While his portrayal of Gus Fring pushed Giancarlo Esposito to stardom and made him the go-to choice for villains onscreen, pre-Breaking Bad, things were pretty rough for the actor. Despite being in showbiz since the ’70s, which saw him landing some pretty notable flicks, including Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, it wasn’t enough to make him financially stable at the time.
Heading into the ’90s, Esposito eventually hit rock bottom, and briefly considered ending it all to ensure a good future for his kids.
Giancarlo Esposito Was Struggling To Make Ends Meet
The ’90s weren’t easy for Giancarlo Esposito, as work began to dry up for the actor, and with a family to feed, he was getting desperate. It also didn’t help that the bank took his home after the Better Call Saul star went bankrupt. Considering he had welcomed four kids with his wife Joy McManigal, whom he divorced in 2015, the actor started to take every small gig that came his way, but those weren’t enough to make ends meet.
It was a really difficult time. I chased breadcrumbs. I was getting work as a guest star, but I was living over my head – I had too many kids, too fast.
As his financial situation kept deteriorating, at one point, it became too overwhelming for Esposito, which pushed him to scheme his own murder to get an insurance payout and secure his daughters’ future.
Giancarlo Esposito Considered Ending It All To Offer His Daughters a Secure Future
Following his desperate situation, the actor started scheming different ways of taking his own life, which would’ve ensured an insurance payout. The actor recalled entertaining the idea of hiring a hitman to make his death appear like a murder.
But in the end, Esposito refused to take this step, as he didn’t want to extend the generational trauma of his family.
Then I started to think that’s not viable because the pain I would cause them would be lifelong, and there’d be lifelong trauma that would just extend the generational trauma I’m trying to move away from.
Fortunately, there was some light at the end of the tunnel, Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad, which finally put an end to Esposito’s years-long financial struggle. Not only his portrayal of Gus is regarded as one of the best villains to hit the small screen, but the actor is now set to step into the MCU with Captain America 4.
Breaking Bad is available to stream on Netflix.
