YOU Actor Penn Badgley Says the Role of Jesse Pinkman in BREAKING BAD Was His One That Got Away

Actor Penn Badgley, best known for his roles in the series Gossip Girl and You, has had a solid career so far, choosing series that are hits, and making a name for himself. But just like so many of his acting peers, Badgley says there was one role he almost landed that was really the one that got away.

Breaking Bad was a phenomenon of a TV series that many people count as a perfect show, or a favorite of all-time. The series followed Walter White, played by Oscar-nominee and multi-Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston, a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with cancer, who decides to manufacture and sell methamphetamine to pay for treatment and leave his family with a nestegg. He recruits a student of his to help him move the product, and the duo went on for five seasons and a movie to make a captivating story.

While we all know Aaron Paul as the actor who personified Walter White’s student, Jesse Pinkman, it turns out the role almost went to Penn Badgley. The actor recently told Buzzfeed:

"One I got close on was Breaking Bad. It was between me and Aaron Paul, we tested. Actually, that was the best television script I’d read at that point. That was the one that got away."

I can see how it came down to those two. Badgley is similar in age, and he is a very good actor. I love Aaron Paul in the role though, and I can’t imagine anyone else playing it as well as he did. Gossip Girl ended up airing its premiere a year before Breaking Bad began, so Badgley wasn’t out of work for long. And he did get to go on to play a darker role with his Netflix hit series You. So we can’t feel too bad for him. And I’m sure he has plenty of interesting roles in his future.