Two bronze statues dedicated to the protagonists of Breaking Bad , Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, have been inaugurated in Albuquerque.
The statues are a gift from the creator of the series, Vince Gilligan , to the city that has always hosted the stories of the characters of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul , the acclaimed prequel that will end in a few weeks. Here are some videos and photos of the ceremony.
Abq and @BreakingBad still have great chemistry together.
The @ABQJournal‘s @BushChancey with great images from today’s unveiling of the Walter White (@BryanCranston) and Jesse Pinkman (@aaronpaul_8)statues at the convention center. pic.twitter.com/XN1CHKvQKZ
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) July 30, 2022
AMAZING statues of @BryanCranston and @aaronpaul_8 in character as Walter Whiter aka Heisenberg and Jesse Pinkman from #BreakingBad. Can’t wait for them to appear in this Monday’s #BetterCallSaul episode titled “Breaking Bad” SO PUMPED. BB, My favorite show of all time. Timeless. pic.twitter.com/m3Jy3jkM9V
— Jackie 🇺🇦 (@ImpsDelights) July 30, 2022
Breaking Bad statue unveiled in New Mexico… I liked that show when it was on, but shouldn’t statues be made for actual heroes and not the characters of a show that’s barely ten years old. pic.twitter.com/TGfqLgpDxM
— Hyperboloid Maker (@SrbskyRusnyak) July 29, 2022
The statues are the work of sculptor Trevor Grove and were forged by the American Fine Arts Foundry. Vince Gilligan commissioned them in 2019, as a thank you to the city. The opening was attended by stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris and, from Better Call Saul , Rhea Seehorn, Michael Mando and Patrick Fabian .
Craston stated:
We are honoured. We are happy and slightly embarrassed to have statues of ourselves. When they first came to me and said “We want to make you some statues”, I thought, “Wow, great, Heisenberg and Walter White!”. I am really grateful… It is impossible to prepare for the idea of having a statue. I’m just glad they’re indoors so the pigeons don’t poop on our heads.
Gilligan talked about the possible controversy over whether two meth dealers like Walt and Jesse were immortalized with a statue:
Some will say, “Wow, just what our city needed.” I understand. But let me tell you what I see when I look at these two works of art: I see two of the best actors America has ever produced. I see them in their roles, two larger-than-life tragic figures , two world-famous cautionary tales.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the induced that the city has made from the productions of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is around 385 million dollars. This would be enough to justify the statues.