Breaking Bad/Characters

A list of major and supporting characters on Breaking Bad. There will be spoilers.

Walter White
"Played By: Bryan Cranston"

The main character of the series, Walt is a high school chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with lung cancer. Realizing he doesn't have much time left teams up with a former student to use his chemistry know how to make primo crystal meth to make tons of money to leave behind for his family.

"'Stay out of my territory.'"
 * Ain't Too Proud to Beg:
 * Acquired Situational Narcissism: Walter gets seriously overconfident whenever he succeeds. It's most visible in season 4, after his small victory against puts him on a huge power binge.
 * Alliterative Name
 * Anti-Hero: Gradually working his way down the sliding scale but also shows signs of...
 * Anti-Villain: Type III
 * Badass Boast: "I am the one who knocks!"
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Mustache: When he isn't sporting a full beard.
 * Badass Teacher: Despite leaving the job in Season three.
 * Bald of Awesome: Though as the show progresses, it's getting closer to Bald of Evil.
 * Batman Gambit:
 * Beard of Evil: Or at least Beard of Anti-Heroics, which Walt grows once his actions become less and less excusable.
 * Because I'm Good At It. One of the major (if unspoken) reasons Walt continues to cook. When Jesse cooks his own batch of meth crystals, Walter takes offense and examines the crystals, pointing out every flaw in them.
 * He also acts very smug in the Season 4 premiere, when tries to cook his own batch of meth.
 * It finally gets spoken, word for word, by Walt himself in the series finale.
 * Becoming the Mask: Walt invents "Heisenberg", his criminal alter ego, as both a convenient pseudonym and a coping mechanism. As times goes on and his behavior becomes more flagrantly amoral, it begins to seem as though there may not really be a difference between the two.
 * Becoming the Mask: Walt invents "Heisenberg", his criminal alter ego, as both a convenient pseudonym and a coping mechanism. As times goes on and his behavior becomes more flagrantly amoral, it begins to seem as though there may not really be a difference between the two.

"Tuco: What was that stuff? Heisenberg: Fulminated mercury... a little tweak of chemistry."
 * Berserk Button: Does not like having his pride threatened or his decisions protested one bit.
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Blue Oni: To Jesse's Red.
 * Can't Spit It Out: He seems completely incapable of expressing the kinship he feels for Jesse, even though he goes batshit every time he's in danger.
 * Car Fu:
 * Cassandra Truth: He deduces EVERYTHING Gus tries to do with Jesse in season 4, but he fails to convince Pinkman himself.
 * The Chessmaster: Thinks he's this and does pull off a pretty round of Xanatos Speed Chess against Gus in the season 3 finale but is at a loss for what his next move is.
 * Completely Missing the Point: Of Mike's monologue in "Half Measures".
 * Confess to a Lesser Crime:
 * Consummate Liar
 * Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Inverted. He made barely anything legally, holding a job at a high school.
 * Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: For Walt, it really does.
 * Dare to Be Badass: To Jesse. "Jesse, look at me, you are a blowfish."
 * Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes to excess.
 * Death Glare: Surprisingly, a master of this. Just see his expression near the end of "Over", "Bullet Points" or in "Cornered".
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Refuses the offer to pay his medical expenses from two of his old colleagues.
 * Face Heel Turn: The whole series appears to be this for Walter.
 * Happily Married: With Skyler before the series.
 * Heel Realization: In "Salud" after his . A tearjerking one, to boot.
 * Ignored Epiphany: Judging by his behavior at the very end of "Face Off".
 * Heroic BSOD: In the last scene of Crawl Space.
 * Hidden Villain: To Hank.
 * Honor Before Reason: An interesting example of this trope. He refuses to accept money from former friends, despite the fact that it would solve pretty much all his problems, because he is still bitter about Their success with a company he optionally left. This is given as the first evidence of Walt's petty selfish nature and show just how prideful he is.
 * Idiot Ball: Picked up rather suddenly in the second episode of season 4.
 * Possibly justified in that Walt is scrambling to buy himself more time and really has absolutely no clue what to do next.
 * Important Haircut: "Badass, dad!"
 * It's All About Me: Shows shades of this throughout the series, but it kicks in full time in Season 4, to the point when Walt speaks out loud the exact line.
 * Jerkass: To everyone (mostly Jesse) except his family.
 * Justified Criminal: Possibly a deconstruction as it's slowly being shown that his actions have far reaching consequences that he couldn't imagine.
 * Kick the Dog:
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: His early victims, such as the boys picking on his son or the obnoxious man in the bank, keep him from being too bad.
 * Laughing Mad: An epic instance at the end of "Crawl Space".
 * Let's Get Dangerous: Walter's brain seems to work best when he is in mortal danger. Practically every brilliant gambit he comes up with is created when (sometimes literally) looking into the barrel of a gun.
 * Love Makes You Evil
 * MacGyvering
 * Meaningful Name: His name was chosen to be deliberately bland and uninteresting to emphasise his everyman nature. As the series goes on, it reflects his increasingly unforgiveable actions.
 * Mr. Fan Disservice: Bryan Cranston does get naked fairly often, not for comedy and it is not pretty.
 * Morality Pet: His family.
 * Motivational Lie: Uses one to try to get Jesse on his side in the season 4 finale.
 * Motive Decay: An interesting case of this. Walt constantly tells himself that he's doing what he does to provide for his family, and on a certain level he may be right. However as the series goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that his decision to cook is as much motivated by his the desire to feed his ego as it is for helping his family.
 * Name's the Same: Walter White was the name of the ATC controller involved in the crash of Mexico Flight 498 which subsequently crashed into a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles. Probably coincidental but eery considering
 * Playing Against Type: See Tom Hanks Syndrome.
 * Parental Substitute: To Jesse. Which doesn't stop him from being horribly abusive to Him.
 * Playing Sick: His  in season 2.
 * Pride: Walt's biggest failing. The whole source of this mess even beyond his cancer. If not for his pride, he would have been a rich and successful, award-winning chemist, and none of the events of the show would ever have happened.
 * Protagonist Journey to Villain: Specifically, creator Vince Gilligan describes the show as "What happens when Mr. Chips becomes Scarface."
 * Properly Paranoid: In season 4. He deduces a lot of things around Jesse's work with Mike, but he's too unhinged to use the clues to his advantage, though.
 * The Quiet One: Walt starts out as a man of few words and even fewer actions, but subverts this later on when he becomes comfortable with his new lifestyle.
 * Sarcastic Confession: To Hank in the season 3 premiere.
 * Science Anti-Hero: Think if MacGyver turned evil.
 * Science Anti-Hero: Think if MacGyver turned evil.


