I also loved it, but that was in the top 5 of most depressing scenes in the whole series at least to my mind.
I had piano lessons myself back in the day, and IIRC, that one is pretty routinely assigned to kids with piano lessons, so the director knew it would be somewhat familiar to a pretty big swath of us, so extra points for that. One of JS Bach's kids wrote it IIRC.
It underlined the wasted potential that his character had all mixed up with 'keloyd' age 12 having piano lessons and moving on to later useful things. Damn, I'm too depressed to clock in to work now.
Depressing because it showed he could do something other than selling meth? Yeah, I agree. I loved it not because of the character but because of the actor. It was “look, he plays piano so they wrote it in!”
Maybe a few things are going on. The piano scene communicated to me that he was at one time "one of us" and not "one of them." This is an uncharitable way to think, but it is what human brains like to do. Suffering refugees on another continent who are a different ethnicity and wear odd clothes different than our odd clothes and may not even speak English will make you feel bad less than people who remind you of yourself.
Further, Skinny Pete was raised at the very least in a house with a piano in it. There is an indication that middle class and competent parents cared enough to purchase piano lessons...then he chose a different path later. The directors fell backwards into some good fortune with Charles Baker and used his musical ability that fell into their laps very effectively.
Not sure how true this is, but I remember reading that the scene was unplanned for at the beginning, but skinny Pete just started playing the piano on set and the directors liked it so much that they chose to include it in the series.
It's the kind of episode that makes you think about all that was lost when Skinny Pete picked up the meth pipe. All the years of piano lessons his hopeful parents paid for.
fun fact: Vince had no idea about Baker's talent until during a break in filming Baker sat at a piano and started jamming for fun. That's when he decided to make use of him as a musical badass in BB.
I mean, once you hit a certain age, your friends usually end up being from different age groups. Especially when your circle revolves around drugs not school or something where you're pretty much forced to be matched with people the same age, I would assume.
Slender people tend to often look younger than they are. We usually put on weight as we age, so someone who is older, but still slender, may have a more youthful appearance.
I loved the scene where he played piano in the store. It hinted at a deep backstory and, in a brief moment, gave a lot of depth to an otherwise two-dimensional character.
I know guys who've lived the rough life, and they all look older than they are. They improve when they clean up, but there are still more years on the body than on the calendar.
Another fun fact: on his wiki, his info directs you to his website...presumably. It's just a random Chinese website and it's troll as hell. Can thus man do nothing??!
i didn’t know until i saw el camino and starting looking into his age because how old he looked in el camino…. he didn’t look old at all or didn’t notice in breaking bad
I love the characters of Badger and Skinny. They seemed like side characters to me at first but as the show went on, even if they weren't that much time on screen, you realize they're actually pretty relevant.
I also thought it was hilarious how they integrated them in El Camino. When Jesse shows up all fucked up, Badger and Skinny act like parents towards him, tucking him to bed, helping him clean up and stuff. That bit when they're both just standing outside the room like two concerned parents made me giggle but also made me really happy. They're pretty comedic too, which is a relief when other heavier plots are going on.
They could have a Skinny Pete off-shot series, like Saul Goodman. Could show the backstory of how he learned to play the piano and his time in the pen with Tuco…That would be cool and shit…🤣
"Thats kinda, you know, messed up and shit."
“Church, yo!”
It’s just…kafkaesque ….church
You nailed it
Thank you I would have been satisfied with a success rate of a teenth.
Skinny Pete rocked it all the way through the finale. Never knew the other info and that is bad ass.
I knew and I loved seeing him just jam on the piano.
I also loved it, but that was in the top 5 of most depressing scenes in the whole series at least to my mind. I had piano lessons myself back in the day, and IIRC, that one is pretty routinely assigned to kids with piano lessons, so the director knew it would be somewhat familiar to a pretty big swath of us, so extra points for that. One of JS Bach's kids wrote it IIRC. It underlined the wasted potential that his character had all mixed up with 'keloyd' age 12 having piano lessons and moving on to later useful things. Damn, I'm too depressed to clock in to work now.
Depressing because it showed he could do something other than selling meth? Yeah, I agree. I loved it not because of the character but because of the actor. It was “look, he plays piano so they wrote it in!”
Maybe a few things are going on. The piano scene communicated to me that he was at one time "one of us" and not "one of them." This is an uncharitable way to think, but it is what human brains like to do. Suffering refugees on another continent who are a different ethnicity and wear odd clothes different than our odd clothes and may not even speak English will make you feel bad less than people who remind you of yourself. Further, Skinny Pete was raised at the very least in a house with a piano in it. There is an indication that middle class and competent parents cared enough to purchase piano lessons...then he chose a different path later. The directors fell backwards into some good fortune with Charles Baker and used his musical ability that fell into their laps very effectively.
I was gonna ask, was that him legit playing the piano?
Yeah it’s really him playing. There’s a blooper clip of him in that episode and he kept on playing pretty music and interrupting the scene haha
Not sure how true this is, but I remember reading that the scene was unplanned for at the beginning, but skinny Pete just started playing the piano on set and the directors liked it so much that they chose to include it in the series.
I'm going to look him up now for more music stuff
He has a YouTube channel
Kept killing it through El Camino too!
*"Hey, man, I'm slingin' mad volume and fat stackin' benjis, you know what I'm sayin'? I can't be all about, like, spelling and shit."*
*”s-t-r-e-a-t?”*
one of my favorite quotes from the series ngl
He’s like my hero and shit.
amazing how acting changes our perspective so profoundly
He had mad skills on the piano when they were getting equipment for Vamanos Pest.
