Breaking Bad's Skinny Pete Actor Was Extra Kind On Set To Avoid Being Killed Off
If there was one certainty when it came to tuning in weekly to catch the latest episode of "Breaking Bad," it was that no character was safe from an untimely demise. For Skinny Pete actor Charles Baker, however, he did everything he could on set to ensure that it was never his time to go. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, Baker revealed that he even used the tactic of being overly nice while working in order to not draw any unnecessary and negative attention to himself.
"I worked hard at not getting killed off, which included being the nicest person I could be on-set and off," Baker said. "You won't find any blooper reels of me messing up or making jokes on camera because I'm not going to waste anybody's time. I'm not going to give them an excuse."
As far as strategies go, it's definitely not the worst in the world to be extra nice and cordial to your co-workers. And while any fan of "Breaking Bad" is well aware, the character lived to see the end of the series, even appearing in the "El Camino" Netflix film that focused on Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). However, during the crime drama's run, Baker did have some requests when it came to Pete's potential demise.
Charles Baker wanted Skinny Pete's potential death to be emotional
During the same interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Charles Baker may have done everything in his power to not be killed off the series, but there's really never any guarantee. However, according to the actor himself, he had some specific requests for the writers if they ever decided to end his time on "Breaking Bad," which boiled down to making it an emotionally fitting demise.
"Every time I got a script, the first thing I checked was, 'do I live?" Baker said. "Somewhere in the middle of the third season I told the writers 'If you kill me, make sure I'm crying, make it an emotional scene, because it's going to be hard for me not to go 'I don't want to die.'"
It's an understandable request, especially given how desperately Baker wanted to remain on "Breaking Bad." Luckily for fans of the character, that never had to actually happen for the lovable Skinny Pete. And in a show filled with devastatingly brutal deaths and emotional final character moments, it's probably a good thing that his death wasn't one of them.