‘Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris Reflects on ‘Ozymandias’ Over 10 Years Later

It’s been over 10 years since Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) was unceremoniously killed in the Albuquerque desert during Breaking Bad‘s critically acclaimed episode, “Ozymandias,” but the fanfare around it has yet to die down. “I think that’s the great thing about TV today. It’s now a novel that’s on the shelf,” Norris tells TV Insider about the episode’s legacy.

Finding himself injured as a result of Neo-Nazi gang leader Jack (Michael Bowen) and his men amidst a shootout, Hank’s fate seemed fairly obvious, but that didn’t stop Walter White (Bryan Cranston) from memorably pleading for his brother-in-law’s life, offering Jack millions in exchange for the trade.

But as viewers will recall, Hank looked to Walt in his final moments and said, “You’re the smartest guy I ever met, and you’re too stupid to see he made up his mind 10 minutes ago.” Right after, Jack shoots Hank in the head and promptly digs up Walt’s hidden barrels of money, taking most of it for himself, as well as taking Walt’s former partner in crime, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), prisoner.

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“Every year, new people experience the whole series… So I think it’s great that it lives on in the ether, just in the cultural zeitgeist,” Norris says of Breaking Bad‘s ongoing popularity. “And it continues to have that kind of impact. I think it’s more known now than it was when it first came out.”

The show and this particular episode’s notoriety continued to thrive in part amid stay-at-home orders during the pandemic as Norris notes, “A lot of people binged it,” during that time. “And it’s fun. I get 15-year-old kids, and 18-year-old kids, always coming up to me and they’ve just seen it [for the first time], and here it is [nearly] 15 years later.”

Of course, Norris didn’t hang up his metaphorical hat as Hank following “Ozymandias,” as the actor went on to reprise his role in the prequel spinoff, Better Call Saul. “It was great to see everybody again. It was great to be back in Albuquerque. We had to keep it very under wraps,” Norris recalls of the experience.

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As fans will remember, he returned alongside costar Steven Michael Quezada, who played Hank’s partner at the DEA, Steve Gomez, a.k.a. Gomie. “They didn’t want to spoil that we were there, so we were constantly hidden from the crowds watching and stuff like that, but it was so amazing to revisit it.”

Norris especially enjoyed his return onscreen in Better Call Saul because it brought a more vibrant version of Hank back to life. “It was nice because we got to go back to the early Hank where he was funny and confident and a blowhard,” he laughs, “as opposed to the depressed Hank that [emerged in later seasons of Breaking Bad].”

What did you think of “Ozymandias” and Norris’ return as Hank in Better Call Saul five years ago? Let us know in the comments section, below, and relive every incredible moment from both shows anytime on Netflix and AMC+.

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