Matt Tuckey is a writer from Oldham, England. He covers celebrities, night life, Manchester, fitness, creative writing, social media, psychology and events. Some of this may, in some way, help others. Or maybe it'll just entertain you for a while.
Paul McGann. I in Withnail & I, Golic in Alien 3 and the 8th Dr Who
Giancarlo Esposito. Gustavo Fring in Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul, Moff gideon in The Mandalorian, Jack Bauer in The Usual Suspects, Stan Edgar in The Boys and Stanley Johnson in The Gentlemen.
Before the next Q+A begins, the cosplay competition takes place, which devolves into a conga line.
He tells us with Breaking Bad (playing meth distributor Gustavo Fring), it was the writing that made the character so memorable.
In his Q+A panel, Esposito also breaks down his Mandalorian character Moff Gideon. “Assume I know everything,” he tells us. (I haven’t actually watched it, so...) “You can’t lead unless you can follow. I was probably a good follower.”
He describes, as an actor, how the hundreds of cameras used during filming The Mandalorian allowed the different set pieces to move.
The roaming mic goes out to the audience, and the first question is suitably dark: How does it feel to die on camera?
GE: I die a lot! It depends on how we die: eyes closed, I take my last breath, sometimes the camera stays on me, and I have to hold my breath. With Breaking Bad, I spoke to Vince (Gilligan, creator). I said, Vince, don’t close the door. Vince said, the town is too big for Fring AND Walter. I suggested I (he mimes) straighten my tie. He gasped. When I got the script it was all in black and white. It was exactly how I suggested. The guy from (zombie TV show) The Walking Dead applied the makeup. We filmed it 19 times.
Audience Question: What was the most fun episode of Breaking Bad?
GE: Box Cutter. (The first episode of Season 4.) There’s 8+1/2 minutes with no words. You convey through attitude, like a Harold Pinter play. You connect with eyes. Fring changes to fisherman’s clothes and says, ‘get back to work.’ It’s a great scene. There’s a power in silence. How often are we able to connect with silence? It reflects the space when we breathe. It takes practice. When you practice, you’re more in tune with nature and each other.
AQ: If you could play another character in the Breaking Bad universe, which would it be?
GE: Mike Ehrmantraut. He’s a former cop, and represents morality and integrity, like a soldier. I respect this. He can follow. You can’t lead unless you can follow.
Compare Tom Finkell: If you could have a dinner party with all your characters, who would you sit next to?
GE: Gus Fring. He has integrity. He comes from a rich, African family in Chile, and comes up against the Salamancas, thinks things are sloppy and takes over.
TF: Would you revisit Gus?
GE: I would. We’d love to see the rise of Gus. He grew up poor. Better Call Saul shows how lonely he had been. How vulnerable. In Breaking Bad we know he survives. In Better Call Saul I could imbibe him with another side.
The next audience question asks about his work on the video game Far Cry 6, in which he voices arch villain Anton Castillo.
GE: That was acting, not just providing a voiceover. They shot me in a green room; I was moving like in a film, with a camera in front of my face so they could modify it. It told me a lot about the future, and AI. They could make another character of me. It’s surreal. They can make you taller, leaner. In the game, Castillo starts to get sick from meds that he thinks are helping him, and you can see this in the visuals; all while he’s trying to bring up his son to take over from him.
A question is asked about the kinds of themes he’s keen to explore within acting.
GE: If we try to make films that explain the suffering, the use of alcohol, drugs etc., we can start to experience the trauma. You can say, we might move people to be exposed to the generational trauma.
TF: How have you not been a James Bond villain yet?!
GE: I love that! I saw Thunderball as a kid; that’s my favourite Bond movie. My favourite Bond is Daniel Craig, but I love Roger Moore.
The mic is handed out to the audience at this point for their questions, during which Esposito hints to his upcoming involvement in Captain America 4.
A question comes in via social media: How do you shake off characters once you’ve finished filming?
GE: My daughter went to university. I met up with her; she said, “we were raised by Gustavo Fring. You gave us ‘the look.’” I do! I give them that look, they freeze! They say, “now you’ve become Gracián Parish (titular character in Danny Brocklehurst’sParish), you’re a much better father!” People are afraid of speaking to me. I give off this Gustavo Fring look, which can be good! "Get off me!"
The conversation weaves on to British habits and attitudes. “You guys say, ‘you okay?’” notes Esposito. “I check myself. ‘Do I look okay?!’”
Tom asks about who his fans think of when they meet him. Which characters do people associate him with?
“It takes time to let characters melt away. Many people know me as characters. People call me Gus. That’s what you want to be reflected back to you. I’m a people person. I’m convinced people want to be seen as they want to be seen. I encourage people to uplift each other, to make the time and space to see people. Look up from your phone. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s a long answer, but I hope it satisfies you.”
The ending applause certainly sound like a satisfied audience. To be part of a future audience, see Monopoly Events.
Predator cosplay
Book of Boba Fett throne
Walking Dead wall
Heisenberg cosplay
Simpsons set
Bumblebee, Transformers
Breaking Bad set
Bumblebee, Transformers (not the same item)
Aliens Colonial Marines cosplay
Stranger Things set
Mara Wilson, the titular Matilda. Her bodyguard busted me taking a shot
Frank Harper. Dog in Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels. Armed robber in Kevin
and Perry Go Large. Billy Bright in The Football Factory. Jack Whomes
in the Rise of the Footsoldier franchise.
Psycho's Couch, not sure the franchise
Los Pollos Hermanos set, Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul. Chicken / methamphetamine not included
Hagrid's bike, Harry Potter
Ghostbusters wall
Craig Fairbrass. Delmar in Cliffhanger. Pat Tate in the Rise of the Footsoldier franchise.
Well, here we are, half way through 2024. I’ve got 2 burgeoning Meetup groups, more conventions planned, I’ve seen Scandinavia, met loads of celebrities, and I’ve beaten gym records that I’d been stuck on for years. I tried to give blood last week but was denied because I’d been for a run in the morning. Weird. I’ve cooked loads of exotic recipes. (More to appear on the blog soon).
I’ve been to 2 conventions (another blog post is due soon), I’ve visited different cities as a result, and there are further events I’m keen to get to.
I’m hoping people at these Meetup groups might want to get involved too.
I ran a joint Meetup between Manchester Nightlife and Manc Mates on Friday night, starting in Counter House, and we dabbled around in the gentrified Ancoats area, eventually straying into the Northern Quarter and ending up in Guilty By Association. It was the first time I’d drank in weeks, months even, and I was a little worse for wear by the end. I enjoyed it, though. I tried to keep people updated as to where we were, so if people wanted to stay with the group they could, or they could splinter off to other bars. I’m not going to try to plait fog keeping everyone together. I just left updates on the Meetup pages.
On the issue of Manchester nightlife, Spinningfields restaurant Sakku Samba has closed after a year. This was a month ago, but they assure us they’ll be back in a different form, as relayed by the M.E.N. Also in Spinningfields, Provence has shut shop. I never got a chance to go.
I also never got a chance to try iKaro, the restaurant that took over the old Panacea unit. That’s gone too. It only lasted 9 months.
New burger bar SuperAwesomeDeluxe takes over the old Lono Cove unit in the Northern Quarter, (again, see M.E.N.)
Who fancies doing a few Deansgate bars? This Saturday both Manchester Nightlife and Manc Mates groups are meeting in Slug & Lettuce and taking a look around the bars in that area. Might not be a massively late one but is still an opportunity to meet new people and get out and see some of Manchester.
