Bryan Cranston: It was ‘just heartbreaking’ to lose Catherine O’Hara

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston has remembered the late Catherine O’Hara as “such a joy to be with” and said it was “just heartbreaking to lose her”.

The award-winning actress, known for starring in Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone, died on January 30th at the age of 71 from a pulmonary embolism, following a cancer diagnosis.

O’Hara collaborated with Cranston on many projects such as action film Argylle and comedy series 30 Rock, and they appeared together on Andy Cohen’s chat show, Watch What Happens Live.

The pair recently starred in acclaimed Apple TV series The Studio together, with Cranston as unhinged billionaire Griffin Mill while O’Hara portrayed his character’s rival Patty Leigh.

Appearing on Variety’s Actors On Actors show, Cranston and Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn discussed the “sad” death of O’Hara.

The Malcolm In The Middle star said: “Oh, we miss her so much.

“I played Catherine O’Hara’s husband in three different productions. And then she was my nemesis in The Studio.

“I miss her so much. She was such a joy to be with.”

Cranston continued: “Catherine O’Hara was a person who you not only marvelled at her comedic chops, but when it’s ‘cut’, you say ‘I want to sit next to Catherine’.

“It was just heartbreaking to lose her.”

He paid tribute to O’Hara in a post on Instagram shortly after her death, hailing her as “a genius comedic actor and a beautiful human being” who he “adored”.

Tributes flooded in for O’Hara, and she was remembered across awards season earlier this year – winning a posthumous award at the Actor Awards for her role in The Studio.

Her co-star Seth Rogen delivered an emotional tribute while picking up the prize, and remembered her as “one of the key parts” of The Studio when the show won the Bafta international award in May.

The upcoming series is set to air later this year and will feature a guest appearance from pop star Madonna – marking her return to acting after more than 20 years.

Reflecting on working alongside the award-winning singer, Cranston told Seehorn: “Madonna’s great. I gotta say, her work ethic is really impressive.

“The paparazzi were everywhere trying to get a picture of her.

“But, I was really impressed with how much she prepared. Because we didn’t know — it’s been a while since she acted.

“But she was terrific. And she’s very funny.”

Cranston added that filming the upcoming season was “a lot of fun”, and teased that it will also feature appearances from Michael Keaton, Donald Glover and Julia Garner.