10 Best Supporting Stars Of ‘Breaking Bad’, Ranked

The world of ‘Breaking Bad’ follows a high school chemistry teacher who turns to manufacturing methamphetamine after a life-changing diagnosis, and it tracks the fallout across family, business, and law enforcement in Albuquerque. The story is packed with meticulous detail about criminal enterprises, the justice system, and the ways everyday choices spiral into consequences that reach far beyond one person. It builds a web of relationships that links a small local operation to cartel power, corporate logistics, and federal investigations.

Alongside the two leads, an exceptional group of supporting actors brings crucial characters to life across multiple seasons. Many of these performers returned in connected projects like ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘El Camino’, which filled in backstories and epilogues that deepen what happens on the main series. The ten names below focus on characters whose actions shape the plot, move major arcs forward, and tie different corners of the story together.

David Costabile

David Costabile plays Gale Boetticher, a chemist recruited by Gustavo Fring to produce high-purity methamphetamine in an industrial superlab beneath a laundry facility. The character’s training, lab journals, and attention to process explain how the operation scales up once large-volume distribution becomes possible. His karaoke video and home setup provide evidence that later matters to investigators and rivals.

Gale’s partnership with Walter White rivals that of Walt and Jesse in terms of technical capability, and his work becomes a catalyst for violence when control over the lab shifts. Gale’s apartment, his laboratory notes, and his equipment choices all become pieces of a larger puzzle that links the superlab to specific people, which in turn sets off a chain of actions that drive the middle stretch of the series.

Raymond Cruz

Raymond Cruz portrays Tuco Salamanca, a cartel enforcer whose volatility defines the early expansion of Walt and Jesse’s enterprise. Tuco’s scenes establish how street-level distribution connects to a larger family-run network, and his safehouse, stash locations, and crew demonstrate the structures that keep product moving. His meetings with Walt and Jesse show how pricing, territory, and trust get negotiated under threat of sudden violence.

Tuco’s capture and subsequent absence open a power vacuum that other figures rush to fill, which recasts the risks facing the main characters. His family ties introduce future antagonists, and his methods explain why his relatives guard their reputation so closely. Those connections continue to matter as the plot moves from local sales to regional distribution.

Krysten Ritter

Krysten Ritter appears as Jane Margolis, a tenant and tattoo artist who becomes Jesse Pinkman’s landlord and partner. Jane’s recovery history, relationship with her father, and return to substance use draw Jesse deeper into a pattern that disrupts his work and finances. Her knowledge of Jesse’s earnings and her role in protecting that money change how Walt and Jesse operate, especially when disputes arise over payment and control.

Jane’s death leads to personal and public fallout that touches aviation, media coverage, and community grief in Albuquerque. Her father’s work as an air-traffic controller and the way he reacts after her death connect a private tragedy to a city-wide event, which the series uses to show how hidden choices ripple into the lives of strangers.

Laura Fraser

Laura Fraser plays Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, a logistics executive whose connections at Madrigal Electromotive give the drug trade a corporate-style supply chain. Lydia’s sourcing of methylamine, use of coded communication, and reliance on contractors expand the story beyond local cooking to international distribution. Her meetings in offices and restaurants show how white-collar infrastructure shields criminal activity behind purchase orders and shipping routes.

Lydia’s caution leads to contingency plans that keep production running after major disruptions, which includes new partnerships and modified recipes. Her routine stevia packets and specific ordering habits later become important details, and her attempts to control risk demonstrate how business practices intersect with violent enforcement when profits are at stake.

Dean Norris

Dean Norris portrays Hank Schrader, a Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor whose cases thread through the series from the pilot to the final season. Hank’s undercover work, evidence boards, and lab tests present the law enforcement perspective on trends in purity and distribution. His promotion, reassignment, and recovery after injury show how administrative changes and personal setbacks affect an investigation’s momentum.

Hank’s home life with family gatherings, conversations in the garage, and time spent mentoring colleagues builds context for breakthroughs that arrive from close observation rather than chance. His fieldwork in the desert and at storage units ties forensic analysis to on-the-ground arrests, and his persistence eventually intersects with actions that other characters believed would remain hidden.