 * Secret Identity: His Heisenberg persona that he uses to sell meth.
 * Tom Hanks Syndrome: Actor Bryan Cranston while not exclusively a comedic actor was previously best known for his work as a Bumbling Dad on Malcolm in the Middle.
 * Took a Level in Badass: What the title of the series refers to though he doesn't really make it all the way there until the end of season 4 when
 * True Companions: With Jesse, despite the fact that they have sometimes violent disagreements and.
 * Villain Protagonist: Has been slowly sliding into this ever since

Jesse Pinkman
"Played By: Aaron Paul"

A comfortable upper-middle-class kid--and (flunked) student of Walter's in the not-too-distant past--he becomes a lowlife drug dealer. Walt enlists (by which we mean blackmails) him as his business partner because of his street smarts and knowledge of the drug trade. Seemingly a total jerk

"Jesse: "I'm the bad guy.""
 * The Aggressive Drug Dealer: Subverted. He tries very hard to be one, but ultimately can't bring himself to do it.
 * Anti-Villain: Has shown signs of this since his Heel Realization in season 3.
 * A Real Man Is a Killer: Brutally subverted. There are plenty of people that Jesse wants to kill throughout the first three seasons, and his reasons are at least noble in a macho, street honor sense.  Not to mention that the event
 * Berserk Button: Seeing children threatened or harmed drives Jesse into a near-homicidal rage.
 * Big Brother Mentor: He tries to be this to his younger brother Jake but fails. Though he does take the rap for Jake's joint and steps on the joint afterwards.
 * Book Dumb: Talks like an idiot, dresses like an idiot, but highly intelligent and deeply flawed and troubled. Freudian Excuse suggests that much of his behavior started as a way to piss off his parents for pushing him too hard until he left to take care of his aunt.
 * Buffy-Speak: Despite having been a high school washout, much of what he says would sound fairly intelligent if it weren't for his particular style of vernacular, yo.
 * The Caretaker: He was this to his Aunt before she died of cancer.
 * Children Are Innocent: A firmly held belief of his.
 * Cradle of Loneliness: Does this after.
 * Deadpan Snarker: More snarky than deadpan, but has his moments.
 * Dirty Business:
 * Everyone Has Standards: He refuses to sell meth to Andrea after finding out that she has a young son.
 * Functional Addict: Complete with a downward spiral into heroin addiction, rehab, and then later getting back on the meth.
 * Heel Realization: In the third season premiere.


