Henry R. "Hank" Schrader ASAC (/ʃreɪdər/) is a central character in the American crime drama series Breaking Bad portrayed by Dean Norris and created by Vince Gilligan.
Henry R. Schrader[1] is the brother-in-law of main character Walter White, and is a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Hank was a special agent with the DEA, where he rose through the ranks to become the supervisor of all investigations handled by his Albuquerque office, under the watchful eye of ASAC George Merkert (Michael Shamus Wiles) and SAC Ramey.
Beneath his tough, unflappable exterior, however, he struggles with some of his own vulnerabilities: he had cold feet when it came to marrying Marie, and despite his ambition, he is afraid to move outside his comfort zone at work, primarily due to the effects of PTSD since killing Tuco Salamanca and subsequent bloody encounters during drug busts in El Paso.
When Domingo Molina (later to be known as "Krazy-8") is arrested on drug possession, he spends two days in jail and then announces he is willing to inform to the DEA to make a deal with prosecutors.
Walt gets help from the fast-talking lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) to get a fall guy to act as Heisenberg, but Badger approaches the wrong person while Hank and his team look on.
Hank remains committed to finding the identity of Heisenberg, but his superiors start to believe the case is unsolvable and want him to move on to other investigations.
Hank tracks the RV down to the mother of Jesse's deceased friend Christian "Combo" Ortega (Rodney Rush), who had been killed while selling blue meth on a rival gang's territory.
Hank is able to kill one brother and mortally wound the other, but he himself becomes temporarily paralyzed from the waist down after the gunfight, with the doctors fearing he may become paraplegic without physical therapy.
His interest is piqued when the Albuquerque Police Department asks him to help with looking over evidence from the murder of Gale Boetticher (David Costabile), who had been Walt's lab assistant at Gus's meth superlab under an industrial laundry.
Hank, only just starting to physically recover, leans on Walt to help him investigate Gus's activities, the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant chain and its parent company, Madrigal Electromotive, and properties they own in Albuquerque, including the industrial laundry.
On learning of this, Walt and Jesse with help from Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) use a giant electromagnet to try to wipe the laptop, making a mess of the evidence room.
The police find nothing on the laptop but from a picture frame broken in the destruction, the numbers to several accounts of Gus's that point to Mike's informants that have been helping to keep the drug trade secret.
Walt proceeds to avenge Hank's death by killing Jack and his men with a remote-activated machine gun before dying of a gunshot wound from a bullet that ricocheted into him during the attack.
NPR writes of his character's evolution "Hank Schrader has evolved from a knuckleheaded jock into a complex, sympathetic and even heroic counterpoint to the show's anti-hero, [...] Walter White.
"[3] Mary Kaye Schilling of Vulture opines "It's thanks to [Norris] that Breaking Bad's Hank Schrader has gone from a cliché-spewing booya DEA agent — essentially comic relief — to a savvy, vulnerable mensch who could be the show's ultimate hero."
[7] Gilligan says Hank was supposed to be a "hail fellow well met and a figure of worship for Walt, Jr.," but developed him when he realized how "smart, sensitive, and well educated" Norris was.
With his cocky, macho style, he was perilously close to a stereotype"; however, he has said "Norris has brought depth and nuance to his character, emerging as fully the equal of his fine fellow cast mates [...] as he displayed not just braggadocio but also emotional trauma."
[6] Hank begins showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder in "Breakage" after killing Tuco Salamanca in "Grilled", the first deconstruction of his "tough cop" persona.
Norris attributed the PTSD to the fact that it is actually very rare for law enforcement officers to draw their weapons, let alone kill someone in a combat situation.
Club compared season 1-era Hank to a "veiled (and unacknowledged) Vic Mackey parody," but praised his development which began with his suffering PTSD.
"[10] Graeme Virtue of The Guardian writes Norris "evolved his character Hank Schrader from cocksure DEA meathead to the closest thing the show has to a moral center.
[5] In the early fourth season episodes, Hank is bedridden after being shot multiple times in the chest by Tuco Salamanca's cousins and is increasingly hostile toward Marie while she tries to take care of him.
[14] In an interview during the first half of season 5, Norris expressed his puzzlement at viewers who "don't know who to root for", and that he sees Walt as a straightforward villain.
[18][19] Peter Gould was initially hesitant to include Hank in Better Call Saul since the character had primarily been developed and written by Gilligan, who despite serving as co-executive producer had not been in the writer's room for the show since Season 3.
[20][better source needed] Despite his earlier lukewarm reception to the spin-off Dean Norris himself, however, welcomed playing the version of Hank before he became afflicted with PTSD and depression.
"[23] Dean Norris's acting in "Blood Money", especially the climactic scene where Hank confronts Walt over the latter's identity as Heisenberg, was lauded by critics.
[26][27] Steve Marsi of TV Fanatic wrote of the climax "Dean Norris's expressions conveyed how dismayed, distraught, vengeful and stunned he was at the same time.
"[29] In doing so, TVLine highlighted Hank's development over the course of the series, citing the character's evolution from "an unapologetic blowhard" in the pilot to "someone you truly want to see win."
"[30] In 2011, Norris was nominated at the 37th Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actor on Television for the third season, but lost to John Noble for his performance as Dr. Walter Bishop in Fringe.