Aaron Paul Biography

Aaron Paul was born on August 27, 1979, in Emmett, Idaho, USA, to Darla and Robert Sturtevant. His father is a retired Baptist minister. Aaron comes from a closely knit family and has four older siblings.

As a child, he began participating in church plays. When he was in eighth grade, he enrolled in the theatre department of his school and decided to pursue an acting career.

He graduated from ‘Centennial High School’ in Boise, Idaho, in 1998. Even before graduating, he dreamt of moving to Los Angeles, and took up odd jobs to raise money. After graduating, he moved to LA with his mother with the $6,000 he had saved.

Aaron Paul struggled for about a decade after moving to LA. He signed with a talent scout after finishing runner-up in a competition organized by the ‘International Modeling and Talent Association.’ During this time, he also worked as an usher at ‘Universal Studios Movie Theater’ in Hollywood.

He did a number of commercials for ‘Juicy Fruit,’ ‘Corn Pops,’ and ‘Vanilla Coke,’ before appearing in small roles in a couple of television movies. In 2000, he participated in the television competition 'The Price is Right.'

His first notable role came in an episode of the television series 'Beverly Hills, 90210.' In the next few years, he did minor roles in TV shows like 'Melrose Place,' 'The X-Files,' 'Judging Amy,' 'CSI: Miami,' and 'Point Pleasant.'

He continued to appear in commercials and also featured in music videos for Korn's song 'Thoughtless' and Everlast’s song 'White Trash Beautiful.' He also landed minor roles in a number of Hollywood feature films. He played the estranged son of Jeff Bridges’ character in the film 'K-Pax' (2001) and portrayed Tom Cruise’s character’s brother-in-law in 'Mission: Impossible III' (2006). He also acted in films like 'Whatever It Takes' (2000), 'Choking Man' (2006), and 'The Last House on the Left' (2009).

His big break came in 2007, when he was cast in a recurring role in the HBO drama series 'Big Love.' He played ‘Scott Quittman,’ the husband of ‘Sarah Hendrickson,’ played by Amanda Seyfried. He was still considered a day player, but started getting work regularly.

In 2008, while still working in 'Big Love,' he landed the role of a lifetime when he was cast as ‘Jesse Pinkman’ in the AMC series 'Breaking Bad.' After auditioning, he was doubtful of landing the role. Moreover, his character was supposed to die during the first season. However, once it went on air, Paul won over everyone with his performance and became a main cast member of the show.

In 2014, he appeared in the movie 'Need for Speed,' playing a vengeful street racer. The same year, he starred alongside Christian Bale in Ridley Scott's biblical epic 'Exodus: Gods and Kings.'

In 2016, he appeared in the crime thriller 'Triple 9.' The same year, he voiced 'Nyx Ulric' in 'Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV,' and starred in a bunch of other movies and television series. He also landed the role of 'Eddie Lane' in the series 'The Path,' where he appeared till 2018.

In 2019, he was cast in the drama web television miniseries ‘Truth Be Told.’ The same year, he produced and starred in ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’ where he reprised his role as ‘Jesse Pinkman’ from the series ‘Breaking Bad.’ In 2020, he played 'Adam Niskar' in Michael Uppendahl's American drama film 'Adam.'

Despite his spectacular performance in a number of movies and TV shows, Aaron Paul is still cherished for his role as the charming meth addict in 'Breaking Bad.' The show portrays the dark side of drug addiction, rather than glorifying it. The show has been named one of the greatest television shows of all time by many critics. Aaron Paul played a key role in the show’s success.

During the five-year run of 'Breaking Bad,' Aaron Paul won a bunch of prestigious awards, including three ‘Emmys’ for his role as ‘Jesse Pinkman.’ He won the awards for 'Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series' in 2010, 2012, and 2014, becoming the only actor to win it thrice under the same category.

Aaron Paul married Lauren Parsekian on May 26, 2013, in Malibu, California. The two first met in 2010 at the ‘Coachella Music Festival’ in Indio, California, and got engaged on 1st January 2012 in Paris. The couple has a daughter, who was born in February 2018.

Aaron and Lauren Parsekian are involved in ‘Kind Campaign,’ an anti-bullying initiative, co-founded by Lauren in 2009. They raised $1.8 million for the campaign through a contest and offered the winners tickets to the screening of the final episode of 'Breaking Bad.'

To commemorate the last day of filming 'Breaking Bad,' he and his co-star Bryan Cranston got the name of the show tattooed. To commemorate Aaron’s achievements, Governor of Idaho Butch Otter declared October 1st as 'Aaron Paul Sturtevant Day.'

In 'Breaking Bad,' the girlfriend of his character dies in her sleep, after taking heroin. Aaron Paul relates to the episode on a personal level as he was close to a young woman who became addicted to drugs and all his attempts to help her failed. While playing a drug dealer in the show, he admitted to taking drugs in his youth. He also said that he stopped using drugs after watching what it did to the young woman.