BRYAN GETS THE BUTT OF THE JOKE

Many years before he was “the one who knocks,” Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston was the one who hawks! As an eager young actor in the 1970s and early ’80s, Bryan says he was “auditioning for commercials like a maniac,” adding that he “ultimately did spots for Excedrin and Preparation H and Coffee-mate,” among others. Of course, it was the hemorrhoid cream ad — in which he played a scientist type, telling viewers the best way “to get rid of pain and itch” is Preparation H with “oxygen action” — that gained him the most notoriety. With viral versions of the commercial all over the web, fans still tease him about the embarrassing spot today. Just how did the future Emmy winner justify agreeing to star in a commercial for butt medicine? Bryan, 62, explains, “I said, ‘Well, I’m not the guy who actually has the hemorrhoid. I’m the expert trying to help others!’” And as Walter White himself would say, when it comes to making money, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do!