LACEY PENNY

Originally Jesse Pinkman was supposed to be killed off Breaking Bad during the show’s first season. Aaron Paul says he didn’t learn that until series creator Vince Gilligan called him over one day during lunch.

"He goes, ‘Originally Jesse was supposed to die at the end of this season,’ … and instantly my heart dropped and slowed down a bit," Paul says. "And he said, ‘We don’t think we’re going to do that anymore.’ "

Gilligan told Paul that he loved the chemistry between Walt and Jesse.

"He decided to change the whole dynamic of their relationship and really the whole dynamic of the show," says Paul. "But the entire second season, the entire third season, I thought that Jesse could be a goner at any moment because there’s many things that this character could screw up on, and he could definitely meet his deathbed at any moment."

Other cast members, including Bryan Cranston, would joke around on set with Paul about his character’s potential demise.

"Bryan would come up and give me a hug and say, ‘I’m not going to say anything but it was such a pleasure working with you. It’s been an amazing past year-and-a-half, and you have a huge career ahead of you,’ " he says. "They would always joke around about it. They’ve kind of slowed down about it, but who knows — this kid could die at any second."