“It shook me”: When Breaking Bad’s ‘Skyler’ Anna Gunn made her feelings known about the hate she got for her character

Breaking Bad is known for its iconic characters, but one of them has been at the center of much debate even after a decade of the show’s conclusion. While the protagonist, Walter White, was an anti-hero who made some questionable decisions, his wife, Skyler, received backlash from some fans for not being supportive of her husband.

The hate grew so much over time that some people failed to recognize the difference between reel and real life, and started targeting and trolling actress Anna Gunn, who gave a stellar performance as Skyler White.

In a 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Anna Gunn opened up about how she handled all the unwarranted hate from a section of the audience. The actress said she was shaken by the extreme reaction:

“It shook me. As an actor, my job is not to always play characters who make everybody happy. That's not interesting. In fact, characters that are more difficult in a way are more interesting.”

“But when you are on a show that has become that big and people are identifying you so much with somebody that they dislike, you can't help but feel like you get folded into it.”

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Anna Gunn once talked about the audience's extreme reaction toward Skyler in Breaking Bad

In her interview, Anna Gunn highlighted that the hatred and trolling she received for playing Skyler in Breaking Bad was confusing for her. Talking about how the issue represents sexism, she said:

“It was very bizarre and confusing to us all. It was a combination of sexism, ideas about gender roles, and then honestly, it was the brilliance of the construct of the show.”

Anna also talked about how the audience connected so much with Walter White that they started seeing Skyler as a villain, which was the opposite of what was actually happening in Breaking Bad:

“People did find a hero in Walt, but they wanted so much to connect with him so viscerally that to see the person who often was his antagonist—therefore the show's antagonist in a way—they felt like she was in the way of him doing whatever he wanted to do, and that he should be allowed to do what he wanted to do.”

The actress added that while she initially questioned herself, she eventually realized the experience was important to make her realize how people are always going to have different opinions:

“There was a lot of questioning: 'Am I doing something wrong? Am I not serving the character? Am I not serving the story? It was extremely important for me to go through and very powerful for me to learn that people will always have their opinions—and it can be for varied reasons, and that's fine.”

Anna played Skyler White across all five seasons of Breaking Bad from 2008 to 2013. Skyler is a loving wife who is initially worried about her husband's cancer and his distant behavior. When she finds out about Walter’s criminal activities, she does not support him and ends up cheating on him with her boss.

Though Skyler could not become a fan favorite, Anna received several accolades for her portrayal of the layered character, including two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Apart from Anna, Breaking Bad starred Bryan Cranston as Walter White, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, Dean Norris as Hank Schrader, Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader, Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo "Gus" Fring, and RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr.

Breaking Bad is currently available to stream on Netflix.