That One Time Hank Asked to Be Killed Off in Breaking Bad

Here's a rather funny story courtesy of Dean Norris talking to the National Post. As it turns out, he actually asked for his character to be killed off at one point during Breaking Bad. Why would he do such a thing?

Well, he had been offered a comedy pilot, and he accepted before he realized the final season of Breaking Bad was going to be split in half. It was the prospect of eight episodes versus 24, and the guy's got a family to feed. He's also a bit tired of playing a cop, and a comedy would have been a chance to stretch his legs.

So, how did Vince Gilligan take the news?

“I called Vince [Gilligan] and I said, 'Hey man, maybe Hank should die in the first eight. Wouldn’t that be a great ending?'"

“He said no in his nice Southern way: ‘I need you, what else am I going to write about in the last eight?’” Norris remembered. “So I said, ‘Oh, f–king right,' and really I couldn’t force him to do it because I have a contract I’d have to get out of but I asked him very seriously to kill me.”

Fans of the show will know that Hank has a VERY important role now in the show, and the last eight episodes are probably going to be almost entirely focused on him. I think in the end Norris will be glad he stuck around.