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| “ | All of them, Hector. Don Eladio. Don Paco. Cesar. Renaldo. Artuno. Cisco and Luis. Escalada. All dead. As is your grandson, Joaquin. Do you know who killed Joaquin? Would you like to see? This young man. Do you remember him? That young man shot Joaquin to death while I made my escape. I believe you have met him before. It was just you and Joaquin. He was the only family you had left. Now the Salamanca name dies with you. Will you look at me now? Look at me, Hector. Look at me. | „ |
| ~ Gus Fring tormenting his archenemy Hector Salamanca after destroying both the latter's family and The Cartel altogether. |
| “ | If you try to interfere... this becomes a much simpler matter. I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter. | „ |
| ~ Gus threatening Walter White, also their last exchange. |
Gustavo "Gus" Fring, mockingly referred to as the Chicken Man, is the main antagonist of the crime drama series Breaking Bad and a major character in its prequel series Better Call Saul.
He was a Chilean national and respected Albuquerque restaurateur/philanthropist who owned a successful chain of chicken restaurants, Los Pollos Hermanos, and used it as a cover for an extremely successful methamphetamine distribution network in the southwestern United States. He served as the former boss and rival of Walter White, the employer of Mike Ehrmantraut, the arch-nemesis of Hector Salamanca and a false associate of the Cartel and its leader Don Eladio.
The character is portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito, who also played Sidney Glass in Once Upon a Time, Tom Neville in Revolution, The Dentist in Payday 2, Frank Dawson in Okja, Stan Edgar in The Boys, Lex Luthor in Harley Quinn, Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, the Phantom Blot in the 2017 DuckTales reboot, Antón Castillo in Far Cry 6, Faraday in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Lambert in Abigail, Franklyn Cicero in Megalopolis and Sidewinder in Captain America: Brave New World.
Personality
| “ | Gus: What does a man do, Walter? A man provides for his family. Walter White: This cost me my family. Gus: When you have children, you always have family. They will always be your priority, your responsibility. And a man... a man provides. And he does it, even when he's not appreciated. Or respected. Or even loved. He simply bears up, and he does it. Because he's a man. |
„ |
| ~ Gus's famous speech as he manipulates Walt into working with him. |
Always calm and cautious by nature, despite being one of the most successful and fearsome methamphetamine drug runners in Albuquerque and the owner of a successful multimillion-dollar business, Gustavo Fring remains very humble, low-key and friendly towards his patrons. Publicly he is well-known for his numerous charitable donations to the DEA and as manager of a fast-food chain, Los Pollos Hermanos, in which he has several social interactions with his customers and is always accompanied with a smile. An actual wolf in sheep's clothing, Gustavo was not a boastful man and was intensely careful with whom he does business with, never partnering up with someone unless they are as cautious as he is. Accompanied by his low-key nature, he drives a second-rate, beaten-down 10-year-old Volvo.
Beneath Gus's polite and sophisticated personality, however, he is actually a ruthless and calculating criminal mastermind who controls his drug empire with an icy hold, and the numerous people who work under him that are either unaware of his true nature or outright fear him. Gustavo is a cold-blooded, pragmatic, Machiavellian individual; he excels at business transactions and manipulations, and usually retains his calm, collected and almost robotic demeanor. Even in dangerous situations, he keeps his apathetic head. The only time Gus did lose his cool, however, was moments before his death when he discovered Hector Salamanca sacrificed himself as a suicide bomb to kill him. Also, his final confrontation with Lalo Salamanca proved that he is capable of genuine fear and may not always be fully in control of a situation.
However, Gustavo once had a compassionate side and genuinely cared about Max Arciniega. He saved him from the slums, financed him to attend school and partnered with him, as they would become the co-managers of Los Pollos Hermanos and enter the methamphetamine trade together. After Max was killed in front of his eyes, the loss of such an emotional and romantic factor of his life turned Gustavo into a completely ruthless crime lord. While Gus was already deeply immoral by this point, having tortured an animal to death as a child out of pure sadistic revenge and aiming to grow powerful in the drug trade, this incident is still shown to have made him more heartless, losing the more legitimately friendly demeanor he had beforehand.
