A cancer-ridden science teacher transforms himself into a sinister meth lord. That's the story of 'Breaking Bad.' But it's also the story of how Bryan Cranston became TV's greatest leading man. As the show enters its final stretch, GQ's Brett Martin discovers why Walter White will always live on.

Writer/Producer Vince Gilligan was interviewed for nearly four hours in Burbank, CA. He talked about knowing that he wanted to be involved with storytelling, in film or television, from a very early age. He discussed his education at NYU Film school and winning a screenwriting award which lead to his first jobs in television writing. He discussed becoming a staff writer on The X-Files after a chance meeting with series’ creator Chris Carter. He spoke in great detail about his seven years as a writer, and later producer, on X-Files and described several specific episodes including the Emmy-winning "Memento Mori". He spoke about the short-lived spinoff, The Lone Gunmen, and how both series were affected by the events of 9/11. He spoke at length about his current project (then concluding season 4), the AMC drama Breaking Bad, which he created and produced. The interview was conducted by Jenni Matz on August 9, 2011.

In the first three seasons of the AMC series “Breaking Bad,” Aaron Paul — or rather, his meth-dealing character, Jesse Pinkman — has been slapped, mauled and beaten purple by, respectively, a hit man, a sociopath and a federal drug-enforcement agent. If he were a piñata, the candy would have poured out of this guy long ago. And apparently there is little mercy for Paul in the new season on the way. For there Paul was, one day in late May, standing on Tijeras Avenue in downtown Albuquerque, being tasered by a brawny man in sunglasses.