A Life in Parts cover art

A Life in Parts

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A Life in Parts

Written by: Bryan Cranston
Narrated by: Bryan Cranston
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.99

Buy Now for $24.99

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Winner of the 2017 Audie Award for Narration by the Author

A poignant, intimate, funny, inspiring memoir - both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on creativity, devotion, and craft - from Bryan Cranston, beloved and acclaimed star of one of history's most successful TV shows, Breaking Bad.

Bryan Cranston landed his first role at seven, when his father, a struggling actor and director, cast him in a United Way commercial. Soon Bryan was haunting the local movie theater, memorizing and reenacting favorite scenes with his older brother. Acting was clearly the boy's destiny - until one day his father disappeared. Suddenly destiny took a backseat to survival.

Seeking something more stable, perhaps subconsciously trying to distance himself from his absent father, Cranston decided on a career in law enforcement. But then, while a young man on a classic cross-country motorcycle trip, Cranston one day found himself stranded at a rest area in the Blue Ridge Mountains. To pass the time, he read a tattered copy of Hedda Gabler, and in a flash he found himself face-to-face once again with his original calling. Suddenly he thought this was what he wanted to do, what he would do, with the rest of his life. Act.

In his riveting memoir, A Life in Parts, Cranston traces his zigzag journey from his chaotic childhood to his dramatic epiphany and beyond, to megastardom and a cultlike following, by vividly revisiting the many parts he's played on camera and off. With great humor and much humility, Cranston chronicles his unlikely rise from a soap opera regular trying to learn the ropes and the politics of show business on the fly to a recurring spot as Tim Whatley on Seinfeld, finding himself an indelible part of popular culture. He recalls his run as the well-meaning goofball, Hal, on Malcolm in the Middle, proving to writers and fans that he was willing to do anything, anything, for a laugh, and he gives a bracing account of his run on Broadway as President Lyndon Johnson, pushing himself to the limit as he prepared, physically and mentally, for a tour de force that would win him a Tony to go along with his four Emmys.

Of course Cranston dives deep into the grittiest, most fascinating details of his greatest role, explaining how he searched inward for the personal darkness that would help him create one of the most riveting performances ever captured on-screen: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.

Discussing his failures as few men do, describing his work as few actors can, Cranston has much to say about innate talent and its benefits, challenges, and proper maintenance, but ultimately A Life in Parts is about the necessity and transformative power of hard work.

©2016 Bryan Cranston (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV Celebrity Funny Inspiring Witty Destiny

What the critics say

"The narration is pitch-perfect, profound, and room-filling, thanks to Cranston's sonorous timbre and expert inflections. Audio fidelity and production values are exceptionally strong, and Cranston's performance is on par with any of his award-winning TV roles.... This is a winner - a great listening experience." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about A Life in Parts

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    349
  • 4 Stars
    72
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    344
  • 4 Stars
    24
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    280
  • 4 Stars
    77
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

Bryan is perfect to read this book! very funny and soothing... I would read again!,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Read

This book is well written, and expertly performed as one might expect. Brian Cranston does not disappoint! Cranston shares his struggles and adventures making him a very relatable human.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book on Cranston

I love the actor since the Breaking Bad serie on TV. I don't think that there is a better serie than that. The serie Your Honor is really something too.

Knowing his trajectory from the beginning is really interesting.

I listened to the book while walking. I laughed alone. People must have said he's completely crazy.

It was so funny sometimes.

I loved that the actor took the time to record his own voice for the book.

It's impressive to know how many things he has done in his life, his journey etc.

It's really captivating. I did finish the book in record time I guess.

It's really something.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Brilliant, great listen, captivating, an amazing person! Thanks for sharing your amazing journey with us Brian!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I have a love-hate relationship with autobiographies. In the first few chapters, I'm intrigued and interested to learn more about the book's author. But about halfway through the book, I start to lose interest and begin questioning his/her version of events. By the end of the book -- if I can be bothered to make it there -- I'm pretty much done with the author.

This was not the case for A Life in Parts. I listened (and finished) this book over a few days and never once did I think about skipping ahead or not finishing. Bryan's book details a life full of adventure, with meaningful observations and life lessons scattered throughout. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and having his voice in my ear for almost 9 hours was an added bonus. He could make my grocery list seem interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bryan Cranston is the Best!

Wow, what a wonderful read. Hard to stop listening. Bryan narrates wonderful, tells compelling stories and gives great advice for any inspiring actors.

Bryan Cranston: Please make another book. We are all thirsty for more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very engaging and entertaining!

Loved every minute of it! I highly recommend this superlative and well written story, told by the author himself, which is definitely a bonus.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

FAVORITE MEMOIR!

Brian Cranston you did an amazing job! This is my favorite I favorite biography ever and you brought Walter white white back to life!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great performance by the author and reader!

Great book read by the man himself! This book was wonderful, deeply personal and very humbling. #Audible1

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bryan Cranston does a good job

I love Cranston and his story I don't think any show will come close to breaking bad and his stories and delivery were amazing I loved hearing his success story very uplifting .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!