Buzzfeed.
“One I got close on was Breaking Bad,” Badgley said. “It was between me and Aaron Paul, we tested.” Paul ended up playing the role of Jesse Pinkman in the blockbuster series that aired for half a decade, from 2008 to 2013.
Penn went on to praise the series, that won hundreds of awards over the course of its glorious run.
“Actually, that was the best television script I’d read at that point,” Badgley added. “That was the one that got away.”
Paul played the role of Jesse, an aspiring crystal myth entrepreneur alongside Bryan Cranston’s Walter White in the original show. His role was renewed for the Netflix epilogue movie, El Camino. He bagged three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his acclaimed role.
Penn had already begun shooting for the role, ‘Dan Humphrey’ in The CW’s Gossip Girl, by the time he was approached for the Jesse’s role.
The star currently plays Joe Goldberg, a stalker and serial killer in Netflix’s hit series “You.”
“I think that part of what the show is doing is showing that he’s never really looking at himself,” Badgley earlier told The Hollywood Reporter about his character in season 4. “No matter what happens, actually, he seems to be incapable [of change]. It is hard for anybody. And then once you’ve done some really terrible things, it’s even harder.”
‘You Season 4, part 1’ is now available to stream on Netflix.