 * Subverted by the end of the season.
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * Hidden Depths: Is surprisingly kindhearted.
 * The Igor
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shows signs of this.
 * Killed Off for Real: Subverted. Was originally supposed to die in episode 9, but has sticked around for the rest of the series.
 * Pretty Fly for a White Guy
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: He can be either depending on the relationship, as he acts as the blue oni to Badger and Skinny Pete and the red oni to Walt.
 * Sophisticated As Hell: "It's totally Kafkaesque, yo."
 * Star-Making Role: Turned Aaron Paul from a bit player to one of the biggest starts on Television.
 * This Is for Emphasis, Bitch: Jesse lives by this trope. He adds "bitch" to the end of every insult.
 * Tragic Villain: He's been forced to do things that have convinced him he'll never be able to leave the drug trade. Made worse by the fact that Walt blackmailed him into the heavier stuff.
 * True Companions: With Walter, despite the fact that they have their disagreements and.
 * Undying Loyalty: Walt vouches for Jesse that he has this.
 * Verbal Tic: Yo, Jesse, yo. Bitch. Yo.
 * Villain Protagonist
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Throughout the series, it's clear the Jesse desperately wants Walt's approval. Even after

Skyler White
"Played By: Anna Gunn"

Walter White's wife, who is pregnant with their daughter when the show starts. Walt's criminal activities give rise to a lot of mysterious late nights and other odd behavior that he does not explain, which puts a serious strain on their marriage. While Skyler tries to be supportive, she can be a little bossy and overbearing, which clashes with Walt's need to show he can do everything himself.


 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She could be seen as this (more so in season 4) as she plays innocent to get what she want occasionally; YMMV whether she's a bitch or not.
 * Consummate Liar: Perhaps even a better one than her husband, which is saying something.
 * Dumb Blonde: Far from it, but she knows how to play the part.
 * Hot Mom
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Along with her ability to fake distress when she needs sympathy, it's one of her best weapons, as she proves in season 4 when she.
 * The Power of Acting: Turns out to be one of Skyler's best weapons. Whether she's faking contractions to bail her sister out of her shoplifting problems, making up a story about Walt's gambling addiction on the fly, or convincing a locksmith that Walt's condo is her home, Skyler can sell it.
 * Precision F-Strike:
 * The Smart Chick: Not as smart as her husband but once  it becomes clear that she has a lot of business smarts.
 * Actually, given that for all his brilliance as a chemist and meth cook Walt does things like  and , both of which Skyler immediately points out are incredibly stupid things to have done, it's quite arguable that she is just as smart as he is, or at the very least more prudent.
 * Wham! Line:
 * Not to mention
 * : Might be on her way to becoming one of these
 * Villainy-Free Villain:
 * Women Are Wiser: Averted. She may be more practical than Walt but She is even greedier and has quite a ruthless streak.
 * : In the second episode of season 3.

Hank Schrader
"Played By: Dean Norris"

Walter and Skyler's brother-in-law, Mike is a DEA agent. He is aware of Walter's alter ego "Heisenberg", knows that Heisenberg is the one who makes the blue meth, and has some connection with Jesse, but does not know that Walter is Heisenberg. Despite Hank's obnoxious behavior he is a decent guy and good at his job, but is not able to outmaneuver Walter. Instead Hank usually picks up the remains of Walter and Jesse's messes.


 * Anti-Hero: Type 2.
 * Bald of Awesome
 * Big Damn Heroes: In the second episode of season 2 he unknowingly saves Walt and Jesse from Tuco.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Acts like one, but it's mostly to cover up his inner doubts and fears.
 * Broken Ace:
 * Cassandra Truth: With his suspicions about.
 * Genius Bruiser: Arguably, in is connection of  with Gus Fring.
 * This is an important part of Hank's growing characterization. While he initially might have come off as a loud, overbearing dumb cop, he's actually a very skilled investigator.
 * This is actually shown very early on, when he's is able to find the hidden stash of meth hidden in Krazy-8's car, which Gomez couldn't locate earlier.
 * Hero Antagonist: Becomes one once he makes catching the elusive "Heisenberg" his goal; unusually for this trope, he's unaware that the Villain Protagonist he's pursuing is right under his nose.
 * Hidden Depths: For the first season Hank seems mostly to be a textbook Boisterous Bruiser but in season 2  we begin to see that Hank secretly feels a lot of anxiety and fear about his job.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though loud and obnoxious he is generous to and protective of his family and devoted to his job.
 * Nice Guy: By Season 4, He has evolved to be possibly the only genuinely likeable main character on the show.
 * Noble Bigot with a Badge: Subverted. Though he's not very politically correct and frequently makes racially insensitive jokes to his Mexican-American partner, he doesn't appear to be genuinely bigoted or racist.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
 * N-Word Privileges: Tends to assume he has them with his Hispanic colleagues, which is one thing that makes him so obnoxious.
 * Retirony:
 * Stepford Smiler: Despite being deeply traumatized by  and , he continues to maintain his blustery, backslapping persona in front of colleagues and friends.
 * Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist
 * Wham! Line:
 * Following up on that in the next episode,
 * Following up on that in the next episode,

Gustavo "Gus" Fring
"Played By: Giancarlo Esposito"

Gus is the largest distributer of crystal meth in the American Southwest. His front is a chain of fast food chicken restaurants, "Los Pollos Hermanos", which he uses to give money to law enforcement and otherwise come off as an important member of the community. He employs Walt and Jesse in season two, but almost immediately looks for a way to get his hands on Walter's recipe and replace the two.


