This Improvised Bryan Cranston Moment On Seinfeld Left Jerry Seinfeld In Stitches

There were nine seasons of "Seinfeld" that we were fortunate to sit and laugh through, but for the cast themselves, it's impressive they managed to make it through an episode without breaking character and cracking a smile. For side-splitting superior, Jerry, one guest star who had him laughing uncontrollably on more than one occasion was Bryan Cranston, who played dentist Tim Whatley. In an interview with The Rich Eisen Show, Cranston, the man responsible for giving us the term "re-gifting," revealed that one of his best moments opposite the comedy legend was an off-the-cuff idea that wasn't even his own. It simply came from one of the set crew members chiming in with a suggestion during a break between takes.

While filming season 6, episode 19, "The Jimmy," Jerry visits Tim for a dental appointment and is put under with nitrous oxide. However, before the dentist puts the mask on, Tim unprofessionally takes a puff of the gas first and passes it to his patient. This simple beat, according to Cranston, was a challenge for Seinfeld to get past because he had no idea it was coming. "Jerry bends over laughing. He cannot contain himself, and we did it again. It got to the point we could not stop laughing." The slip-up led to co-creator Larry David actually telling off his cast members, but even then, it was no good. "And so it got to the point where I go, 'Nurse' and he'd start laughing because he'd know it was coming."

Eventually, they made it through the scene without cracking any smiles, but when filming was over, Bryan Cranston made sure that the jokester responsible got the pat on the back they deserved. The "Breaking Bad" star explained that Tim taking a mouthful of gas came from a simple throwaway suggestion. "There was a guy on a ladder, an electrician, who said to me when nobody else was on the set, 'You know what would be funny?' And I go, 'What?' 'If you take a hit from the laughing gas before you gave it to Jerry, and I thought, 'God, that's hilarious.'" The outside input turned out to be a brilliant one.

After umpteenth attempts to get the scene done, when the cameras stopped rolling, Cranston was praised for his contribution, which he swiftly redirected to the original genius behind it all. The now Emmy-winning actor pointed to the electrician and said, "'He gave it to me,' and all heads turn to the electrician in the corner." It was here where the idea man simply shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal. As Cranston tells it, "It was like, 'Yeah, I've got more where that came from.'"

Cranston went on to become a talent well-versed in both comedy and drama in the years that followed, but assured Eisen that the experience proved one rule that he absolutely swears by. "It doesn't matter where a good idea comes from, just take it." Wise words from the one who knocks and inhales his own laughing gas.