Nearly 25 years before mortifying viewers as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad, Giancarlo Esposito played the overlooked role of Jack Baer in The Usual Suspects. Featuring arguably the most satisfying twist ending ever recorded, the star-studded crime film won two Academy Awards and currently sits at #48 on IMDB’s Top 250 Movies of all time.
Thirty years later, the film still holds up incredibly well thanks to Bryan Singer’s stylish direction, Christopher McQuarrie’s expert scripting, and the towering performances led by Kevin Spacey. Despite the disgrace that has befallen the star and director in the years since, Breaking Bad fans will surely get a kick out of watching Giancarlo Esposito operate on the other side of the law decades before playing the villainous Gustavo Fring.
What Is ‘The Usual Suspects’ About?
From an Oscar-winning original screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, The Usual Suspects is an equally clever and entertaining crime thriller set in New York and California in the mid-’90s. When five supposed strangers are arrested in NYC and brought to a police line-up to be identified for a truck robbery, the five men with criminal records decide to work together and plan a diamond heist. The thieves include Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Verbal Kint (Spacey), Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro), and Michael McManus (William Baldwin).
When the heist goes awry, the five men learn that, for years, they’ve been unwittingly stealing from Keyser Söze, a ruthless Hungarian criminal who forces them to execute a daring crime to save their own lives. The men must destroy a shipment of $91 million worth of cocaine in a San Pedro harbor, which results in a gory massacre, leaving 27 dead and sparking an FBI/LAPD investigation.
Told in a stylish, nonlinear fashion, The Usual Suspects delivers ultra-cool action spectacles and jaw-dropping twists from beginning to end. No twist is more flattening than the final shot of the film, which shockingly reveals the true identity of Keyser Söze with spine-tingling terror and suspense. With a pitch-perfect musical crescendo punctuating the revelatory twist’s power, The Usual Suspects’ psychologically vexing finale is one of the most gratifying movie experiences on record.
Who Does Giancarlo Esposito Play in ‘The Usual Suspects’?
Although he’s best known for his sinister turn as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, Giancarlo Esposito is a terrific actor with over 200 credits dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. A Spike Lee mainstay in classics like Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, Esposito’s ability to play drama and comedy while drastically altering his appearance remains one of his undeniable strong suits.
In 1995, Esposito played the key exposition role of FBI Agent Jack Baer in The Usual Suspects, tasked with trying to figure out what happened during the San Pedro boat massacre. Esposito shares most of his scenes in a small office with fellow FBI Agent, Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri), and LAPD Sergeant Jeff Rabin (Dan Hedaya), where Verbal Kint is being interrogated about the massacre.
Chomping a cigar and sporting a fedora and goatee, Breaking Bad fans may have trouble recognizing Esposito in The Usual Suspects, especially since he’s 25 years younger. But his role is far from a glorified cameo. Agent Baer makes a huge break in the case when he visits a lone survivor of the massacre who can physically identify Keyser Söze. Baer also ascertains that there was never $91 million worth of cocaine on the boat, and the entire operation was a red herring to execute those tied to Söze.
After ordering a sketch artist to translate the survivor’s description, a picture of Söze is sent to Kujan and Rabin. But it’s seconds too late, allowing Söze to get away with one more daring crime that shakes Kujan to his core. Esposito not only holds his own with veteran heavyweights Hedaya and Palminteri, but his character is arguably the most instrumental in coming the closest to catching Söze than anyone before him. Baer’s work leads to one of the all-time greatest twist endings, which helped McQuarrie win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Spacey to win Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Watching Esposito convincingly play an integral FBI Agent 25 years before becoming one of TV’s most frightening villains in Breaking Bad is a reminder that there are no small parts in Hollywood. With persistence and perseverance, talented character actors like Esposito, with bit roles in great movies, can go on to become famous household names decades later.