Tony Awards 2014: Bryan Cranston equates win he ‘stole’ to blue meth

Bryan Cranston won a Tony Award on Sunday for his portrayal of the charismatic 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, in “All the Way,” and the television and stage actor brought his own charisma backstage when talking to reporters after clinching the honor.

Cranston might be best known for his turn as meth-maker Walter White from AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” but the acclaimed television star alluded to theater being the “purest form” of another kind of stimulant.

“It’s the one that truly influences your performance night after night,” Cranston said. “When you can feel an audience and affect emotional change in them – it’s like a drug and you have to get it. It’s as strong as blue crystal meth,” he said, joking about the signature drug his character concocted on “Breaking Bad.”

One of the hardest things about being on the stage, he noted, is accepting an award at the Tonys. Actors get in a habit of getting to know a character and hiding behind that character, he said. And then, at the awards, “when you hear your name, it sends a shock wave through you. All of a sudden, you realize you can’t hide behind a character and you have to be by yourself.”

So how does he feel at this point in his career now that he’s won a Tony and three consecutive Emmy Awards?

“Like I stole something,” he quipped. “Every adult is seeking something ... And I found it. I stumbled on it. And I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”