 * Ambiguously Gay: There seemed to be vibes between him and his late ex-partner Maximino.
 * Openly discussed by the creators in the Insider Podcast as a valid interpretation of their relationship.
 * Affably Evil
 * Badass Boast:
 * Batman Gambit:
 * Benevolent Boss: From Walt's point of view.
 * Best Served Cold:
 * Starting in the last episode of season 3 and through season 4.
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * The Chessmaster
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: He's consistently at least one step ahead of Walter throughout season 4, anticipating and countering every attempted power play Walter makes..
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Hermanos" features a lot more of him than any other episode and even gives him a flashback to develop his backstory a bit.
 * Devil in Plain Sight: See Villain with Good Publicity
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Invoked in "Full Measures" when he insists he would never order the death of a child.
 * Evil Gloating: Generally he's too cautious and smart to indulge in it; the one exception is his propensity for psychologically torturing the mute and crippled Hector.
 * Fake Nationality: The character at least claims to be from Chile; Giancarlo Esposito is half African-American, half Italian, and though his Spanish is very good he doesn't sound like a native speaker.
 * Gut Feeling: Has a very good sense for when he's in danger, occasionally bordering on Spider Sense territory.
 * Kick the Dog: Possibly his ordering the death of  though its never explicitly said that he did. Definitely his threat to Walt that   should Walt interfere with
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: His.
 * Machiavelli Was Wrong: Gus refuses to use the threat of the Cousins coming after Walt in order to scare him into working for him stating that "I don't believe fear to be an effective motivator."
 * Mysterious Past: Starting to be revealed as of "Hermanos".
 * Playing Both Sides:
 * : Uses the same bottle of tequila.
 * The Quiet One: Is very soft spoken, calm and collected even in the most stressful situations.
 * Riddle for the Ages: What was his relationship with Max? And more pressingly, what was his mysterious past in Chile?
 * Rule of Cool:
 * The Stoic
 * Signature Move: Straightening his tie / changing his clothes in a dramatic fashion in general.
 * Unflinching Walk: Into a hail of sniper bullets, even.
 * Taken to Up to Eleven when
 * Villainous Breakdown: Suffers a brief, almost non-verbal one when it dawns on him that
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Is the well respected owner of a chain of chicken restaurants who publicly supports the DEA at fundraisers.
 * Playing Both Sides:
 * : Uses the same bottle of tequila.
 * The Quiet One: Is very soft spoken, calm and collected even in the most stressful situations.
 * Riddle for the Ages: What was his relationship with Max? And more pressingly, what was his mysterious past in Chile?
 * Rule of Cool:
 * The Stoic
 * Signature Move: Straightening his tie / changing his clothes in a dramatic fashion in general.
 * Unflinching Walk: Into a hail of sniper bullets, even.
 * Taken to Up to Eleven when
 * Villainous Breakdown: Suffers a brief, almost non-verbal one when it dawns on him that
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Is the well respected owner of a chain of chicken restaurants who publicly supports the DEA at fundraisers.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Is the well respected owner of a chain of chicken restaurants who publicly supports the DEA at fundraisers.

Walter White Jr.
"Played By: RJ Mitte"

Walt and Skyler's son. He does not take the news that his father is dying of cancer well and lashes out in a stereotypically rebellious teenager-ish way (including changing his name to Flynn), but eventually gets over it and acts a lot more mature as series progresses. Jr. has cerebral palsy and walks with crutches and speaks with a slight slur.


 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: Dear GOD.
 * Dawson Casting: Notably averted, RJ Mitte is actually 17 years old (as of season 3).
 * Though as the show's timeline progresses far more slowly than production time, he does become noticably older than he should be, which may be at least part of the reason for his becoming Out of Focus.
 * Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: RJ Mitte has mild cerebral palsy in real life but Walt Jr. was conceived from the start as having it, and Mitte had to learn to walk with crutches and speak less clearly to portray the level of affectation that the show's creator had in mind.
 * Disabled Snarker
 * Do Not Call Me Paul: Decides to be called Flynn for some reason.
 * Until his parents' separation, at which point he sides with his dad and demands to be called Walt Jr.
 * Out of Focus: Has appeared less in Season 4 than in any other season. It is likely due to not even a year passing in-story while the actor has aged visibly, as noted above.
 * Written in Infirmity: Subverted, Mitte does actually have cerebral palsy in real life but Walter Jr. was conceived as having it ever since the writing of the pilot. Additionally, Mitte's cerebral palsy isn't as severe Walter Jr.'s (it doesn't affect his speech as strongly as it affects Walter, and he doesn't need crutches to walk).

Saul Goodman
"Played By: Bob Odenkirk"

A sleazy lawyer Walt and Jesse hire as their legal council. Saul has vast connections, and is the one who introduces Walt and Jesse to Gus. Saul also helps them with other criminal activities, like helping Walter buy a carwash to launder his money with. While he initially likes the money Walt and Jesse bring in, later appearences mostly consist of Saul exasperated at the bigger messes Walt and Jesse get into. Has his own website.


