You don’t need to take Jimmy Kimmel out to the ballgame—he’s already there.
Kimmel and his production company, Kimmelot, helped develop a new ad campaign for Major League Baseball last year, and the late-night host called upon an old friend for help: Bryan Cranston.
The call was an easy one, as Kimmel knew Cranston is a lifelong baseball fan. So much so that the Breaking Bad star re-upped this year and is currently starring in new ad spots promoting this year’s Opening Day (Thursday March 28th).
In a new interview with Extra, Cranston recalled how he used to sleep with his glove as a kid, back when he shuffled between shortstop, third base, and the pitcher’s mound.
“I think was a better fielder than I was a batter,” he joked.
Cranston said it was Kimmel who initially reached out to him to get involved in the MLB ad campaign. That’s because Kimmel had inside info regarding Cranston’s love of the game.
When Kimmel’s oldest son, Kevin, was young, Cranston was his Little League coach, as his daughter was on the same team.
“So, I coached Jimmy’s kid, and we’ve been friends for a long time,” explained Cranston. “I’m just coming at it as a fan who’s trying to put the ball on the tee for the audience to say, ‘Let’s get excited about baseball, because there’s a lot to be excited about.’”
Kimmel launched Kimmelot a year ago and his side gig as a producer has served him well, with the company racking up credits on ABC shows such as Generation Gap and The Prank Panel, plus Mark Rober’s Revengineers on Discovery. Up next is the reality series High Hopes, which will debut April 20 on Hulu.
