The Real Story Of How Anthony Hopkins’ 'Breaking Bad' Fan Letter Went Viral

Bill Bradley

In 2013, Anthony Hopkins watched “Breaking Bad.” Soon after, the world — at least the internet — would never be the same.

Following his binge-watch, Hopkins wrote an effusive letter to Bryan Cranston, which went viral online. The story gained momentum again after being posted on Reddit Monday.

In the letter, which first made the rounds after a “Breaking Bad” cast member shared it on Facebook, Hopkins called Cranston’s portrayal of Walter White the “best acting” he’s seen. No argument here, dude.

Everyone rejoiced in Sir Anthony Hopkins’ words, except, of course, for Sir Anthony Hopkins, who told HuffPost in 2016 that he doesn’t write people letters anymore because of it.

“I just wrote this personal letter to Bryan,” Hopkins said. “I didn’t want it to be known publicly, but that’s what happens today. You can’t open your mouth before it goes on the internet or whatever you have, on Twitter or Facebook.”

“I keep my mouth shut from now on,” he added. “I don’t write letters to people.”

In an interview with HuffPost last year, Cranston responded to Hopkins’ disappointment and recalled how the letter ever got on the internet in the first place.

The anecdote didn’t make it into our previous story, but in light of the letter making rounds again, here’s the scoop.

“Well, I was amazed when I got the letter. I was astonished that Sir Anthony Hopkins himself wrote me a letter, and I was taken aback. I was tickled and honored and humbled, and it was quite a thing,” Cranston said.

The actor explained that he wanted to share the honor with his co-stars as well.

“I then proceeded to write a letter to my co-stars, [whom Hopkins] praised a lot,” Cranston said. “I started to write, ‘Anthony Hopkins wrote me a letter and he said basically,’ and I stopped and went, wait a minute. Why would I paraphrase him and capsulate what he wrote? I should just let them read the letter,” he explained.

Instead, Cranston sent an attachment of Hopkins letter to the cast along with a note: “Listen, here is what Anthony Hopkins wrote to us as a cast, and I thought you’d be as thrilled as I was. Enjoy it, Bryan.”

This is where things broke bad.

Someone in the cast, reportedly Steven Michael Quezada, shared the letter online, and it gained attention fast. Hopkins was obviously not pleased.

“In this new age, I didn’t anticipate someone posting that. I didn’t anticipate that someone would then take the letter and show it to the world. It was an oversight of mine, so when it happened I thought, ‘Aw crap.’” Cranston said. “I now have to realize that.”

As much as Hopkins learned not to write letters, Cranston said the moment taught him to be mindful of social media.

“With the advent of Twitter and everything it’s like, OK, so now anything you say on social media is for the world to see and it is forever,” he added. “So I got it. But at the time, I wasn’t in the practice of saying, ‘Please don’t share this on social media.’”

And that’s how a letter goes viral, people.

It’s too bad Cranston and Hopkins can’t enjoy their correspondence (which you can read here) as much as the rest of us. But who knew a few words about “Breaking Bad” would still be breaking the internet today?

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Mike's love for Pimento

In one of the more light-hearted nods, viewers were reminded of Mike's consistency when he revealed his snack of choice for his security job in episode nine, a <a href="http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/351/files/2015/03/Screenshot-2015-03-31-14.32.15.png" target="_blank">throwback to series four</a> of 'BB.

The key fob

You can always rely on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/betterCallSaul/comments/2vmql6/another_brba_easter_egg_jimmys_key_fob_is_the/" target="_blank">Reddit </a>users to spot the most obscure details, can't you? Here's Walt's key,. in the 'BB' finale, and Jimmy's in the first 'Better Call Saul' episode. Sadly, the jury's out what this tiny symbol could mean.

Heisenberg's coat and hat?

This could be a case of getting over-zealous in the hunt for clues, but this coat and hat hanging up in the courthouse look an awful lot like Heisenberg's outfit.
This could be a case of getting over-zealous in the hunt for clues, but this coat and hat hanging up in the courthouse look an awful lot like Heisenberg's outfit.

The Kevin Costner story

In series 3 of 'Breaking Bad', viewers saw Saul telling Walt he could achieve anything, concluding with: "I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it." Well, in the final episode of the series, we finally got to see the woman who fell for Saul's trick.
In series 3 of 'Breaking Bad', viewers saw Saul telling Walt he could achieve anything, concluding with: "I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it." Well, in the final episode of the series, we finally got to see the woman who fell for Saul's trick.

Juan Tabo

Juan Tabo Boulevard is a pretty huge street in Albuquerque, but nothing happens in a Vince Gilligan show by accident. Jimmy's address - where <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Day+Spa+%26+Nail/@35.071007,-106.514998,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xae7dc506f8469da3?sa=X&ei=9l3YVOewD4KMNsTTg7AC&ved=0CG4Q_BIwCw" target="_blank">a real-life nail salon actually sits</a> - is also the road that the one-time meth cook Gael Boetticher resided on. It also popped up in the first episode of 'BCS', when the two skateboarders attempted their scam.

The phonebox graffiti

Like many other scenes, this one at first seemed void of 'BB' nods - but could the 'Jpi' be Jesse Pinkman's graffiti tag? The youngster would be around 15 years old in the 'BCS' world, and while it might seem like we're stretching things, the tag also appeared in an episode of 'Breaking Bad'. Hmmm...
Like many other scenes, this one at first seemed void of 'BB' nods - but could the 'Jpi' be Jesse Pinkman's graffiti tag? The youngster would be around 15 years old in the 'BCS' world, and while it might seem like we're stretching things, the tag also appeared in an episode of 'Breaking Bad'. Hmmm...

The Cadillac

One of the show's first scenes sees Jimmy, a struggling wannabe, park next to this Cadillac. The link? This is the car Saul goes on to own, once he's finally on top (and a fully-fledged dodgy lawyer...).
One of the show's first scenes sees Jimmy, a struggling wannabe, park next to this Cadillac. The link? This is the car Saul goes on to own, once he's finally on top (and a fully-fledged dodgy lawyer...).

Loyola's

Jimmy's meeting place of choice with the Kettlemans also appeared in 'Breaking Bad', when Mike ate with Jesse, and then later met Lydia for a business meeting.
Jimmy's meeting place of choice with the Kettlemans also appeared in 'Breaking Bad', when Mike ate with Jesse, and then later met Lydia for a business meeting.

Slippin' Jimmy fits in with Saul's dodgy knees

Obviously, when 'Breaking Bad' was created, the team had no idea that they'd later be working on 'Better Call Saul'. Writer Thomas Schnauz has revealed how some aspects of Jimmy developed, revealing that they remembered Saul's arrest scene while thinking about Slippin' Jimmy. "We thought he must have taken a lot of bad hits on the ice of Chicago and he probably messed up his knees falling down all the time," <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/better-call-saul-flashbacks-explained-773890" target="_blank">he told The Hollywood Reporter. </a>"When we did it in Breaking Bad, we didn't have a reason that he had bad knees, but it's nice when we can tie those threads together."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.