Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a fictional character in the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad, portrayed by Aaron Paul.

He is a crystal meth cook and dealer who works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston).

[1] Despite initial plans to kill off the character at the end of the first season, Paul's performance convinced the showrunner and head writer Vince Gilligan to keep Jesse in the show.

As Jesse takes a cigarette from Kim, he recognizes her as the public defender who got his friend Christian "Combo" Ortega out of trouble after he stole the Baby Jesus from a Nativity display.

Jesse cannot find a container big enough, so he dissolves the body in the upstairs bathtub of Ginny's house, which burns a hole through the bathroom floor and spills the remains into the downstairs hallway.

Skinny Pete (Charles Baker), one of Jesse's friends, puts him in contact with Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz), a powerful Mexican drug kingpin operating in Albuquerque.

[11] The second season begins with Walt and Jesse delivering a fresh batch to Tuco, who senselessly beats one of his henchmen, "No Doze" (Cesar Garcia), to death as the stunned duo watch helplessly.

The RV is subsequently towed away by Badger's cousin, Clovis (Tom Kiesche) and stored on his lot for a $1,000 storage fee, for which Jesse can only pay half of upfront.

Jesse is also instrumental in retaining the services of corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) to help him and Walt launder their money and get out of legal trouble.

At this point, Jesse has learned that Jane's father, an air traffic controller, was so distraught over her death that he inadvertently caused a deadly mid-air collision.

Jesse becomes romantically involved with Andrea Cantillo (Emily Rios), a single mother and recovering meth addict from his Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

When Walt is cornered by Gus' men Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) at the superlab, he calls Jesse and tells him that he will have to kill Gale.

He also places a large amount of drug money in Andrea's mailbox, urging her to leave Albuquerque with her young son, Brock (Ian Posada).

However, during a party, Gus uses a poisoned bottle of tequila to kill off the cartel's leadership, including its chieftain, Don Eladio Vuente (Steven Bauer).

During the heist, their accomplice, Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons), shoots and kills a young boy, Drew Sharp (Samuel Webb), who was witness to the crime.

[20] Mike and Jesse want to get out of the business, and arrange for rival drug lord Declan (Louis Ferreira) to purchase the methylamine for $15 million.

When Saul refuses because doing so will draw too much attention, Jesse drives around town randomly tossing bundles of cash onto sidewalks and front lawns.

After the events of El Camino, Francesca Liddy (Tina Parker) uses a payphone to receive a call from Saul Goodman, who had been hiding under the name Gene Takavic in Omaha, Nebraska.

[31] Series creator Vince Gilligan originally intended for Jesse Pinkman's character to be killed at the end of Breaking Bad's first season.

The writers discussed how Jesse would react to having killed Gale, and they chose the party story arc, in part, because they felt it would be the most unexpected for the audience.

[44] Gilligan has said that he deliberately left Jesse's ultimate fate ambiguous at the end of "Felina", preferring to let the viewer decide what happens to him.

[51] Emma Rosenblum of New York Magazine wrote that Jesse started as an "absurd screwup" with a "defiant gait" and the bravado of a wannabe gangster.

[2] Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker noted that "Gilligan "swivel[ed] background characters into the spotlight, where they can absorb the sympathy we once extended to Walt.

"[62] USA Today's Robert Bianco wrote of the character in his review for "Blood Money": "Aaron Paul's Jesse, the show's sometimes wonky moral compass, only has to leave a room to set your nerves on edge, wondering what will happen when he returns.

Judy Berman of Time called his portrayal "mesmerizing", citing Paul's ease at "fully re-inhabiting a role he hadn't played for years ... endowing Jesse with the same mix of (waning) goofiness and (escalating) existential terror that propelled him through the finale".

[65] In an interview with David Whitehouse of The Guardian, Paul remarked on his character's popularity with Breaking Bad fans: "It's crazy [that people side with Jesse].

Club remarked that in freeing his ambitions from Walter White's manipulations during El Camino, Jesse found his own redemption and avoided his mentor's fate, finally giving himself a chance for a future.

[75] In 2012, Paul was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the fourth season but lost to fellow Breaking Bad cast member Giancarlo Esposito.

[80] In 2019, Paul was nominated again for a Satellite Award for his reprisal as Jesse Pinkman in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, this time for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film, but lost to Jared Harris for Chernobyl.

[81] In 2021, he received his final nomination for the role in El Camino for the Saturn Award for Best Actor in a Film, but lost to John David Washington for Tenet.