Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and Walter White (Bryan Cranston), the leads of the two shows, may appear alike at first glance. Both of them are complex characters, with their morality in question. However, there is something that sets the two apart.

While Tony is a mafia head from the start, Walter is a simple common man – a high school teacher and a victim of cancer. Driven into the world of drugs by his desperation, Walter garnered a ton of empathy from the viewers as they could, on some level, relate with his character. The drug part aside, Walter was just a man trying to provide for his family, against all odds. Despite his wrongdoings, the fans love him and Bryan Cranston knows exactly why.

As the lead character, viewers were bound to feel sympathetic towards James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano. However, hidden under the wraps of the fans’ naivety, Tony was just a bad guy in general. Sure, he loved his family, and sure he loved animals but that doesn’t make him someone you would want to be friends with. Hell, you’d run in the other direction if he walked towards you.

He cheated on his wife, killed his cousin, was brutal towards his son, and was a downright racist. There was no way you were going to relate to him. On the other hand, Bryan Cranston’s Walter White had much more complex layers to his personality.

He was a high school Chemistry teacher who had just been diagnosed with Stage III lung cancer. He knew his job was not going to cut it out for his family and so, he turned to drug dealing for financial help. Of course, that didn’t mean he was free of wrongdoings. Even though Walter had committed a good deal of atrocities, people still felt sympathy for him. After all, he was not a villain from the start. Life happened.