| “ | Eladio... you greasy, bloated pimp. You talk of honor... but you have none. A pack of stray dogs fighting for scraps has more honor. Jackals. That's all you are! No vision. No patience. No thought. Stupid and impulsive! That is how I did all this. You couldn't see it, couldn't even conceive of it. And you Salamancas... you're the worst vermin of all. You say you believe in "blood for blood" but you only understand blood for money! You're whores! I understand blood for blood. Hector? I kept him alive. Kept him broken. I will save him to the last. Before he dies, he will know I buried every one of you. | „ |
| ~ Gus tells Lalo what he really thinks of Don Eladio, the Cartel, and the Salamancas, declaring his intention to eliminate them all. |
Despite Gus attempting to be a strictly business-like pragmatist, he is, beneath the surface, an incredibly emotional man filled with feelings; his past has filled him with pain, anger, hate, spite, and even love. He has become consumed by his vengeful side and lives by a "blood for blood" motto ever since Max's death, and rather than his business, killing the cartel proves to be more of a personal vendetta. Because of this, he took delight in tormenting Hector Salamanca over the death of both of his nephews, and Walter was able to use Gustavo's hatred for Hector as a result of the former's death. Gus views the Cartel and Salamanca family as barbaric, impulsive, and dishonorable, yet Gus is hypocritical for thinking he is above such traits and viewing himself as "different." However, he still admits to Mike at one point that he is ultimately under no delusions about his evil nature; he argues that his memorial for Max makes up for none of what he does, stating simply, "I am what I am."
A large personality change can be noted in Gus around the 4th season of Breaking Bad. Earlier, he was shown to be relatively patient with Walter and Jesse after they continued to defy him. One instance involved Jesse's imminent plan to kill two of Gus's dealers, who had killed his girlfriend's brother. Despite this, Walter abruptly intervened by killing them. Walt and Jesse were also responsible for the killing of Gus's successor, Gale Boetticher. These events caused Gus to become more unhinged. In Season 3, he claimed that fear was not an effective motivator amongst his employees; however, by Season 4, he threatened to kill Walter's entire family should he interfere with his resolve to eliminate Walter's brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, from the DEA. Although he usually orders men to fulfill his jobs, a testament to his descent into a cold-blooded criminal was when he killed Victor, his own man, right in front of Mike, Walter and Jesse with a box cutter. He did so simply because he was a liability, and didn't seem fazed over killing Victor, calmly telling them to get back to work while leaving his body as a grim reminder. It was this deteriorating state of mind that provoked Walter into planning to kill him.
Relationships
Allies
- Peter Schuler - Business Associate
- David
- Los Pollos Hermanos
- Max Arciniega - Former Boyfriend and Business Partner
- Mike Ehrmantraut - Close Friend and Right-Hand Man
- Gale Boetticher - Friend and Former Meth Cook
- Lydia Rodarte-Quayle - Close friend and Business associate
- Tyrus Kitt - former employee
- Rival Dealers
Enemies
- Jesse Pinkman - Former Meth Cook
- Walter White - Former Meth Cook, Arch-rival and Indirect Killer
- Saul Goodman
- Victor - Former Employee
- Nacho Varga
- Werner Ziegler
- The Cartel
- Hector Salamanca - Archenemy and Killer
- The Cousins - Indirect Victim
- Lalo Salamanca - Rival and Victim
- Joaquin Salamanca - Indirect Victim
- Don Eladio - Former Big Boss and Victim
- Juan Bolsa - Former Boss and Indirect Victim
- Nacho Varga
- Arturo Colon - Victim
- Victor - Victim
- Hank Schrader
- Steven Gomez
Victims
Better Call Saul
- Arturo Colon - Suffocated to death with a bag by Gus.
- Werner Ziegler - Indirectly; shot to death by Mike Ehrmantraut on orders by Gus.
- Ciro - Indirectly; shot to death by Gus' hitmen on orders by Gus.
- Miguel - Indirectly; shot to death by Gus' hitmen on orders by Gus.
- Cecilio - Indirectly; shot to death by Gus' hitmen on orders by Gus.
- Yolanda - Indirectly; shot to death by Gus' hitmen on orders by Gus.
- Herardo - Indirectly; shot to death by Gus' hitmen on orders by Gus.
- Raul - Indirectly; shot to death by Gus' hitmen on orders by Gus.
- Lalo Salamanca - Shot to death by Gus.
Breaking Bad
- Leonel Salamanca - Indirectly; Poisoned to death by Mike Ehrmantraut on orders by Gus.
- Four Cartel Assassins - Indirectly; shot to death by Mike Ehrmantraut on orders by Gus.
- Victor - Slit in the throat by Gus.
- Gaff - Indirectly; strangled to death with a wire by Mike Ehrmantraut on orders by Gus.
- Don Eladio - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Benicio Fuentes - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Miguel - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Paco - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Cesar - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Renaldo - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Artuno - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Cisco - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Luis - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Don Escalada - Poisoned to death by Gus.
- Two Cartel Capos - Poisoned to death by Gus.
