Bryan Cranston talks "Breaking Bad" finale

With the final eight episodes of "Breaking Bad" soon upon us, series star Bryan Cranston sat down for a Reddit AMA ("Ask Me Anything") to answer fans' questions about the series and its upcoming end.

The full AMA can be found here, but read on for some of the highlights:

Q: What is your all time favorite movie, TV show, and food?

Bryan Cranston: All-time favorite tv show is "Breaking Bad," I don't know if you guys have heard of it before. When you say "The Godfather," everybody says "Oh, 'The Godfather,'" but it was really remarkable. I loved "The Andy Griffith Show" for its simplicity and warmth, but I also love "Louis" for its sardonic humor. My favorite food is typically what I am eating at the time. But if I had to chose one, I'd have to go Italian. How can you not love pasta?

Q: Was this whole thing just an elaborate plot by Walt to get Jesse to learn chemistry?

BC: Ha! You know there are many ways to teach people and you just have to find your own way end to stimulate the minds of young people. This was a ruse Walt designed way back when... "someday I'll pretend to be making Crystal method, get him to be my partner. Yessss, that's it."

Q: To what degree was the show mapped out beforehand? Everything fits together so perfectly it's hard to believe any of it was decided after the very first episode, almost. Were there any characters (ie Saul, or Mike) that were originally supposed to have smaller roles, but were expanded upon?

BC: Yeah, Jesse was not supposed to survive after the first year. He was a character that was [needed] to introduce me into that world and then he was going to die. But Aaron Paul captured something in him that was so necessary to the fabric of the show that it was a no brainer to keep him. They knew in broad strokes where the character was going to go, but they kept resetting after each season.

Q: What is it like finishing "Breaking Bad"? Are you sad to see it go, or excited to move on and do other projects?

BC: In a way I'm sad to see it go but in another way I'm so proud of it. To me it's like retiring after winning the Super Bowl.

Q: What's it like working with Aaron Paul?

BC: It's in the past now but that was one of the saddest things, to realize that was coming to the end. He's a great actor but an even better person.

Q: At what point in the series do you believe Walter White officially broke bad?

BC: My feeling is that Walt broke bad in the very first episode. It was very subtle but he did because that's when he decided to become someone that he's not in order to gain financially. He made the Faustian deal at that point and everything else was a slippery slope.

Q: Does "Breaking Bad" end the way that you wanted it to?

BC: Breaking Bad ended the way Vince Gilligan wanted it to... which is exactly what I wanted.

"Breaking Bad" returns to AMC on Aug. 11.