Raymond Cruz revealed he asked Breaking Bad writers to kill off his character Tuco Salamanca sooner than planned.
Cruz portrayed the volatile Tuco in the final two episodes of season 1 and the first two of season 2. The role had originally been scheduled to continue through all of season 2.
In an interview with AMC, Cruz said, "I asked them to kill me. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to coming back and doing the part." He cited the physical demands of the performance, which included intense scenes that once left co-star Aaron Paul with a concussion.
Tuco died in a shootout with Hank Schrader. Cruz later reprised the role in Better Call Saul and appeared in a Super Bowl advertisement parodying a scene from the original series.