Kill Count
- Total - 27
Quotes
| “ | I decide what he deserves. No one else. | „ |
| ~ Gus about his arch-enemy, Hector. |
| “ | A bullet in the head would be far too humane. | „ |
| ~ Gus revealing his vengeance against Hector to Mike Ehrmantraut. |
| “ | The doctor tells me your fever has gotten worse. They say this infection may kill you. Even if it doesn't... my doctor tells me again and again that you may never wake. And yet... I wait. I grew up quite poor. We lived in the hills. In a place my brothers built from things they found. Metal sheeting, plywood. When it rained, it smelled like hay. We were always hungry. But, there was a lucuma tree. Scrawny. Barely alive. My family had given up on it years before. Never bore fruit. When I was seven... I became fixated on it. I watered it. Tended to it. It took a long time... but the buds grew into green fruit. I was so proud. I didn't tell anyone. I plucked one and hid behind our shack. I ate the whole thing, I'd never tasted something so sweet. It was like... caramel. At first, we ate the fruit ourselves. And then I began taking it to the village to sell. One day, much of the fruit was gone from my tree. Pieces were scattered on the ground, half-eaten. I thought it was probably a coati. Have you ever seen one? About the size of a large house cat. Opportunists. I built a snare. Using branches and wire. It didn't take long for the animal to set it off. But, the coati trashed so hard, it broke out of the snare. Broke its leg as well. I tried to grab it, but it slipped away. It ran under the house. I knew it would show itself sooner or later. So I waited, for hours, into the night. When my brothers called for me, I did not answer. I didn't make a sound. I was so still. Finally, it came out. It knew I was there... but it was hungry. This time, I was ready. I caught it. It fought me, but I was stronger. The merciful thing would've been to kill it. I kept it. It lived for quite some time. I believe... you will wake, Hector. | „ |
| ~ Gus telling an unconscious Hector a story from his childhood, foreshadowing what he would do to the man afterwards. |
| “ | I do not believe fear to be an effective motivator. | „ |
| ~ Gus to Mike Ehrmantraut. |
| “ | Don Eladio is dead. His capos are dead. You have no one left to fight for. Fill your pockets and leave in peace. Or fight me and die! | „ |
| ~ Gus, after exacting his revenge upon the Cartel. |
| “ | You are a wealthy man now. One must learn to be rich. To be poor, anyone can manage. | „ |
| ~ Gus to Walt. |
| “ | What kind of man talks to the DEA? No man. No man at all..... A crippled little rata. What a reputation to leave behind... Is that how you want to be remembered? Last chance to look at me, Hector. | „ |
| ~ Gus Fring's last words before his death at Hector's hands. |
Trivia
- It is often speculated by fans that Gus may be gay, given that his relationship with Max has been implied by Hector to be a romantic one. While they did not confirm or deny the theories, Vince Gilligan and Giancarlo Esposito expressed openness to the idea. Gus' sexuality was teased in Better Call Saul's "Magic Man" before being confirmed in "Fun and Games", which also serves as Gus' final appearance in the series. The day after the latter episode's broadcast, Peter Gould appeared on The Watch podcast where he discusses Gus' last scene, which depicts him flirting with a male waiter.
- Giancarlo Esposito, the actor who portrayed Gus, is not actually of Chilean descent, but of Italian and African-American ethnicity.
- In Breaking Bad Season 3, Gus claims to Walt he has a wife and kids, and there are children's toys in his house. Said family is never mentioned or seen again, and it was eventually confirmed he lied to Walt to further manipulate him.
- Despite a large part of the series being focused on Gus' animosity towards the Salamanca family, Lalo Salamanca is the only one directly killed by Gus:
- Tuco and Marco were both shot by Hank Schrader.
- Leonel was poisoned by Mike on Gus' orders.
- Joaquin is shot by Jesse.
- Hector suicide-bombs himself to take down Gus.
- Gus wasn't originally going to have as big a role in Breaking Bad as he did and was originally going to be just a minor character.
- Gus is named after the former German international footballer Torsten Frings. At a scriptwriting conference, George Mastras revealed how he came up with the name Gustavo Fring: "I was a fan of this famous German footballer. His name was Frings. To be precise: Torsten Frings, 79-time national player and coach of the Bundesliga team Darmstadt 98 for a month. The S at the end of the surname was annoying. You always had to put an apostrophe, that really pissed me off. So we simply left it out".
- Gus' counterpart in Metástasis, the Colombian remake of Breaking Bad, is Gustavo Cortez.
External Links
- Gus Fring on the Breaking Bad Wiki
- Gus Fring on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
- Gus Fring on Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ When Hank asks Gus if that is actually his real name, Fring replies that the Chilean regime back in his day was severely unreliable in keeping records of its citizens, claiming that there are records of "Gustavo Fring," only that they're just obscure. While it may look like he proved his real name is Gus Fring, this was asked during a DEA interrogation, and Gus arrived in 1988 in Mexico, one year before his lover's death. Considering this, it's likely he changed his name for the sake of meth business affairs.
