Bryan Cranston Reveals the One Thing About Comedy He Learned from 'Genius' Catherine O'Hara: 'God, I Miss Her Dearly'

Meredith WilshereSun, April 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM UTC

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Bryan Cranston and Catherine O'Hara on '30 Rock'Credit: NBC -

Bryan Cranston credits Catherine O'Hara for teaching him to balance comedic energy and rest while performing

The pair worked together on multiple projects, including 30 Rock and The Studio

"God, I miss her dearly," Cranston, 70, said in an interview with Esquire

Working with Catherine O'Hara was a masterclass in comedy, according to Bryan Cranston.

In a joint interview with Esquire alongside his on-screen son in Malcolm in the Middle, Frankie Muniz, Cranston was asked what O'Hara, who died in January 2026, taught him during their time working together.

"God, I miss her dearly," Cranston, 70, began.

"What I picked up from Catherine — from decades ago — was her ability to go all out in a comedy, and then rest and not be on," the Emmy winner shared. "She was not one of those who were always trying to be funny off camera. She would pace herself, and then when it was time to pick up, she'd pick up."

In 2012, the pair guest-starred together on 30 Rock. Over a decade later, they joined forces two more times, in 2024's Argylle and in the Apple TV+ series The Studio.

Catherine O'Hara, Bryan Cranston on '30 Rock'Credit: Ali Goldstein/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Aside from the late actress' ability to balance on- and off-camera energy, Cranston also admired her collaborative spirit on set.

"Her willingness — she would come to me many times and say, 'Hey, what about this? If we tried this?' And so she was always on, and it gave me the encouragement to be able to then do the same thing to others. 'Hey, what about we try this? What about that?'" he shared. "And she was just a genius, really, but even a better human being."

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To prepare for their roles in The Studio, Cranston admitted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last year that they had taken mushrooms to understand their characters better.

"I'm playing this character who is wiped out, and I had never had any experience in that. Not many drugs at all, as a matter of fact, and so I didn't know really how to behave," Cranston shared.

He reached out to The Studio co-creator Seth Rogen and costar Ike Barinholtz for advice.

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"So I was asking Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz, 'You guys are huge druggies! What can you tell me?'" According to Cranston, the pair told him he should microdose mushrooms.

"We were in Las Vegas shooting this crazy show with Seth Rogen, and we all decided to go to the Sphere to see the Grateful Dead," he continued. "If God wasn't telling me to do microdosing, what was he telling me?"

Cranston said O'Hara also got involved, but they were "nervous" about it, both "clutching each other" and trying to decide whether to go through with it.

"We were nervous. And Ike Barinholtz was our drug dealer. Can I say that?" Cranston questioned, adding, "And he said, 'I'll take care of you.' And I said, 'I've heard that before!' "

Cranston shared that Barinholtz insisted their experience with the drugs wasn't "gonna be anything," telling Kimmel, "so he gave us these little thin square chocolates — you know what it is [he told Kimmel]. Some people don't. And this little square chocolate, I go, 'It's a piece of chocolate?' It's like a wafer!"

Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'HaraCredit: Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

"And so I broke it in half, I took it … nothing. I didn't feel anything," adding when he took more, "It felt like maybe I took three sips of wine."

When pressed, he said, "It was nothing! Nothing!" in a mock rage.

Filming on season 2 of The Studio had just begun when O'Hara died at the age of 71 after privately facing rectal cancer.

Rogan and co-creator Evan Goldberg recently revealed in an interview with The Times how they're planning to address her death in the upcoming installment, noting that they "are not ignoring it.”

"It has been an unbelievable challenge,” Goldberg said. “Obviously, emotionally, dealing with the loss, but also when it comes to the show itself. We wrote it for her to be there."

"The shock waves permeate throughout the entire new season," Goldberg added.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”