 * Absentee Actor: Noticeable in the season 2 finale when bizarrely we see Mike talking to the phone with Saul but never hear Saul's voice or see him on the other end despite both occurring during an earlier episode where's Saul's only appearance was in a phone call scene.
 * Ain't Too Proud to Beg: In his first appearance when Walt and Jesse kidnap him.
 * Ambulance Chaser
 * Amoral Attorney: "Going gets tough, you don't want a criminal lawyer. You want a criminal lawyer, know what I mean?"
 * Bad Boss: For a lawyer, Saul is surprisingly fearless of sexual harrassment charges, probably because his secretary is too wrapped up in his criminal schemes.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Saul's a smug boor with loud suits, but he always comes through for Walt and Jesse.
 * Catch Phrase: "Better call Saul!"
 * Comic Relief: Despite being a surprisingly skilled lawyer, pretty much every other word out of Saul's mouth is hilarious.
 * The Consigliere: Saul is more than just a lawyer. He acts as Walt and Jesse's advisor and handles all of their business arrangements.
 * Deadpan Snarker: If there's a sarcastic line said, there's a ninety-seven percent chance Saul is the one saying it.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Was unwilling to give up Walt and Jesse to Gus, only doing so when Mike threatened to break his legs.
 * Genre Savvy: In his first appearance when Walt and Jesse kidnap him, he initially begs for his life. But once he realizes that they're not the drug dealers he thinks they are he starts calmly talking shop. He even asks them why they don't just kill the dealer they want him to defend.
 * Lovable Coward: In the season 3 finale, he insists he won't give Jesse's whereabouts to Mike and stands his ground... for about five seconds. Of course, there was never any question that Mike couldn't beat the information out of him eventually.
 * Vanity License Plate: LWYR UP
 * You Have to Have Jews: Subverted; he's actually an Irish-American named McGill who uses the name "Saul Goodman" professionally because he believes criminals will be more likely to hire a Jewish defense attorney.

Mike Ehrmantraut
"Played By: Jonathan Banks"

Gus' number one hitman, investigator, and all around problem fixer. Extremely loyal to Gus. Gets along with Walt at first, but stops liking Walt as Walt does more stuff that threatens to ruin their operation. Then he starts to develop a mild respect for Jesse. Despite his horrific profession, Mike at least acts like a decent person and loves his granddaughter.

"Mike: "Don't make me beat you till your legs don't work.""
 * The Ace: Pulls off all assignments given to him by Gus flawlessly.
 * Affably Evil: A nice guy and a loving grandfather, but he'll kill you without hesitation if it's his job.
 * Ascended Extra: Seen once in the season 2 finale, seemingly as a simple PI for Saul, but his role grows in importance as it's revealed that he's actually Gus's primary enforcer.
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Bald of Evil
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * Cleanup Crew: For both Saul and Gus.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Dead Partner: "You are not the guy. You're not capable of being the guy. I had a guy but now I don't. You are not the guy."
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * The Dragon: Seemingly, to Gus.
 * Face Heel Turn: Had one years before the start of the series. See Start of Darkness below.
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Threatens Saul with this in the season 3 finale.


 * One-Scene Wonder: Frequently makes brief appearances in episodes and his lengthy monologue in "Half Measures" is definitely this trope.
 * Punch Clock Villain
 * Put on a Bus: After he's . This cleverly allowed the writers to   while   to possibly return in season 5.
 * Start of Darkness: Described to Walt in the episode "Half Measure". Mike used to be a cop. He once gave a repeatedly abusive husband an intimidating warning rather than killing him. Later on the man beat his wife to death and that's when Mike decided to never take a half measure again.
 * The Stoic: Mike's too world-weary to get worked up over anything. He reacts to most problems with mild irritation.
 * Title Drop: For the episode "Half Measure".

Marie Schrader
"Played By: Betsy Brandt"

Skyler's sister and Hank's wife. Marie causes a lot of problems, like accusing Walter of smoking marijuana and shoplifting, but is also supportive of Skyler and her family and Hank and the problems his job causes.


 * The Cassandra: "None of this would have happened if you hadn't bought pot from that Pinkman kid!"
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: She's obsessed with the color purple. Most of her clothes and furniture are purple.
 * Dumbass Has a Point: Marie is stupid enough to think you can overdose on marijuana and die from it, but during the "Talking Pillow" debate in Season 1 she's the only one who thinks Walt should decide on his own whether his cancer should be treated and calls out Skyler on not giving Walt a chance to speak and forcing everyone to have one opinion.
 * Out of Focus: Has had the least amount of screen time of any of the original cast members.
 * Sticky Fingers: Is prone to shoplifting and other forms of minor larceny, particularly when she's under stress.

Brandon "Badger" Mayhew
"Play By: Matt L. Jones"

The first of Jesse's three friends introduced, and one of his dealers. Not the smartest person around, but is very upbeat.


