Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston talks bad at the National Theatre

Bryan Cranston who played Walter White in the television drama Breaking Bad took on the role of a mad television reporter at the National Theatre. The London Critics' Circle theatre awards has recognised his brilliant performance. He won the best actor award for his role as Howard Beale.

One of his character's standout lines in the play is:

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy."

The other line you're likely to notice is:

"'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE."

The 1976 film which is now a play might strike a chord with the audiences of today. What does it say about progress? What does it say about our world?

So what can we do about our world today? How can we change it for the better? People have been feeling empowered and disenchanted about the past, present and future.

The answer lies in each and everyone of us. We need to question why we do what we do, how we live and our values. If we decide that we want to make a difference then we can. It takes brave people to try to make things better for themselves and others. We have seen that in the women who have spoken up about sexual harassment. We have seen it in the way people have voted for change. What we do each and every day can be a movement and progress to a brighter better world.