Cranston's Trumbo ego

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Bryan Cranston's Trumbo ego

Bryan Cranston enjoyed playing another ''big ego'' in his new movie 'Trumbo'.

The 44-year-old star achieved worldwide fame as the self-obsessed school teacher who climbs to the top of an illegal drug ring in 'Breaking Bad' and in 'Trumbo' he plays the prolific 1940s Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Rumbo in the Jay Roach directed biopic.

The movie follows the life of the 'Spartacus' writer who was considered an eccentric genius and who spent 11 months in prison in 1950, after he refused to give up names of his colleagues who were communist sympathisers to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

And asked what attracted him to the role - for which he has received a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars - Bryan said: ''He is so flamboyant and dramatic - chain-smoking and holding court. A big life, a big ego. But he had a true heart.''

However, the actor is nothing like the characters he has played in 'Trumbo' and 'Breaking Bad' and says his fame won't turn him into a self-righteous diva.

In an interview with Time Out London magazine, he said: ''I'm in the position now of being offered the lead in a movie or TV show. I thought: I've been in bad environments where everyone's nervous, walking on eggshells wondering if the star is going to be happy today, or if the director is going to scream at people. I don't want that in my life. I want the drama to be in the show.''