2013–present: Broadway roles and acclaim
From September 2013 to June 2014, Cranston played U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson in the American Repertory Theater and Broadway productions of All the Way. The play depicted President Johnson's efforts to maneuver members of the 88th United States Congress to enact, and civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. to support, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The performance has received widespread acclaim with Charles Isherwood of The New York Times writing, "Mr. Cranston strides onto the Broadway stage with an admirable confidence, meeting the challenge of animating Mr. Schenkkan's sprawling civics lesson as if he's thoroughly at home...Mr. Cranston's heat-generating performance galvanizes the production". He went on to win the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the role.
He also played scientist Joe Brody in the 2014 reboot of Godzilla. From 2015 to 2019 he played Vince Lonigan in the Amazon Prime Video series Sneaky Pete. Cranston also served as a co-creator, writer and executive producer on the project.
Cranston was on the producing team for the 2015 Broadway production of Finding Neverland and served as executive producer for the subsequent US national tour.
Cranston has produced an instructional DVD called KidSmartz, which is designed to teach families how to stay safe from child abductors and Internet predators. KidSmartz raises money for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children by donating half the proceeds from sales. Also, following the success of Breaking Bad, the year 2014 saw reports of Cranston developing new TV projects in collaboration with Sony Pictures Television. In 2016, it was announced that he would star in an episode of the Channel 4/Amazon Video series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, and would also serve as an executive producer on the series.
Cranston reprised his role as Johnson in an HBO adaptation of All the Way (2016), executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Cranston's performance was widely praised earning the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie as well as nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Critics' Choice Television Award. In 2015, Cranston starred as screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the biopic Trumbo, for which he received Best Actor nominations for the Academy Award, Actor Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award. In 2016, Cranston voiced Li, the biological father of Po, in Kung Fu Panda 3. Also that year, he appeared in the films The Infiltrator and Wakefield. Cranston's memoir, A Life in Parts, was published on October 11, 2016, became a New York Times bestseller, and received positive reviews. In 2017, he voiced Zordon in Lionsgate's Power Rangers, which marked his return to the franchise after providing voices for the first season.
Cranston portrayed the news anchor Howard Beale in the play Network, an adaptation of the 1976 film of the same name, in November 2017. The play, with Cranston as star, transferred to Broadway, opening at the Belasco Theatre on December 6, 2018. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "the volcanic Bryan Cranston giving a gut-wrenching performance" as Beale and that "Cranston's magnetic presence has more than enough electricity to surge through the play's weak spots". Cranston received numerous accolades for his performance including his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play as well as the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.
He acted in the role of Phillip Lacasse, a wealthy paraplegic in the movie The Upside (2017) along with Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman. He was part of the ensemble cast of the 2018 animated film Isle of Dogs, by Wes Anderson, which premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, where he played the lead dog Chief. Cranston appeared in the ninth season of the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing Larry David's therapist. In October 2018, Cranston became the voice for a new series of Ford commercials featuring the tagline 'Built Ford Proud'. In 2019, his production company Moonshot Entertainment signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television.
In 2020, he starred as the lead human, Mack, in the Disney film The One and Only Ivan. From 2020 to 2023 he had the lead role in the miniseries Your Honor, playing a judge and the father of a boy who accidentally kills someone. In 2022, Cranston reprised the role of Walter White during the final season of the Breaking Bad prequel series Better Call Saul. In 2023, Cranston had another appearance as Walter White, alongside Aaron Paul's Jesse, and Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca in a Super Bowl LVII commercial for PopCorners. He has stated this could be his final appearance as the character. In 2025, Cranston returned to the stage in an acclaimed Ivo van Hove-directed production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons on the West End, acting opposite Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Paapa Essiedu; Cranston was nominated for his second Olivier Award.
In 2024, Cranston appeared in the film Everything's Going to Be Great. It was also announced that he would star alongside Lily Gladstone in the action-thriller Lone Wolf, playing a contractor who recruits a troubled veteran for a covert mission. In 2025, Cranston had a recurring role as studio head Griffin Mill in the series The Studio.
In 2026, he had a supporting role as war veteran Dave in the dark comedy crime film Chili Finger. He additionally voiced the character Rob in the animated film Tangles.
