Few of TV's on-screen pairs have contrasted and complemented each other as well as Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston, the binary stars around which the plot of Breaking Bad rotated.
So when the show ended, it was natural for the two—who'd become close friends over the show's run, unlike their characters—to wonder how they could continue their chemistry. Appearing together again soon after such a high-profile project felt long the wrong way to go.
But what about launching a business together?
"Bryan and I were having dinner in New York about four years ago, trying to come up with a way that we could work together, maybe do a film or limited series or play," Paul tells my Adweek colleague T.L. Stanley. "But we thought it was too soon after Breaking Bad ended for us to share the screen again. I said, 'What about the booze business?' He laughed at me. But we kept talking, and the idea started to snowball."
What emerged was Dos Hombres mezcal, which the two stars have taken a very hands-on role in both building as a business and marketing as a product.
Much like Ryan Reynolds, the two found that star power was only part of the equation—product quality and hard work would be the vital other components.
Check out our full exclusive interview with Paul on Adweek.com, and if you haven't already, be sure to read about the robot-assisted stunt they recently launched with online spirits retailer Drizly.
Are there any celebrity-owned brands you've become a legitimate fan of? Let me know at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter.
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
[email protected]
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