 * Artistic License: Law: Badger is tricked into believing the urban myth that undercover cops have to identitfy themselves as such when asked.
 * Book Dumb: Enough to make Jesse look like The Chessmaster by comparison.
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * The Ditz: Described by the creators as "Jesse's Jesse".
 * Dumbass Has a Point: Badger is able to spot a number of tell-tale signs that a particular drug deal is a sting. He doesn't listen to his own advice, however, and makes the deal anyway.

Christian "Combo" Ortega
"Played By: Rodney Rush"

Another one of Jesse's friends and dealers. Possibly smarter than Badger and Skinny Pete.

"Walt: Which one is Combo?"
 * Antagonistic Offspring: Its revealed he stole and sold his mother's RV to Jesse. She knew and didn't report it to the police.
 * Chekhov's Gun:

Skinny Pete
"Played By: Charles Baker"

Jesse's third friend and dealer.


 * Book Dumb: He manages to misspell the word street ("streat").
 * Catch Phrase: His use of "church" as slang for "true."
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Unlike Badger or Combo, his full name hasn't been revealed yet.
 * Put on a Bus

Tuco Salamanca
"Played By: Raymond Cruz"

Walt and Jesse's first boss. Tuco is an unstable, paranoid man who snorts meth all day. At first Walter (and reluctantly Jesse) want to be Tuco's main supplier, but they quickly change their mind after they are hired when Tuco beats one of his subordinates to death over a minor misunderstanding.


 * Axe Crazy
 * Bad Boss
 * Bald of Evil
 * Big Bad: The show's first.
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Despite being an awful person he still gladly takes care of his elderly uncle, who apparently beat the "family is all" mantra into all the young Salamancas.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Dishes out No Holds Barred Beatdowns like candy.
 * Jerkass
 * Large Ham
 * Real Life Writes the Plot:
 * Shout-Out: His first name may be a reference to Eli Wallach's character in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
 * Shout-Out: His first name may be a reference to Eli Wallach's character in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Hector 'Tio' Salamanca
"Played By: Mark Margolis"

A former kingpin and Tuco's uncle. Hector is confined to a wheelchair thanks to a stroke, and can only communicate with a bell.


 * Bald of Evil
 * Chekhov's Boomerang: Tio seems to be a relatively unimportant character until he's brought back in season 3, then plays an even bigger role in season 4.
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * Enemy Mine: He hates Walt.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: There is a framed picture of him, a child, and two baby twins seen in the nursing home he is kept in during the last episode of season 4. The kids are Tuco and the Salamanca twins. A flashback reveals that Salamanca believes that "family is all," which is why they're all so Ax Crazy abot avenging each other.
 * Evil Cripple
 * Fate Worse Than Death: Subjected to one of these by  whose   he killed.   shows up to see the crippled and decrepit Hector every day and taunts him about whether or not today will be the day that he finally kills him. Made even worse once.
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Last of His Kind: After Gus', he is the.
 * Once For Yes, Twice For No: He can only communicate with a bell. Once for yes, nothing for no.
 * Retired Monster: By circumstance rather than choice.
 * The Speechless
 * You Killed My Father:
 * The Speechless
 * You Killed My Father:
 * You Killed My Father:
 * You Killed My Father:

Jane Margolis
"Played By: Krysten Ritter"

Jesse's landlord when his parents kick him out, and eventually Jesse's girlfriend. Jane is nice girl and a former drug addict, but relapses and becomes a lot less nice thanks to Jesse's drug habit.


 * Call Forward: "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Hope Spot: Subverted. She and Jesse dream of going clean and running away together with 600 grand, but it's all clearly the delusions of addicts. Sure enough
 * Lady Macbeth: Tries to convince Jesse to turn on Walt when he won't give him his share of the money and it almost works.
 * Manipulative Bitch
 * Not So Above It All: After falling Off the Wagon, her level-headed personality goes out the window and she becomes significantly more conniving and irrational.
 * Off the Wagon: A former addict having a love affair with an addict meth dealer. It was bound to happen.
 * Perky Goth: She favors goth styles and designs tattoos, but is otherwise pretty upbeat.
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * Retirony:
 * Statuesque Stunner
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo

Andrea Cantillo
"Played By: Emily Rios"

A single mother Jesse meets at a drug addict support group, eventually the two start up a relationship. Andrea has a son, Brock, that Jesse gets along with.


 * Functional Addict: Seems to be one, at least compared to most of the other addicts on this show.
 * Hot Mom
 * Mama Bear: Though not a perfect person she clearly does love her son.
 * Morality Pet: Along with her son Brock, she serves as one for Jesse.
 * Replacement Goldfish: Initially serves as one, but he later cuts off contact when he concludes that getting too close to her would endanger her.

"The Cousins" Leon and Marco Salamanca
"Played By: Daniel and Luis Moncada"

Two assassins who go after Walter. Best described as two human Mexican Terminator robots.


