Ahead of the big game, PopCorners released its new Super Bowl spot featuring Breaking Bad stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston reprising their roles from the hit TV show. Coming along with Jesse Pinkman and Walter White for the ad was Tuco Salamanca as well, with original actor Raymond Cruz also reprising that role. The concept of the ad was to recreate key scenes from the show featuring the three characters, and this went so far as to include the screen-used RV as well as having Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan direct the commercial.
In an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Cruz opened up on his return as Tuco for the commercial. The actor commented on the intrigue of using these characters to have them "break into something good" for a change, perhaps the only opportunity fans will have to see these people portrayed in such a way. From the interview:
"For PopCorners, to reinvestigate Breaking Bad, give the fans an opportunity to re-experience Breaking Bad and the only opportunity to re-experience Breaking Bad in a whole new context where we break into something good. We explore these chips and Walt, Tuco, and Jesse go into the business of making this amazing, amazing product and pitching it to the world.”
Cruz also commented on how it felt to step back into that world, and even though it's for a brief parody ad, the actor still felt like he was back on the Breaking Bad set as if he had never even left.
"It was as if we had never left. It was a bit surreal to be able to step back into this world and have it be so familiar after such a long time. Breaking Bad has such a huge fan base. And there’s new generations of people just constantly discovering the show and they come up to you and they talk about how much they love the show, that it’s one of the best shows ever. So for PopCorners to give us this platform, it’s their first-ever Super Bowl commercial to be able to resurrect the Breaking Bad universe, to be able to bring these iconic characters back together is insane."
Raymond Cruz Previously Reprised the Role for the Spinoff
Cruz did get the chance to revisit Tuco with multiple appearances in the prequel series Better Call Saul. The actor says in the interview that the character was better fleshed out thanks to that series, allowing fans to see him in a different light compared to what they saw in Breaking Bad. Cruz notes he's grateful for that experience as well.
"The fact that you got to really get to know Tuco through Better Call Saul where you see his progression and where he ends up, the amazing writing of the series on the development of the character and how he goes down this road. Which you actually got a more heartfelt personal connection with him and seeing on how he treats his family and how he connects with his relatives and that there’s a lot more to him than just this uber-violent character.”
You can watch the PopCorners Super Bowl spot below.