Vince Gilligan Advises Amplifying “Good Guys” And Warns Against Making Villains “Too Sexy” During WGA Honorary Award Speech
For Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, the WGA honorary Paddy Chayefsky Laurel For Television Writing Achievement served as an opportunity to call for action as a “profoundly divided country.”
On Saturday during the 77th annual WGA Awards, the multi-hyphenate hit-making TV juggernaut reflected on the divisive state of the nation and how the current media landscape go hand in hand. In his speech, Gilligan pointed out the irony of making one of the “all time great bad guys,” out of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) while also urging the room of writers that it would be better to be celebrated for “creating someone a bit more inspiring in 2025.”
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“We are living in an era where bad guys, the real life kind, are running the market. Bad guys who make their own rules. Bad guys who, no matter what they tell you, are only out for themselves. Who am I talking about? Well, this is Hollywood, so guess,” He said. “But here’s the weird irony in our profoundly divided country, everybody seems to agree on one thing; there are too many real life bad guys. It’s just we’re living in different realities, so we’ve all got different lists.”
The Paddy Chayefsky Laurel For Television Writing Achievement, the WGAW’s highest honor for writing in TV, is given to a member that has advanced the literature of TV through the years, and who has made outstanding contributions to the profession. Gilligan’s early career started with The X-Files and The Night Stalker, and throughout his three decade career he’s snagged four Emmys, two PGA and DGA Awards for his work on Breaking Bad, and six WGA Awards between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Gilligan went on to say, “As a writer speaking to a room full of writers, I have a proposal. It certainly won’t fix everything, but maybe it’s a start. I say we write more good guys. For decades, we’ve made the villains too sexy. I really think that when we create characters as indelible as Michael Corleone, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader or Tony Soprano, viewers everywhere, all over the world, they pay attention and say, ‘Those dudes are bad ass, I want to be that cool’. When that happens, that’s when bad guys stop being the cautionary tales that they were intended to be. They [instead] become aspirational. So maybe what the world needs now are some good old fashioned, greatest generation types who give more than they take.”
Upon receiving the award from Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn, Gilligan also briefly referenced how his upcoming untitled Apple TV+ series, helmed by Seehorn in her first leading role, reflects heroic ideations. “Rhea, I think you hung the moon. I’m so lucky that we’re working together on this new show, where you play a good guy.”
Earlier on the WGA red carpet, Gilligan and Seehorn teased a bit more about the secret genre-bending sci-fi series. “I’m excited for audiences to see Rhea play a very different character than the character she played on Better Call Saul,” said Gilligan, adding: “She plays someone who’s trying very hard to be good. She’s a bit of a damaged hero, but she’s a hero nonetheless. And it’s just a pleasure to work with her because she’s just the best, and she is so sweet and kind and talented. I can’t say enough good about her.”
Although Seehorn noted she still “can’t even tell you the title,” she explained the series is “sci-fi but in a more psychological kind of sci-fi way.”
“I can’t wait for it to come out though,” added Seehorn. “Some of the stuff that audiences have loved about his writing where it’s really rich characters but also him playing with the idea of tropes and genres and tone, and switching, like injected humor in a very dark moment — in this new show, he pushes that to a limit that was both very thought-provoking and upsetting sometimes, and other times, so, so funny. It really swings for the fences. I had so much fun.”
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