InBreaking Bad, he was known as the Disappearer.
Ed puts on a fantastic game face before finally giving in, but he does demand past-due payment.
(As the criminal scurries away, Ed honorably reminds him to take his bag of money.)
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This role stands as stellar final work, as Forster died on the very dayEl Caminowas released.
Hes truly one of the good guys, says Gilligan.
Were all torn up about it.
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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How far back does your appreciation for Robert go?
When did you first become a fan?VINCE GILLIGAN:I remember watchingMedium Coolin film school at NYU.
And being impressed with him in that.
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And as it turns out, he met Bryan Cranston onAlligator.
I always liked that movie.
Gotta love that.
Just for its pedigree if not for the movie itself.
Robert was the captain of the spaceship.
Anytime its on TV, even if its cut with commercials, Ill still watch it.
Hes just a good, solid, dependable man.
And thats the part where Robert wasnt acting.
I think thats him in life.
What made Robert so perfect for the role of the Disappearer?Hes the guy you count on.
With Robert, I cant think of many who were at his level as an actor.
And he always made it look so easy.
You put your trust in those kind of people.
And he exuded that quality playing the part of Ed.
What unique gifts did he have?
Much was often communicated with little.You never caught him acting.
That was the old Spencer Tracy quality that he had.
You didnt see the work.
You didnt see the sweat.
[Laughs] And when he showed up on the set, he was just ready to roll.
He always knew the lines and he always had such a positive wonderful editor.
The crew always loved working with him.
Im just sorry I didnt get to work with him more.
And thank God we got to do that.
When I met him, he gave me a present.
He would give people presents.
And trust me when I say its been sitting on my nightstand since the day I met him.
I reach to turn off this light and theres this letter opener.
And its… its a very emotional thing to think about.
But a lot of people got them, not just me.
I want to stress that.
It was a charming thing.
It was one of his trademarks.
I said to him, How many of these have you given away over the years?
He said, Oh… who knows?
He was such a cool guy.
He really was the real deal.
Ive met some cool people in my time.
He was one of the coolest people Ive ever met.
And one of the most down-to-earth.
He was just a sweet guy.
He reminded me of my dad.
And hes really not that much like my dad, except that theyre both from upstate New York.
Hes just the guy you wanted to have as your dad.
I wish I could have spent more time with him.
He basically shakes Jesse Pinkmans hand and sends him off to a new life.
That was the last scene we shot with Robert.
And he said, Id love that!
And Im always going to regret that I didnt make a run at make that happen.
Its everything you just said.
It just wouldve been to ponderous and too depressing and too bleak.
I just figured, Youve got to look for the laugh in everything.
Otherwise, what are you even doing this for?
That was definitely something I had top of mind when I was writing the script and directing the movie.
Its not as even so much that hes matching intellect…
It made me laugh watching the monitor and seeing those two guys play that scene.
Its about a nine-minute scene, and I was nervous going into it.
Going into it, I was thinking, Oh, God, I cant wait til this is over.
Now I just wish I had more of it.
And that one seemed to consistently get a laugh even when it wasnt really meant to.
Its just so much fun watching him.
It was a pleasure.
I was lucky to get to work with him.
I wish I had worked with him more.
He communicates so much with a microscopic shift in his stoic expression.
The original ending to the movie was to hear Jesse in voiceover reading his letter.
And what Roberts acting in that moment allowed us to do is to skip the letter entirely.
This is the thing about Robert Forster you never saw him acting.
You never catch him at his work.
Hes just unbelievable in every single moment.
Hes inhabiting it all by himself in that one moment, and yet it comes across.
It just kind of leaks out of his expression.
Theres another silent reaction he gave that I wish wound up in the final cut of the movie.
Itll be, I guess, in the deleted-scenes feature at some point when we have a Blu-ray out.
He got shot in the side.
Theres this close-up we got of Robert where hes staring down at this truck full of money.
It was just so perfect.
I didnt want to linger, and I realized that Jesse really didnt need to be wounded.
So I figured, All right, lets just cut the scene.
Your word is your bond.
And Ive gotta go through with this now.
Its really so beautiful.
Thats what made him such a great actor.
You never saw him trying hard.
Thats the mark of a truly brilliant actor.
