Q

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul switches gears to play the hero

Aaron Paul -- best known for his role as Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad -- on his new project, Need For Speed.
Aaron Paul is seen at the 2014 Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Aaron Paul, best known for his role as Jesse Pinkman on the critically-acclaimed drama Breaking Bad, drops by Studio Q for a chat with co-host Gill Deacon that proves he's nothing like the burnout meth cook he plays on the show. 

Paul talks about his new movie Need For Speed, an adaptation of the popular video game franchise that features his first starring role since the end of Breaking Bad.

Paul also reminisces on the early days of his career, which saw him moving out to L.A. after graduating high school early and taking work everywhere from Corn Pops commercials to an episode of The Price Is Right. 

New role, new maneuvers 

Paul admits that many Breaking Bad fans may have trouble getting the image of "druggie burnout" Jesse Pinkman out of their minds -- so the actor has literally moved into the driver's seat to make his "strong, confident" new character believable. 

"Most people know me as Jesse Pinkman, this lost, very tortured kid, a druggie burnout just struggling to keep his head above water," he says. 

"I want to try and always just mix it up and do something different. I mean, that's what I love about this business I'm in - just being able to zip on a different skin."