“Breaking Bad” rightly belongs on any reputable list of the best TV shows of all time, ideally positioned near the top. The series followed a seemingly unassuming high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who discovered he had cancer and could not afford the treatment required to combat it. A sequence of events led him to become a drug manufacturer and dealer with the assistance of his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).

A major source of tension in the show was the impact of Walter’s new side venture on his relationship with his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn) – particularly as this venture evolved into a full-time profession that Skyler had no option but to actively engage in. Everyone on the show received accolades for their performances, including Gunn, who won two Primetime Emmy awards along with numerous other recognitions for her role. Although “Breaking Bad” expanded Gunn’s audience to its largest yet, it arguably was not her breakout role. That honor goes to her two seasons on the main cast of the HBO western drama series “Deadwood,” where she portrayed a version of the historical figure, American pioneer Martha Bullock.

Gunn’s career did not conclude with Skyler’s narrative in “Breaking Bad.” Indeed, the actress has maintained a steady presence on both TV and movie screens since then and continues to be a fixture, even though “Breaking Bad” remains her most well-known work.

Skyler White was put in one difficult position after another in “Breaking Bad.” First, in having to face the prospect of her husband dying of cancer, and then having to deal with her husband not only being a drug dealer, but eventually, a violent, powerful, and heavily-targeted full-on drug kingpin. It might seem as though it would be difficult to feel anything but sympathy for Skyler, but in fact, she ended up being one of the most hated characters on not only “Breaking Bad,” but all of television in general. 

“Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan explained to Variety in 2022 why he thought audiences turned on Skyler. “I realize in hindsight that the show was rigged, in the sense that the storytelling was solely through Walt’s eyes,” Gilligan said, meaning that viewers were forced to resent Skyler as much as Walt had grown to. He also said that both he and Gunn were “troubled” by the way fans felt about Skyler, especially as many of those fans felt emboldened to be cruel to Gunn herself without properly separating the performer and the character. 

Anna Gunn had an epic response to a harsh fan comment about Skyler during a Q&A, pointing out all Skyler had to deal with and explaining what an objectively terrible husband and father Walt had become. Her retort drew applause from the crowd, and that response, thankfully, has since come to represent changing attitudes about Skyler. In recent years, more and more think pieces have been written that condemn the previous Skyler backlash, including getting at the root of the inherent misogyny and misguided worship of morally bankrupt but financially successful characters that has become far too common among a certain type of TV and movie watcher. 

It has been argued that Anna Gunn’s career went downhill after “Breaking Bad.” Sure, she’s yet to find another role as iconic or another project as lauded, but to be fair, most shows aren’t as lauded as “Breaking Bad” was. Once Gunn got a bit of distance from Skyler and her career stopped being so directly compared to “Breaking Bad,” it’s been made apparent that the actor is doing just fine and continues to find plenty of quality movie and TV roles.

In 2019, Gunn had the opportunity to reprise her other signature cable series role when she again played Martha Bullock in HBO’s “Deadwood: The Movie.” With an impressive 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s actually her highest-rated project on the site, because the series-wide score for “Breaking Bad” is only 96%. Gunn also has a recurring role on acclaimed Apple TV+ noir series “Sugar,” which began airing in 2024. 

On the big screen, Gunn has mostly been doing small indie films, though she did play a large role in the 2016 Clint Eastwood-directed biopic “Sully” which was both a critical and commercial success.