The Time Mike From BREAKING BAD Taught Us About Menstruation
Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad can often be funny, but usually he's sort of icily frightening (in a totally awesome way). So it's a little surprising and wonderful to see a softer side of Jonathan Banks, the actor who made us love this guy. Banks has been working steadily since the 70s, often in roles that are very tertiary - he's got a great face, but he's been rarely used as well as he has been on Breaking Bad (check out Wiseguy for an exception).
Banks' first role was also steeped in bloodshed... but of a different, more understanding kind. He made his debut as Johnny Stanton in Linda's Film on Menstruation, an educational movie where he and his girlfriend (played by Mady Kaplan, sister of Jonathan Kaplan who directed movies like White Line Fever and Truck Turner) discover the truth about menstruation.
You may also remember Kaplan as Gunderson, the air traffic controller in Airplane!. He has an incredibly Mike-like line in that film:
He also has a gag that will make absolutely no sense to anyone too young to know that microwaves were once known as radar ranges:
