Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad confesses to contemplating staging his own death for insurance money amid financial hardship: ‘I hit rock bottom’

Giancarlo Esposito revealed that his financial woes got so bad that he considered arranging his own murder so his four children could collection the insurance money. 

While appearing on SiriusXM’s Jim & Sam, the actor, 65, revealed that a year before landing his role as Gustavo Fring on the hit series Breaking Bad in 2008, he started to believe death was the only way out of his problems. 

When asked how he got out of near bankruptcy, the three-time Emmy nominee said, at time, his brain jumped to wondering whether ‘do you get life insurance if someone commits suicide.’

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‘My wife had no idea why I was asking this stuff. I started scheming. If I got somebody to knock me off, death by misadventure, [my kids] would get the insurance,’ he confessed. ‘I had four kids. I wanted them to have a life.’

Giancarlo Esposito revealed that his financial woes got so bad that he considered arranging his own murder so his four children could collection the insurance money; seen in 2023

He continued: ‘It was a hard moment in time. I literally thought of self-annihilation so they could survive. That’s how low I was.’ 

‘That was the first inkling that there was a way out, but I wouldn’t be here to be available to my kids,’ Esposito added. ‘Then I started to think that’s not viable because the pain I would cause them would be lifelong, and there’d be lifelong trauma that would just extend the generational trauma I’m trying to move away from.’ 

Ultimately, he said ‘the end of the tunnel was Breaking Bad.’ 

Esposito appeared on 26 episodes of Breaking Bad, before signing onto the prequel series, Better Call Saul, for another 34 episodes. 

Earlier this year, he revealed he would be willing to reprise the role for a third time, if given the chance. 

‘Yeah, I would love that,’ he told British GQ. ‘My backstory is he was a military guy who worked his way up through the ranks and could have become president, even possibly the dictator and have taken over.’

The father-of-four added: ‘But he wanted to do something that could not be controlled by others, and he wanted to control his own destiny. And so he took off to create a new life for himself in America and become a meth dealer, a businessman.’ 

‘I think, in his younger years, he was someone who could have been more Tony Montana,’ Esposito speculated. ‘But he worked his way into becoming level enough to listen, hear, and see through his emotional state. We would hope that it might be The Rise of Gus.’ 

While appearing on SiriusXM’s Jim & Sam,’ the actor, 65, revealed that a year before landing his role as Gustavo Fring on the hit series Breaking Bad in 2008, he started to believe death was the only way out of his problems (pictured in 2024)

When asked how he got out of near bankruptcy, the three-time Emmy nominee said, at time, his brain jumped to wondering whether ‘do you get life insurance if someone commits suicide’ (pictured in 2017)

‘My wife had no idea why I was asking this stuff. I started scheming. If I got somebody to knock me off, death by misadventure, [my kids] would get the insurance,’ he confessed. ‘I had four kids. I wanted them to have a life’ (seen on Breaking Bad)

Previously, Esposito was married to Joy McManigal for two decades before 2015 divorce. 

The former couple share four daughters, named Ruby, Kale, Shayne and Syrlucia. 

‘If you were to ask some of my buddies from an earlier time in my life, they might say it is universal payback,’ he joked to Best Self in October 2022. 

He continued: ‘I have always loved women, and another surprising thing that people may not know about me is that I am a recovering womanizer. Today, I would rescript that and tell you that my girls have helped me reshape my relationship to myself, my lineage and others…and that’s a beautiful thing.’ 

Esposito pictured as Moff Gideon in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which he has been starring on since 2019

While speaking of his kids, he went on to say: ‘They have taught me, each in their own way, the greatest gifts of my life — to pay more attention, to listen more, to respect women on a whole other level and to come clean. And they call me out all the time.’

Esposito is best known for his roles in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Mandalorian, Godfather of Harlem and Kaleidoscope. 

Over his year, he has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Additionally, he won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012.