He was also in Once Upon A Time and they didn't do shit with him
Me and my ex-wife really enjoyed Once Upon a Time in the early seasons, and I remember both of looked at each other and were like, "What the fuck is Giancarlo Esposito doing on this show?! Dude should be blowing up the big screen!" It was made even worse, because they landed fucking Giancarlo Esposito on their show, and the best spot they could give him was Magic Mirror?! The fuck?! Unbelievable.
Yet not surprising. Being a person of color in the entertainment industry is fucking hard.
I work in the gaming industry, but even so, it is incredibly hard for women and people of color to really move up in their careers and start making enough money to make ends meet.
I honestly don't find it a coincidence that I didn't finally get my career footing underneath me in this industry until I landed at a studio that had an incredibly diverse mix of people up and down the "hierarchy", and one of our CEO's was a person of color who also started entry level many moons ago, and, thanks to lucking into a mentor who took him under his wing, was able to advance in his career to the point where he could start up his own studio with others, and try to give his employees that kind of opportunity to grow and thrive.
No, I'm still not where I want to be, but I am immensely grateful that I took up my former coworker's offer to interview at this place, because I wouldn't be where I'm at now if I hadn't, that's for sure.
Sorry for the ramble. On topic, this is so fucking heartbreaking that he was driven to consider such a desperate play, but it doesn't shock me at all. The things we'd do to take care of our loved ones and give them the life we never had ourselves is immense.
I'm so glad that he was able to get his opportunity with Breaking Bad, and that it was such a meaty role that it opened more doors for him to success, and he didn't have to pursue such extreme measures, which likely wouldn't have had the result he hoped for (especially if an investigation uncovered his plan; his children would have got nothing, and yet still would have lost their father).
I just wish more actors of color, and women, and LGBTQ+ performers were also able to see success in a craft that they love so much, and that can bring so much joy and entertainment to us. Sadly, that's just not how the entertainment industry works. It always amuses me when I hear a lot of conservative talking points about how "liberal" and "progressive" Hollywood is, when, it's honestly just as much of a fucked up cesspool as any other industry where billions of dollars are in play.
variety.com
www.rollingstone.com
