Every Breaking Bad Actor That Appeared On Bones

"Bones" and "Breaking Bad" represented opposing ends of the television spectrum when they aired simultaneously from 2008 to 2013 (a mere fraction of the former's 12-season run from 2005 to 2017). The consistently sizable viewership for "Bones" affirmed that for all the critical accolades showered on "Breaking Bad" and other Peak TV shows, network programming was still the undisputed champion when it came to ratings. Meanwhile, "Breaking Bad" was proof of the untapped potential of the medium when it came to unfurling a complex long-form narrative across several seasons of episodic storytelling.

Of course, those are matters for us nerds to fixate on. The stars of "Breaking Bad" were more than happy to take their share of network TV gigs in the years leading up to Vince Gilligan's watershed crime drama. For more than a decade before he started cooking meth with Walter White as Jesse Pinkman, Aaron Paul got by with one-off parts on "Beverly Hills, 90210," "3rd Rock From the Sun," "The X-Files," multiple "CSI" shows, and "Veronica Mars." Dean Norris, the actor behind Walt's law-enforcing brother-in-law Hank Schrader, similarly had roles on "NYPD Blue," "The X-Files" (again), "ER," "Charmed," "24," "CSI" (again), and much more. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Esposito was a mainstay in Spike Lee's early pictures, although he, too, popped up on numerous procedurals and sitcoms prior to his tenure as Gus Fring.

Given the comparable trajectories of their careers on the boob tube, it's not so surprising that Paul, Norris, and Esposito all found their way onto "Bones" at some point. Let's take a closer look at who they played in the series, shall we?

Remember that anecdote Pedro Pascal cheerfully shared on "Hot Ones" about making up a Satanic language for his utterly ludicrous turn as a goth bloke on "NYPD Blue" in the nadir stage of his acting career? (You could tell his character was "dangerous" from all his piercings, gasp!) Despite having already established himself as a consummate artist by the time he appeared on "Bones," one wonders if Esposito looks back with equal bemusement at his performance as a villain of the week in the show's freshman season.

As it were, the actor made his way into the "Bones" universe in season 1, episode 19, "The Man in the Morgue." The episode sees Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) falsely implicated in a murder case after traveling to New Orleans to help identify victims of Hurricane Katrina, only to wake up in her hotel room covered in blood and with no recollection of the past day. As you'd expect, it turns out the real killer is Richard Benoit (Esposito), a local Voodoo shop owner who's secretly a member of the Secte Rouge, a group of self-proclaimed evil sorcerers, and was trying to cover his tracks after Bones started investigating one of his previous victims. 

You can probably add this to the list of "Bones" episodes that don't sit well in 2024 (or ever sat well, for that matter), but darn it if Esposito doesn't make a meal out of such a laughable criminal.

Where Esposito was able to portray a juicy baddie, a shaggy-haired Aaron Paul (see above) got to play a similarly cartoony character when he popped up a few months earlier in "Bones" season 1, episode 12, "The Superhero in the Alley." The actor co-starred in the episode as Stew Ellis, a stereotypical, pretentious comic book store owner (he insists he's an artist) who's only one step removed from being a live-action version of Jeff Albertson in "The Simpsons." Mind you, I'm not trying to argue he's an unrealistic caricature (much less an unfair one — I'm pretty sure I've met this guy myself in real life), but he is a caricature all the same.

As quick as Bones' other half, FBI agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), is to suspect Stew of wrong-doing, he ultimately proves to be little more than a comical red herring. Likewise, the episode itself ends up taking its murder mystery in a darker and more heart-breaking direction (one that involves domestic abuse), which leaves little room for a chucklesome side player like Stew to make an encore.

One could reasonably accuse "Bones" season 4, episode 4, "The Finger in the Nest," of being a blatant attempt at making a tear-jerking Saddest Episode Ever, seeing as its plot centers on a dog fighting ring. (Don't worry, I'll spare you the details beyond that, in case you can already feel your eyes welling up.) It is, however, notable for co-starring Dean Norris as Donald Timmons, a father who gets unwittingly entangled in this whole mess. Moreover, it provides us with some welcome emotional development for Bones, who gets to be uncharacteristically vulnerable here as she's forced to reflect on the unpleasant aspects of her chosen profession (she quite literally spends her days thinking about death and the dark side of human nature). 

Hell, after making your way through this episode, you may even find yourself craving Voodoo sorcerer levels of silliness to let off some steam as you continue your "Bones" watch.