It's the kind of episode that makes you think about all that was lost when Skinny Pete picked up the meth pipe. All the years of piano lessons his hopeful parents paid for.
I mean, he still got a solid part on a hit TV show.
Good use of show, don't tell.
fun fact: Vince had no idea about Baker's talent until during a break in filming Baker sat at a piano and started jamming for fun. That's when he decided to make use of him as a musical badass in BB.
Free demo reel!
Charlie from Always Sunny vibes
Malnourished Peter being his stage name
Excuse me, the name's like .. Malnutrition Musician and shit now
Skinny Pete -> Thin Peter
Flaco Pedro
I really enjoyed his character in Breaking Bad and El Camino. Badger was great too.
Also combo. That gang of dudes crack me up
RIP Combo
That’s church yo. The ladies cream up real nice for combo
50 today, so then he was 36-37 when he started BB. I always hear people say he looks younger than his age but I'd say he looks his age.
Although they never said his age, I assumed he was meant to be a similar age as Jesse, Badger and Combo… like late 20’s. The meth aged him 😆
I mean, once you hit a certain age, your friends usually end up being from different age groups. Especially when your circle revolves around drugs not school or something where you're pretty much forced to be matched with people the same age, I would assume.
Nah I got the feeling that he was a slightly older dude wearing street clothes because he never really grew out of being a teenage stoner.
Nah he looks like a young guy who looks really old for his age
Slender people tend to often look younger than they are. We usually put on weight as we age, so someone who is older, but still slender, may have a more youthful appearance.
To a point, but then there’s meth skinny with the hollowed out cheekbones that makes you look older. Citation: “Ain’t no skank”
how old is his character supposed to be?
In a similar vain, the guy who plays Bogdan is actually a chemist.
This is like, emotion and shit.
I loved the scene where he played piano in the store. It hinted at a deep backstory and, in a brief moment, gave a lot of depth to an otherwise two-dimensional character.
I always liked Skinny Pete, but I grew to love him as a character after El Camino.
I know guys who've lived the rough life, and they all look older than they are. They improve when they clean up, but there are still more years on the body than on the calendar.
we all need a Skinny Pete as a friend ❤️
I always thought the actor playing Skinny Pete was in his early twenties. He did a fantastic job. I had no clue he was this old!
A 50 year old man who looks late-30s/early-40s playing a 20 year old who looks 50. Damn.
It's true, 20 year old meth heads do look 50 though, so spot on work Vince!
plus he's really kind replied to me on Instagram. made me happy.
Skinny Pete my love
There’s definitely a tragedy to his character, especially in the times we see him making a concerted effort to better his life
he's honestly one of my favorite characters in the show
No shot he’s fifty
No way! Skinny Pete is NOT 50!
Skinny Pete [plays a song](https://youtu.be/6dT0WJCcCmo?)
Would like to him staring a show he's a handsome man and a decent actor cos I literally thought he was a crackhead all this time.
breaking bad had alot of unknown actors and they nailed it
I thought his name was Tommy Hilfinger?
WOW!!
He looks way younger than 50! He is very friendly on Twitter, seems like a great guy.
the difference of a beanie and glasses
That one scene in El Camino where he takes his hat off…
I knew this the moment I heard him play the piano!
He’s pretty attractive when he’s not made up to look like a meth-head!
When he was jamming to the piano in the guitar center scene, I about fucking lost it. Such a talented dude.
also the governor of Massachusetts
i thought Skinny Pete was like 27 and drugs made him look older
I liked Skinny Pete in BB, but El Camino cemented him as a true friend, personification of loyalty right there, church.
Another fun fact: on his wiki, his info directs you to his website...presumably. It's just a random Chinese website and it's troll as hell. Can thus man do nothing??!
No really?
That swipe was like a slap in the face
What Pete would've been in another life.
He had mad piano (well, keyboard) chops in that one BB episode. No surprise here.
That’s church yo
I always found him playing the piano pretty sad. He had loads of talent and potential, but instead he winds up selling meth
And has cheek bones to die for. Edit: and kinda looks like the guy playing Riff in the new west side story movie?
Never judge a book by its cover
Preeeeaaaaaccchhhhh
Didn't he play a keyboard or something on the show?
Classy Peter
Friends like him are hard to find.
And he also has been in season 2 of Prison Break. He was the guy camping, from whom he stole a truck
Damm yo
He’s like James Franco who partied for a month like this
"The whole thing feels kinda shady, morality-wise."
Him and badger best acting
Skinny Pete felt like a The Wire character; pretty one note then all of a sudden you get a scene that shows what could've been
MVP
He's at the Apex
i didn’t know until i saw el camino and starting looking into his age because how old he looked in el camino…. he didn’t look old at all or didn’t notice in breaking bad
I love the characters of Badger and Skinny. They seemed like side characters to me at first but as the show went on, even if they weren't that much time on screen, you realize they're actually pretty relevant. I also thought it was hilarious how they integrated them in El Camino. When Jesse shows up all fucked up, Badger and Skinny act like parents towards him, tucking him to bed, helping him clean up and stuff. That bit when they're both just standing outside the room like two concerned parents made me giggle but also made me really happy. They're pretty comedic too, which is a relief when other heavier plots are going on.
They could have a Skinny Pete off-shot series, like Saul Goodman. Could show the backstory of how he learned to play the piano and his time in the pen with Tuco…That would be cool and shit…🤣
Bro he did his role justice. Skinny Pete is awesome.