Decades before becoming the Hollywood icon that he is today, Bryan Cranston was making money officiating weddings. The comical story of his first wedding as an ordained minister resembles something straight out of the Hangover movies, but it’s true.
Back in the 70s, the acclaimed “Breaking Bad” actor was working a summer job in one of California’s Channel Islands. It was there that he met and befriended a “Reverend Bob.”
One day, as it happened, the Reverend had himself overbooked with 2 weddings scheduled at the same time, in different places. So, he asked Cranston to take care of officiating one of the weddings, for the tempting sum of $200; he accepted.
And so, Reverend Bob registered his friend’s name in the state as an Ordained Minister, and Bryan Cranston became legally permitted to officiate marriages.
To prepare him for his first wedding, the Reverend handed the new minister a copy of one of Gibran Khalil Gibran’s beloved wedding readings, taken from his most famous book: The Prophet.
He instructed his friend to read Gibran’s lines before having the bride and groom sign the official papers, upon which his job would be done.
On the day of the ceremony, which was taking place at an airport, the young, sunburned Bryan Cranston arrived wearing shorts and flipflops, attracting bewildered looks and the understandable question of “who are you?”
Informing the questioner, “I’m the Minister,” Cranston was then briefed on the wedding plan which, to the latter’s horror, was set to take place in a plane, as it passed over the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles.
So, all the attendees boarded the plane, reached the designated spot, and the Bryan Cranston began the reading. However, he wasn’t simply reading; because the twin-engine prop plane was incredibly loud, he was roaring the lines at the couple.
The result of this hilarious mishap was an underqualified, inappropriately-dressed, red-faced, long-haired ordained minister, frantically yelling some of Gibran Khalil Gibran’s loveliest and most romantic quotes:
“Love one another, but make not a bond of love!”
“Give your hearts, but not in each other’s keeping!”
“And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadows!”
While it was indeed a very unusual wedding, it sure gave the couple a memory that they will never forget.
As for the big screen star, the way he viewed it, “it was an acting exercise,” and he got paid for it. So, it’s probably safe to say that everyone was happy after the wedding.
You can watch the hilarious story, as narrated by Bryan Cranston on The Graham Norton Show, in the video below:
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