Audiences are watching Giancarlo Esposito now as the dark and twisted Captain Neville on NBC’s “Revolution,” but in three seasons of “Breaking Bad,” it was his intensely villainous role as drug Kingpin Gustavo Fring that had viewers hooked on his dark demeanor. Esposito watched Sunday night as the series wrapped up and offers his thoughts on Walter White’s fate. Plus, as his “Revolution” character attempts to infiltrate the new government regime this season, he spills the beans on if Neville will try sleeping with the enemy leader Secretary Allenford (Nicole Ari Parker) to avenge the death of his wife in the nuclear blast that leveled Philadelphia.
AccessHollywood.com: Neville obviously loves his wife but he is someone who will do anything to exact revenge and get what he wants. Does that include romancing Allenford?
Giancarlo Esposito: That certainly is a dream of mine. Nicole Ari Parker is so beautiful and we have such great chemistry together. I’d love for her to be around. You have read my mind. It’s all I can think about! However, I think that the circumstances are too great to overcome to have a romance with her. She is such an ice queen!
Access: In a recent article you said that you were looking for a series when “Breaking Bad” came along and it was only going to be a few episodes at first but that turned into something much bigger but then you were killed off. Now here you are a series regular on season 2 of “Revolution.” Is this exactly what you were looking for?
Giancarlo: It is in many ways. I mean in many ways I am educating myself and priming myself to have my own show because I feel like I’m ready to have that. To be the center of a show. I’m an outdoors guy who skis, who cycles, who runs, who does yoga and I couldn’t have asked for a show that would put me in the elements as this show has. When I was a kid I always wanted to be that action star on some level and never knew if I could really fulfill that and when I see the show with me holding a gun and really owning and knowing it, it’s all fun and play and I realized ‘I made it!’ I fulfilled that part of me that wanted to have that action as part of my life.
Access: You obviously played one of the best villains on TV ever on “Breaking Bad” but this character (Tom Neville) is more nuanced villain than Gus.
Giancarlo: I would agree and I’m so happy you see that. After “Breaking Bad” I felt like ‘Oh how am I going to shake Gus out of my hair?’ The press always asks me how are you going to top that but I’m not trying to top that I’m trying to create something new and fresh. I’m glad you see that because he’s much more nuanced. He’s so different. He takes matters into his own hands. He takes action. He doesn’t delegate all the action and I certainly have found some keys to make him original.
Access: You said earlier that you wanted your own show. What’s the dream role or show for you? Is it a villain or a little bit of both?
Giancarlo: No. I think it’s actually an undercover good guy who is not only firm and strong but who also believes in spirituality. It’s a really interesting and weird combination but someone who speaks for those who can’t speak for themselves but has to fight to do that. Someone who is an anti-hero in many ways. I think I have done the dream role villains. The more we go down the road with Neville you will see he is as fierce as Gus which I think is wonderful but after that I would like to play someone who is as fierce with these qualities with a much more transparent humanity.
Access: You obviously played an integral role on “Breaking Bad.” What are your thoughts on how it all wrapped up?
PHOTOS: Revolution: Scenes & Stars
Giancarlo: I love the way it wrapped up. I thought it was not only interesting but appropriate. They thought of a lot of endings but what I think what they came up with is one of the best that they could have ever written, one of the best ever seen in history. There were moments for me when I remember Vince {show creator Vince Gilligan} saying that Walt wasn’t redeemable and he doesn’t want sympathy for him but yet in that finale I felt that Walt was taking the world in in a new way. That somewhere in that finale he realized that it wasn’t worth all this trouble he had gone through to get what he didn’t get, what he had and what he lost. So somewhere in there was a great human lesson.
Access: And we saw pictures of you partying it up at the finale part at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Giancarlo: Yes I had a good time. I think they let everyone and their mother in or everyone with all their teenage children in!
Access: Did a lot of people come up to you and thank you for playing that character?
Giancarlo: Absolutely. Thanked me and wanted photographs. I’m very graceful but after a few hours I just had to go. I love my fans and I love the folks who came but you get a little tired after a while.
Access: You just wanted to celebrate the end on your own?
Giancarlo: Yes. It had a deep and lasting impression on my spirit and in the end I just wanted to go away and just say a little prayer of gratitude. It was that quiet moment to just say “Wow! Thank you to the universe for giving that to me that little gift.”
Catch Giancarlo as Captain Neville on “Revolution” Wednesdays at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC.
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