Every Breaking Bad actor that has died

It's one of the greatest television shows of all time, and for some, takes the top spot by some distance.

But not everyone who starred in the iconic crime drama Breaking Bad is still around to hear the continued applause that the show gets.

Running from 2008 to 2013, it has stood the test of time since first bringing us the story of Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) villainous journey from a high school chemistry teacher with terminal lung cancer to murderous drug lord Heisenberg.

Along for the ride is Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), a former student of White's, who becomes his partner in crime as the pair create their methamphetamine empire.

The pair become overwhelmed by the criminal underworld of Albuquerque, New Mexico, before running it themselves when they directly take on the region's existing crime bosses, including the terrifying Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito).

With five seasons and 62 episodes, it starred hundreds of actors from main cast to extras, with the same said for its incredibly successful and favourable spin-off series, Better Call Saul, with the focus switched to White's sleazy lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), and his journey from respectable lawyer Jimmy McGill to representing criminals and cartel bosses.

We've also had a standalone Netflix film, El Camino, that gives us a true ending to Jesse Pinkman's story after the show ended.

Given the sheer number of people in the shows and film, and the fact it first aired 16 years ago, time has begun to catch up with us all, so to speak, just as it has with the Harry Potter cast with the Potter universe most recently losing treasured actress Dame Maggie Smith.

Mark Margolis

Ding ding ding ding ding. That basically summed up Mark Margolis' character in Breaking Bad where he starred as Hector Salamanca, the patriarch of the Salamanca crime family. He is a direct rival to Gus Fring, with them both working different patches for the Juarez Cartel, run by Eladio Vuente.

Appearing in the original show as an old man living in a cottage in the desert, he is incapacitated and wheelchair bound with his only method of communication being to ring a bell strapped to the chair arm.

Later moving back to a care home, tensions grow between Hector and Gus, with Hector finally getting the upper hand after conspiring with Walter White.

Fans have nothing but praise for Margolis' role; one that he reprised in Better Call Saul where we saw him before he was wheelchair bound and are told how he got in to such a state. Sadly, Margolis passed away at the age of 83 in August 2023 after suffering a short illness, according to his son.

Paul Geoffrey

Fast forwarding to Better Call Saul, the show lost one of its original characters when actor Paul Geoffrey died at the age of 68.

He had been diagnosed with cancer in the time up to his passing. His role in Better Call Saul was minor, seen in the show fitting Jimmy McGill for a new suit.

Geoffrey's biggest role was back in 1981 where he starred in Excalibur alongside Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart. The funeral notice following Geoffrey's death said he 'lived his dream of being an actor'.

"He moved to Santa Fe in the early 1990s where he and his wife created a world of love and care for their young family. He worked with Santa Fe Properties for many years and established himself as a genuine and kind community member. A thespian to the core, Paul continued to act for the remainder of his life," it read.

Robert Forster

A legend of the silver screen, Robert Forster appeared in all three of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and El Camino.

Making his first appearance in season five of Breaking Bad, Forster played Ed Galbraith, a man running a vacuum selling business as a front for making people 'disappear' through new identities.

He helps Walter White get away after his empire is uncovered - later doing the same for Jesse Pinkman in El Camino and Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul.

Forster passed away aged 78 in October 2019, on the day that El Camino was released. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumour four months earlier.

James Ning

James Ning's role in Breaking Bad was restricted to just two episodes, where he starred as Duane Chow.

Chow was responsible for secretly providing substances needed by Gus Fring's drug empire to make meth in his secret laboratory.

During season three, Chow appears in a scene with Fring's private investigator and hitman, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), before being murdered two seasons later.

Ning died aged 86 in November 2022.

Michael Showers

Michael Showers had briefly starred in Breaking Bad in just one episode as a union rep.

Away from his career, his death came far too soon after being found dead aged 45.

His body was discovered in August 2024 in the Mississippi River at New Orleans. According to Reuters, the coroner said Showers had likely been dead for two days before he was found, with a cause of death given as drowning.

Isaac Kappy

Isaac Kappy had a small role in Breaking Bad, better known for his roles in Thor and Terminator Salvation.

From Albuquerque where the show was set, he appeared in the show as a prison in episode 'Seven Thirty-Seven'.

Kappy died by suicide in 2019 after falling from a bridge, authorities said. He was 42.

Mike Batayeh

We are introduced to Mike Batayeh in Breaking Bad with the actor playing the role of Dennis Markowski, the man managing Lavanderia Brilliante. This is the laundromat serving as the front for Gus' meth lab.

In the show, Markowski is arrested by the DEA after Gus' death and the lab being raided.

His death in the show comes after Walter White plots to kill Gus' surviving employees that are now in prison, so that no one rats him out to the police.

Away from acting, Batayeh passed away aged just 52 in June 2023. He had died by 'asphyxia hanging', according to a report from the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office.

Tom Bower

Appearing in El Camino, Tom Bower starred as Louis Schanzer. A neighbour to Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons), he is particularly nosey and wont leave Todd alone while Jesse Pinkman hides in his apartment.

Away from the film, he also appeared in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as well as Die Hard 2.

Bower died aged 86 in May 2024, passing away at home in his sleep, his sister-in-law told The Hollywood Reporter.

David House

Appearing in the first two seasons of Breaking Bad, David House plays Doctor Delcavoli who deals with Walter White after his cancer diagnosis.

One of the top oncologists in the region, White is able to afford him due to his funds from the meth trade.

It is under Dr Delcavoli's watch that White's cancer goes in to remission during season two.

Tragically, House died in 2016 aged 57 from a brain tumour.

Shari Rhodes

Shari Rhodes made one appearance in Breaking Bad as an extra as 'Bingo Lady'.

Previous roles include Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

She died in December 2009 from breast cancer, with a remembrance put at the end of her Breaking Bad episode to honour her part in the show.

Saginaw Grant

Appearing in just one episode, Saginaw Grant made his single Breaking Bad appearance in season five's 'Ozymandias'; arguably the best episode of the entire TV show.

Grant died in July 2021, aged 85. His death as announced by his friend and publicist as natural causes.

Wolf Muser

Like Grant, Wolf Muser appears briefly in season five as Mr Herzog.

The character is CEO and president of Madrigal Electromotive GmbH; the parent company of Gus Fring's Loss Pollos Hermanos fast food chain.

He appears in front of the DEA, where he ensures the company will cooperate with the investigation in to Gus Fring.

He died in 2022 at the age of 71.