'Breaking Bad' star Bryan Cranston admits why he was 'wanted for murder once' in Florida

Although he played a drug dealer on television's "Breaking Bad," actor Bryan Cranston was wanted for a crime much more nefarious, back in the 70s.

"I was wanted for murder once," Cranston shared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's podcast, "Dinner's On Me." He revealed an APB (all-points bulletin) alert was put out for him and his brother by the police, following the murder of their colleague in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Cranston explained how he and his brother were involved, sharing that they "were traveling the country on motorcycles" when they arrived in Florida and "were broke."

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Bryan Cranston attends the World Premiere of "Argylle" at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 24, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage) (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty images)

"So we had to stop for a while and get jobs because we had to make some money. And we got jobs as waiters in this restaurant called the Hawaiian Inn in Daytona Beach," he said.

"There was this cantankerous chef named Peter Wong, who just hated everyone. There was just no way on earth you were ever going to get on his good side. But he liked the ladies. And so, all the men knew … if we had any problem in the kitchen, we had to send [the ladies] in … He was awful."

Bryan Cranston explains that he and his brother took jobs as waiters at a restaurant in Daytona Beach, Florida when they were short on cash and riding across country. (Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images)

The "Malcolm in the Middle" actor said that before the wait staff began their shift each day, they would have meetings to go over logistics. They'd also talk about "how rotten and mean Peter Wong" was. 

"And we'd all discuss, if one were to do away with Peter Wong, how would one do it, you know. And some say, 'Well, I think I would use his own wok on him.' You know, ‘I’d put him in the meat grinder.' … We would laugh about all these," Cranston said.

Eventually, he and his brother left Florida, in hopes of reaching Maine. But their story with Wong didn't end there. 

Bryan Cranston and his brother left Florida at the time of Peter Wong's murder. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

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"Well, little did we know that right at the time we said goodbye and left the job, Peter Wong went missing. He was not found for a week, week and a half, two weeks," Cranston told Ferguson.

"He was an insecure guy, and what do insecure guys do, they like to feel big, so, he always carried a wad of cash. And he'd go to the dog track," explaining that Wong would ultimately fall into a "honey trap" with a woman.

Wong "went to a house or something, and kaboom! Someone knocked him over the head, took his money. Put his body in the trunk of a car." 

Bryan Cranston was unaware that his former colleague had been murdered. (Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Homicide detectives came to Cranston's former place of work, asking questions, and inquiring if there was anyone that had "talk[ed] about hurting or maiming or doing any harm" to the chef.

Cranston, who was not there at the time, says everyone at the meeting admitted to previously joking about Wong's demise, but police pressed more. They asked if there was anyone who had been "joking" in the past that was no longer at the restaurant. 

Even though an APB alert was put out on Bryan Cranston and his brother, the two were never arrested in connection with Peter Wong's death. (Terence Patrick/CBS via Getty Images)

Police were informed about the Cranston brothers and how they'd left town.

"So they're taking out all this information … Little did we know they put out an APB on us and to find us, we were somewhere in the Carolinas, I think at that point. And we didn't know any of this. So we're just tooling along. I can just imagine if someone really pulled us over and down on the ground with a guns blade."

"And then before that came to happen, they put the pieces together and realized … They've had some witnesses and some cameras at the dog track. And they saw what was going on and made an arrest. And so we were this close," he joked of almost being a murder suspect.

A representative for Cranston did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..