“Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston revealed Thursday that he had recovered from the coronavirus and shared a video of himself donating plasma to a Los Angeles blood bank.
Cranston, 64, a five-time Emmy winner and a two-time Tony Award winner, discussed the diagnosis in an Instagram post. He said he was lucky and that his symptoms had been very mild.
The actor, best known for his role in the AMC series “Breaking Bad” as Walter White, a high school chemistry professor who turns to the manufacture and sale of methamphetamine to pay for his cancer treatment, said he had been vigilant but I still have the virus.
“I was quite strict in adhering to the protocols and still … contracted the virus,” Cranston wrote. “Yes. It seems daunting now that more than 150,000 Americans are dead because of that.”
In the video, Mr. Cranston appeared in a surgical mask at the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center, where he showed a phlebotomist drawing blood from his right arm and collecting plasma, the light yellow liquid part of the blood that was used in a procedure known as convalescent blood plasma to treat some patients with the virus.
The actor called plasma “liquid gold” and said it could be rich in antibodies produced in response to the virus, and could benefit others in their recovery from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Mr. Cranston watched the black and white movie “A Face in the Crowd,” starring Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal, as they drew blood. He joked with the phlebotomist about whether he had good aim.
Last year, Mr. Cranston won the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a play for his role on “Network,” in which he played a newscaster.
In his Instagram post, the actor said he understood the unease and frustration of people who have to practice social distancing. But Cranston, who was also nominated for an Oscar for the movie “Trumbo,” warned his followers not to become complacent.
“I count my blessings and urge you to keep wearing the damn mask, keep washing your hands and stay socially distant,” he wrote. “We can prevail, but ONLY if we follow the rules together.”