 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: Their axe can apparently cut right into asphalt.
 * An Axe to Grind
 * Axe Crazy
 * Badasses In Nice Suits
 * Bald of Evil
 * Big Bads: In season 3.
 * Boom! Headshot!:
 * Chekhovs Hollow Point Bullets:
 * Creepy Twins
 * The Determinators:
 * Fan Nickname: The Chigurh Twins.
 * Living MacGuffin: The first half of the Season 3 frames their revenge quest as a major plotline, but it turns out to be a red herring from what the season is really about.
 * Nonverbal Miscommunication: Averted. They rarely say anything to each other and yet it's like they can read each other's minds.
 * Ominous Walk: They're masters of it.
 * Real Life Relative: Played by real-life brothers Daniel and Luis Moncada.
 * Religion of Evil: They appear to worship the Mexican deity of death Santa Muerte, making offerings to a shrine before undertaking an assassination.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: They go on one seeking revenge on Walt for his involvement in.
 * Rule of Cool: They seem to live by it. They wear awesome clothes, they're incredibly calm and collected, they walk unflinchingly even into cars and they decide to kill with an axe.
 * Single-Minded Twins: Both are more or less obsessed with killing "Heisenberg."
 * The Sociopaths
 * Those Two Bad Guys: The Cousins. Except that they don't talk much.
 * Unflinching Walk: All the time no matter what's happening.
 * Villain Ball: Marco's decision to  backfires spectacularly.
 * The Voiceless: More often than not.
 * Villain Ball: Marco's decision to  backfires spectacularly.
 * The Voiceless: More often than not.

Ted Beneke
"Played By: Christopher Cousins"

Skyler's former boss. Sexually harassed her at a Christmas party, allegedly because he was drunk. When Skyler gets her old job back he tries to get into her pants again.


 * Black Humor:
 * Blackmail Is Such an Ugly Word: The creators themselves have stated that they can't decide whether Ted was.
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * Dogged Nice Guy: Towards Skyler.
 * Foil: For Walt.
 * Justified Criminal: Is cooking the books at Beneke Fabricators, but only doing so to save his father's company and the jobs of the people it employs.
 * Becomes much less justified when he uses the obviously dirty money he receives through Saul to buy a Mercedes SL instead of paying off the debts.
 * White Collar Crime: In contrast to the more working-class variety practiced by Walt and Jesse.
 * Becomes much less justified when he uses the obviously dirty money he receives through Saul to buy a Mercedes SL instead of paying off the debts.
 * White Collar Crime: In contrast to the more working-class variety practiced by Walt and Jesse.
 * White Collar Crime: In contrast to the more working-class variety practiced by Walt and Jesse.

Steven Gomez
"Played By: Steven Michael Quezada"

Hank's partner. Hanks makes fun of Gomez for being Latino, Gomez makes fun of Hank for being white, but they get along fine. A good cop in his own right.


 * By-The-Book Cop: Or at least, generally more insistent on following proper police procedure than Hank is.
 * The Danza
 * Nice Guy: Hank gives him a lot of crap, but he never loses his cool.
 * Pride: In season 4 Hanks goads him into  by insulting his abilities as a cop.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue oni to Hank's red.

Gale Boetticher
"Played By: David Costibale"

Another meth cooker that Gus forces Walt to replace Jesse with. Walt and Gale get along well, but in reality


 * Adorkable
 * Ambiguously Gay: There's hints of this; Gale likes Mexican opera music and his apartment is well decorated, but it's never really explored further than this so he may just be Camp Straight.
 * Ain't Too Proud to Beg:
 * : The last scene of season 3 is this for him.
 * Hollywood Nerd
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The season 4 premier reveals in a Flash Back that.
 * Put on a Bus: After all of three episodes. He does come back in the finale of season 3..
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The season 4 premier reveals in a Flash Back that.
 * Put on a Bus: After all of three episodes. He does come back in the finale of season 3..
 * Put on a Bus: After all of three episodes. He does come back in the finale of season 3..

Domingo Gallardo "Krazy 8" Molina
"Played By: Max Arciniega"

A drug dealer Jesse brings along with him in the pilot. He and his partner try to kidnap Walt and Jesse to force them to make meth, but instead is caught by Walt and Jesse and tied up in Jesse's basement.


 * Affably Evil: While in Jesse's basement.
 * Asshole Victim
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Is disgusted by Walt keeping him locked in a basement.
 * Hidden Depths: He attempts to invoke this to get Walt to release him but it was merely a ruse so he could stab Walt as soon as he got out.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor: On the DVD commentary, Aaron Paul described Max as one the nicest, sweetest guys in the world.
 * No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: Played with, Walter makes sandwiches for him while he's imprisoned in Jesse's basement.
 * Not Quite Dead: After the explosion in the pilot.
 * Real Life Writes the Plot: Was supposed to die in the pilot but the actors and crew enjoyed working with him so the character was kept.
 * : Serves this purpose by being.
 * Real Life Writes the Plot: Was supposed to die in the pilot but the actors and crew enjoyed working with him so the character was kept.
 * : Serves this purpose by being.