Jesse Plemons

Jesse Plemons appears as Todd Alquist, a worker introduced through a pest-control front who becomes a key member of a white-supremacist crew. Todd’s competence during jobs, his calm demeanor during emergencies, and his loyalty to his uncle’s group put him at the center of high-risk operations like the train heist. His choices during and after those jobs reshape the stakes for everyone involved.

Todd’s later role in maintaining production, handling hostages, and coordinating with Lydia keeps the enterprise running when experienced operators go missing. His home, vehicles, and habits provide crucial details in ‘El Camino’, where past actions catch up to him in ways that resolve loose ends from the main series.

Mark Margolis

Mark Margolis plays Hector Salamanca, a former cartel boss who communicates with a bell after a debilitating stroke. Hector’s history with Don Eladio, his use of family to enforce loyalty, and his territorial grudges give the cartel plot its roots. His presence in a nursing home, guarded by relatives and associates, turns medical equipment and caregiving routines into elements of criminal strategy.

Hector’s flashbacks reveal why rivalries become personal, and his reliance on a bell as his only voice transforms small gestures into decisive moves. The explosive end of his conflict with Gustavo Fring closes one era of the distribution network and leaves a trail of evidence that investigators and survivors have to navigate.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk portrays Saul Goodman, a criminal defense lawyer whose network of fixers, money launderers, and identity brokers links the underworld to legitimate fronts. Saul’s office setup with ads, late-night calls, and walk-in clients frames how he acquires business, and his relationship with Mike Ehrmantraut connects Walt and Jesse to professional security and surveillance.

Saul’s advice on shell companies and cash flow paves the way for purchasing a car wash to legitimize income, and his connections reach as far as a vacuum repair shop that offers a last-resort exit. His backstory and future are explored in ‘Better Call Saul’, which maps how a small-time attorney becomes a central figure whose contacts determine whether people disappear, cooperate, or face charges.

Anna Gunn

Anna Gunn plays Skyler White, a former bookkeeper whose expertise in accounting and compliance becomes essential once illegal income threatens to expose the family. Skyler’s management of the car wash, the books she keeps, and the way she handles audits show how a household confronts the practical problems that come with unreported cash. Her conversations with attorneys and her actions during childbirth, caregiving, and real estate decisions place financial choices alongside family obligations.

Skyler’s negotiations with Ted Beneke, her control of bank transactions, and her strategy for paying medical bills move money through legitimate channels without triggering immediate alarms. She uses knowledge of payroll, loans, and liens to keep authorities at bay, and her choices protect dependents while complicating every attempt to end the enterprise cleanly.

Jonathan Banks

Jonathan Banks appears as Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia police officer who serves as fixer, investigator, and enforcer. Mike’s surveillance work, use of trackers, and habit of setting up dead drops illustrate how professional criminals avoid detection. His employment under Gus places him at the junction of retail sales, distribution security, and payroll for a crew that expects hazard compensation.

Mike’s mentorship of Jesse, the way he handles witnesses, and his insistence on maintaining rules stabilize operations when others act impulsively. His departure from the story follows a meeting at a riverside spot after a dispute over names and payments, which ripples through remaining characters who can no longer rely on his methodical approach to risk.

Giancarlo Esposito

Giancarlo Esposito plays Gustavo Fring, a distributor who masks a drug empire behind a regional fast-food chain and a philanthropic public image. Gus funds a state-of-the-art superlab, hires top chemists, and builds a distribution system that reaches across state lines while minimizing exposure. His meetings with law enforcement never reveal his role, and his dealings with cartel leadership reshape the balance of power on both sides of the border.

Gus’s attention to routine, from delivery schedules to training at his restaurants, creates a shield that holds until long-standing rivalries resurface. His final moments involve a nursing home visit that doubles as a trap, and the aftermath exposes the fissures in a network that seemed untouchable. His earlier years and business methods receive extended coverage in ‘Better Call Saul’, which explains how the infrastructure seen on the main series came to exist.

Share which supporting performance from ‘Breaking Bad’ stood out to you most in the comments.