NEW YORK — Bryan Cranston and his co-stars were all smiles on Wednesday night, but no one was happier to be at the New York premiere of Breaking Bad's final season than billionaire Warren Buffett.
The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway was among the small group of notable faces at the event, held at Lincoln Center, where he took a few photos on the red carpet with Aaron Paul and then took in the first episode of the new season.
"I'm a huge fan!" he told BuzzFeed at the event's after-party. "Not only is the story compelling — it's a really an interesting story — but the acting is superb. It's not just one. They are great, great actors. I was telling Anna [Gunn], she and Meryl Streep are the two best actresses in the country, in my opinion. And Aaron, and obviously Bryan, they are so good."
Buffett added, "This is my number one show, by far."
The 82-year-old businessman, who is worth a reported $53 billion, visited the set of the show earlier this year, to film a sketch that they used for the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. In the skit, he confronted Cranston and Paul, as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, as they tried to break into the peanut brittle business; Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns the classic candy company See's.
"We made a deal. We were both businessmen. Why shed blood when you can split the money?" he said, laughing. "[Walter White] is a great businessman. We tried to stare each other down, and finally we gave our name simultaneously. But we made a deal. Peanut brittle is now controlled by the two of us... he's my guy if I ever have to go toe-to-toe with anyone."
Buffett added that a number of the show's actors came up for the annual meeting, including Aaron Paul, whom he showered with praise — even if, as Buffett joked, "He didn't bring me any meth."
Like many viewers, Buffett said he used Netflix to binge-watch the show; unlike most, however, he was able to get creator/showrunner Vince Gilligan to send him DVDs of the fifth season so that he could be fully caught up for Wednesday's premiere. That's as far as Gilligan would go, though; no spoilers, even for one of the richest men in the world.
"I try to get it out of him, but I can't!" Buffett said, chuckling.