Bryan Cranston wasn’t convinced about Kevin Hart as his co-star in ‘The Upside’.
The ‘Breaking Bad’ actor appears opposite the comedian in the upcoming drama following an unlikely friendship between a paralysed billionaire and a recently paroled convict hired to look after him.
Speaking to Cinemablend, Bryan admitted: "Can I tell you the truth? I didn’t know if [Kevin Hart] could do this.
"That was the honest truth, and I asked that we could arrange for lunch because I wanted to talk to him to find out: does he realize that this is not a full on slapstick comedy? Big comedy chops that he has, but can he be grounded?"
Neil Burger’s movie – which initially premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival – is a remake of the 2011 French film ‘The Intouchables’, which was inspired Philippe Pozzo di Borgo.
The wealthy businessman became a diabetic quadriplegic following a paragliding accident.
Cranston’s scepticism about Hart’s talents proved to be misled after the pair got together to talk about the project.
He added: "I came away from the restaurant, and I’m not kidding. I came away and I told my wife, Robin, I said, ‘He’s got this.’ ‘Really, does he?’ "I said, ‘Oh yeah.’ ‘How do you… did you read a scene?’ I go, ‘No, no, we didn’t have to read anything. We just talked about it.’
"And I swear to you, I thought [Kevin Hart is] going to be really good in this."
The movie was originally set to be distributed by The Weinstein Company in March last year, but it was put on hold and then sold of following the sexual abuse scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein.
The project was later bought by STX Entertainment and Lantern Entertainment.
Bryan Cranston wasn’t sure about Kevin Hart’s dramatic skills
