Bryan Cranston says Alzheimer’s changed his relationship with his late mother, radio actress Peggy Sell, after years in which the two struggled to get along.
“All the stress went away,” he told PEOPLE in an interview published November 11. He remembered walks together, looking at the sky and feeding ducks.
The 70-year-old Breaking Bad star shared the recollection at a November 9 screening of Tangles at Regal Union Square in New York City.
Cranston called Alzheimer’s a “horrible disease” and praised the film’s attention to caregivers, who experience their own sense of loss while continuing to look after someone they love.
Cranston Has Long Spoken About Caregivers’ Work
In a 2017 interview with the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, Cranston described how his family arranged care for his mother at Harry’s Haven, the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Alzheimer’s facility.
He recalled the staff’s compassion and explained that relatives remained closely involved in her life while professionals provided physical care. He called caregivers unsung heroes and expressed admiration for families handling both the practical and emotional demands themselves.
In his latest interview, he encouraged caregivers to take breaks, whether for a walk, exercise or a couple of days away.
Tangles Adapts a Daughter’s Memoir About Her Mother
Tangles follows Sarah, a young artist building a career and a relationship in 1990s San Francisco. When her mother, Midge, develops Alzheimer’s, Sarah returns home and becomes involved in her care alongside her father and sister.
Cranston voices Sarah’s father, Rob, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Midge, Abbi Jacobson plays Sarah and Beanie Feldstein plays her sister, Hannah. The cast includes Seth Rogen, Samira Wiley, Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman, Bowen Yang and Pamela Adlon.
Director Leah Nelson adapted Sarah Leavitt’s 2010 graphic memoir, Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me, with Leavitt and Trev Renney. Independent Film Company distributes the film, which uses predominantly black-and-white, hand-drawn animation.
On her website, Sarah Leavitt describes collecting notes and sketches over six years of her mother’s illness, then assembling them into the book after her death. She wanted to preserve the grief and uncertainty alongside moments of affection, joy and dark humor.
The Script Connected With Several Cast Members
During the screening’s discussion, Cranston joked about the difficulty of declining disappointing projects offered by friends. According to Deadline, this script prompted a different response: “Wow, this is beautiful.”
Louis-Dreyfus said Alzheimer’s had affected her family “not once but twice.” She was drawn to the film’s combination of humor and emotional pain, along with its unusual use of animation to tell a personal story.
Jacobson described recording some scenes in the same room as other cast members, allowing them to look at one another and respond directly. She said that connection helped both the emotional exchanges and the comedy.
Nelson told Reuters in September that she discovered the memoir while dementia was affecting her own family. Its humor helped her cope, and she saw animation as a way to show Sarah’s inner experience through the artwork she creates.
A Charity Screening Precedes the Theatrical Release
The New York event was presented in partnership with Hilarity for Charity, the nonprofit co-founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen. The organization supports families affected by Alzheimer’s and provides resources for unpaid family caregivers. Its work includes educating young people about brain health and encouraging them to become advocates.
An awards-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles begins November 27, according to The Playlist. The New York engagement will take place at IFC Center.
The regular U.S. theatrical rollout is scheduled to begin in select cinemas on January 15, 2027, followed by a wider release on January 22.