Tortuga
"Played By: Danny Trejo"

The DEA's informant on the Mexican Cartel.


 * Affably Evil: Is obviously a pretty despicable guy but we mostly see him lounging around, listing off Sky Mall items he would like in return for informing on the Cartel.
 * The Informant: The DEA's in the Mexican cartel.
 * Meaningful Name: He says so; his name means "tortoise" in Spanish, which he claims is reflective of his way of getting things done - slow, but successful.
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * The Informant: The DEA's in the Mexican cartel.
 * Meaningful Name: He says so; his name means "tortoise" in Spanish, which he claims is reflective of his way of getting things done - slow, but successful.
 * One-Scene Wonder

Don Eladio
"Played By: Steven Bauer"

The head of the Mexican Drug Cartel and Gus' main competitor for control of the Southwest drug trade.


 * Actor Allusion: Not the first time that Steven Bauer has played someone heavily involved with a drug cartel.
 * : For Gus.
 * The Cameo: Steven Bauer isn't terribly famous but it counts since creator Vince Gilligan has ofter referred to the show as taking Walter from being a teacher to becoming Scarface.
 * : In his second episode.
 * : Arguably of the more sudden unexpected variety than in an awkward way.
 * Smug Snake
 * Smug Snake

Bogdan
"Played By: Marius Stan"

Walter's boss at the carwash.


 * Bad Boss: Forces cashiers to do menial labour. He tries to justify his actions by explaining that "a boss has to be tough."
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: There are almost no episodes he appears where the characters don't call attention to his freakish eyebrows.
 * The Bus Came Back: After disappearing early in season 1 he comes back in season 4.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: At the beginning of the series he's the obnoxious boss at Walt's second job, but he comes back in a big way.
 * Jerkass
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a couple of them to Walt.
 * They ring hollow, however, since he treats running a carwash as something that requires a degree and an iron fist (and he's talking to someone who by that time directly killed at least three people) and Walt shuts him up completely by taking his first earned dollar from him.

Carmen Molina
"Played By: Carmen Serano"

The principal at Walter's school.


 * The Danza
 * Hot Teacher: Seriously, how many high school principals do you know that look like her?
 * Put on a Bus: Justified; there isn't much reason for her to be around once Walt quits his job at the high school.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Is quite helpful to Walt, at least at first.

Wendy
"Played By: Julia Minesci"

A prostitute who works out of a motel that Jesse sometimes does drugs with.


 * Chekhov's Gunman: Ultimately subverted; she reappears in season 3 as part of, but doesn't end up going through with it.
 * Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Not quite a heart of gold, perhaps, but she is pretty nice to Jesse.
 * Once a Season: So far has shown up to play a small but somewhat crucial role in one episode of every season.

Don Margolis
"Played By: John de Lancie"

Jane's father. Does not like Jesse.


 * Berserk Button: His daughter's drug problem.
 * Chekhov's Gun: His job plays a major role in the season 2 finale.
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * Despair Event Horizon: Crosses this
 * Papa Wolf: Subverted. Don is a permissive father who tries to lay down the law on his daughter, but utlimately caves.
 * Papa Wolf: Subverted. Don is a permissive father who tries to lay down the law on his daughter, but utlimately caves.

Victor
"Played By: Jeremiah Bitsui"

One of Gus' henchmen.


 * Bald of Evil
 * Blofeld Ploy:
 * The Generic Guy: Seems to mostly exist to be another generic mook of Gus' to be around and do things that Mike can't or it wouldn't make sense for him to do.

Tyrus Kitt
"Played By: Ray Campbell"

Another one of Gus' henchmen.


 * Bald of Evil
 * Failed a Spot Check: Sent into  ahead to make sure it's safe, he fails to notice , resulting in.
 * Jerkass: Sure a lot of the mean things he does can be chalked up to "just doing his job" but not even extending his hand to pass Jesse a phone and instead making him pull it from his hand? This places him firmly under this trope.
 * The Quiet One: Even more taciturn than Mike or Gus, which is saying something.
 * Replacement Goldfish:
 * Scary Black Man
 * Scary Black Man

Maximino "Max" Arciniega
"Played By: James Martinez"

Shown only in flashbacks, Max was the meth cooker to Gus' meth distributor, mirroring the relationship between Walt and Jesse. He was the one who proposed cooking meth for the Mexican Cartel,


 * Ambiguously Gay: Stated to be a valid interpretation of Max and Gus' relationship.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: His name gets dropped earlier in the same episode in which he appears.
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * Shout-Out: Shares a name with the actor who played Krazy 8 back in the first season.
 * The Smart Guy:
 * The Smart Guy: