Emmy Award-winning actor Bryan Cranston, 53, was once known for his impeccable comic timing as the hapless husband and father on television's "Malcolm in the Middle." He's now recognized for his dramatic talent, playing a high school chemistry teacher with cancer who turns to making crystal methamphetamine in AMC's "Breaking Bad," which airs 10 p.m. Sundays.

Q: Does playing an anxiety-ridden character take a physical toll on you?

A: It does, and I'm older now. So, yeah, emotionally, physically by the end of the 13-14 hours that we work, I'm ready to shed that and go home, have something to eat and go to bed, pretty much.

Q: So you're not the type of actor who takes the character home with him?

A: It depends. I'm not drawing from experience for this, but I think if I were I would take a lot more back with me. Because the character really lives in my imagination, I'm pretty much able to get rid of it when I take the wardrobe off, wipe myself of the makeup and move on.

Q: After all those years in the comedy series "Malcolm in the Middle" you win an Emmy for best actor in a drama series. Is it about the writing as much as the performance?

A: It's every bit the writing. Award-winning performances are written and then performed. I should admit "Malcolm in the Middle" was an incredibly well-written show, and it drew attention. We won a Peabody Award and Emmys and had Golden Globe nominations, so we were getting our fair share of attention. You know, whether you actually take home the prize is not as -- I mean, it's fulfilling, but the recognition is really everything. For me, personally, to have a second show that's successful and getting rave reviews is really [laughing] -- I smile and go, "What did I do?"

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Hear a longer version of this interview with Bryan Cranston.

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Q: Do you think drugs should be legalized?

A: I think certain drugs. Certainly not crystal meth. It's a horrible, dangerous and destructive drug. All we're doing [in "Breaking Bad"] is holding up a mirror to what we're seeing in the rural sections of America. I think, for instance, pot [should be legalized]. I don't smoke it myself, but I did in the past. It made me go right to sleep. It wasn't something that I liked. But I equate marijuana to alcohol. I think it's the same level of intensity, perhaps the same level of addiction. I'm not really educated enough about that to make that statement for sure. Every drug is intended to adjust your current status. Whether it's having a drink after work just to calm down from the pressures or whatever. I don't really hold too many judgments about that.

Q: So, you went right from high school into acting?

A: Well, I went to a junior college to study police science and I was going to go from there to finish off the last two years at a university before going into the police department. That was the plan. But going into my second year, my counselor says to me, "No university is going to look at this." I was right out of high school so I took all my classes in my major and was getting straight A's and doing well, but you have to round out your curriculum. I needed some electives. So I took two theater classes. I thought it would be fun. I took acting and stagecraft. The first day in acting my assignment was to be making out with a girl on a park bench. I thought. "Oh my God," and this girl was just all over me. It confused me and I forgot my first line. I was just flushed. I'm 19 years old and I thought, "What police work? What's that? What happened?" From that point on I didn't stick to my plan, so I left and traveled around the country for a couple of years before I came back and started working.

Q: So did you want to see your name in lights as they say, was that part of it?

A: That was none of it. I was very fortunate because that experience in junior college confused me. After that class I went up to that girl and said. "Wow, that was really good," and she said, "That was OK." I said, "Do you want to go out and get lunch sometime?" She looked at me like, "Oh, you poor little boy," and she said, "Oh no, no," almost like she was patting me on the head. She said, "I have a boyfriend." I went, "Oh-oh." It was so good and so believable, she totally convinced me. I thought if I can get to the point that I can do that to someone, change their emotion from one thing to another, man, would that be powerful. That's what I found. It was an act of empowerment. That's what I was attracted to, how it empowered me as a person.

Q: And do you ever use your powers in your personal life?

A: For good, not evil. In my personal life what it has translated to now is that I've donated a tremendous amount of time toward charities. I'm a spokesperson for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and I do a lot of work with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's. My mother died of Alzheimer's. I am also involved with Smile Train. So this is how that empowerment adjusted to my personal life.