Aaron Paul Profile
The Facts
Birth Name: Aaron Paul Sturtevant
Date of Birth: August 27th 1979
Birthplace: Emmett, Idaho
Actor
Producer
Co-founder and owner ‘Dos Hombres’
Spouse: Lauren Parsekian
Children:
Daughter – Story Anabelle Paul
Son – Ryden Caspian Paul
Mother: Darla Haynes Sturtevant
Father: Robert Sturtevant
Siblings: Danielle, Rachelle & Stephen (all older)
The rise to fame...
Aaron Paul Sturtevant was born just over 4 weeks prematurely on 27th August 1979 in his parents’ bathroom, the unexpected early arrival was missed by his father who was out of town at the time and whilst his three siblings were asleep. The youngest of four children, Aaron’s early family life was spent moving around Idaho and California due to his father’s work as a Baptist Minister. As a child he would appear in church plays, possibly sparking his desire to pursue acting and he has said he would memorise passages from the Bible in relation to his religious upbringing.
In fouth grade, Aaron was caught opening baseball card packs in a store with a friend solely to find the best cards, but thankfully the store did not press charges when caught. A couple of years later, around the time of starting Middle School Aaron started to take on part time jobs that continued into his teens. He has said he had up to five at one time, with a dream of moving to either New York or LA, these included pizza delivery, radio station mascot and a shopping mall cookie stand seller. Aaron’s parents told him as soon as he graduated, they would support his dream.
In 1996, before graduating high school, Paul travelled to Los Angeles to compete in the International Modelling and Talent Association competition, he came second and was signed up with a manager. In 1997 Paul managed to graduated a year early from Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho and with his mother’s support, he drove with her to Los Angeles. Paul has said that there was a teacher that tried to dissuade him from following his dream, only for his mother to then go and tell that teacher what she thought of that advice!
This time his journey to LA was to fully pursue his dream of becoming an actor. He had $5,000 in savings to his name, and moved into an apartment on a day where an armed robbery took place just a few blocks away.
Undeterred, and with his mother possibly reluctantly leaving him soon after to return home, Aaron began his new life living in LA at the age of 17, taking a job as a usher at Universal Studios Movie Theatre in Hollywood. During his time at this job the theatre hosted many film premieres, and he would find tickets left behind in the screens to the extravagant after-parties, he would then crash them with friends once his shift ended.
Early ‘Headshots’ – First Steps into Acting
One of his first TV appearances was on ‘The Price is Right’ in January of 2000, using his real name. He said he had downed 6 cans of Red Bull to ensure his energy levels were right for the excitement they wanted for contestants, unfornately he lost the big prize overbidding by just over a hundred dollars. It was in nearly 50 commercials and 3 music videos where a now named ‘Aaron Paul’ began to appear regularly on TV screens in the early 2000’s. (Sturtevant was proving to be a mouthful to say for casting agents, so Aaron upgraded his middle name to become his surname).
Guest appearances on popular TV shows became the next step around this time. The first being Beverly Hills 90210, soon followed by Melrose Place and Third Rock From The Sun. He also appeared in a key supporting role in the popular teen movie ‘Whatever it Takes’ that saw Aaron’s career going in the right direction. A chance to guest star on an episode of The X-Files proved to be very significant later in his career, where he played a character with the nickname ‘Sky Commander Winky’ – a name the writer took from his friend in college, who was now another writer on The X-Files who happened to be a man called Vince Gilligan.
Being Seen Around Town – Early 2000’s
After a promising start however things became tougher for Aaron with the right roles becoming harder to come by, and money began to become an issue in the mid-2000’s. It seemed at first that securing a recurring guest role on a succesful TV series might be a turning point when he was cast as ‘Scott’ on the Bill Paxton led TV Series ‘Big Love’. He was playing the love interest of one of the main characters, and it would give him some needed exposure on prime time TV. Sadly although great for his profile, it wasn’t quite the financial security he needed at the time. They arranged the filming of his scenes to be grouped up into one or two blocks rather than by episode, meaning they needed him for fewer days and that affected his overal income.
Money was becoming so tight that for the first time Aaron was forced to reach out to his parents to cover his rent for three months, something that pained him at the time having never had to ask before. Since he’d arrived in LA he has spoken about sleeping on friends couches and in cupboards just to keep his acting dream alive. This was his lowest ever point, although claimed he never really thought of quitting, what else could he do? His parents, although not rich themselves, were thankfully able to help and enabled Aaron to have one more chance during pilot season in 2007.
That season a script called Breaking Bad was put on the table, and the role of Jesse Pinkman was up for grabs. Aaron admits that he felt the story would never get to air, seeing the subject matter but he loved the script and decided to go for it. After a few rounds of auditions and then a screen test, he won the support of series creator Vince Gilligan and producer Mellisa Bernstein.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Some facts...
- Dear Lauren Parsekian is the lucky one who won Aaron’s heart. They met at the Coachella Music Festival, but it was a year later at the same festival that they began dating. Engagement followed in Paris in 2012, before they made their union official in 2013 with a Parisian themed wedding in Malibu. And in 2018, little princess Story Anabelle Paul was born, the first child of this couple we love so much. In April 2022 they welcomed their second child, a boy called Ryden Caspian Paul.
- In his Instagram bio, he says the following: “I act in stuff, I produce some stuff, and I own a mezcal company with a friend of mine.”
- He says the most influential shows that made him want to become an actor were ‘Stand by Me‘, ‘The Goonies‘ and the TV series ‘The Wonder Years‘ (he was the same age at the time as the lead).
- October 1st is officially known as ‘Aaron Paul Sturtevant Day’ in Idaho. The then governor of the State of Idaho, CL ‘Butch’ Otter decreed this day in 2013, awarded due to the continued good work Aaron Paul presented as an ambassador for the state of Idaho and being an inspriation to all Idahoans.
- AP became known worldwide for starring in the series Breaking Bad as Jesse Pinkman, for which he won several awards, having won three Primetime Emmys Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
- Aaron Paul starred as Weird Al Yankovic in a Funny or Die skit that had Paul appearing in a fake trailer for a would be biopic, sending up the popular tropes of Music biopics. It was well recieved, and later in 2021 was green lit to become an actual feature film, this time with Daniel Radcliffe taking on the role of Al. Aaron was due to cameo in the film, but on the filming he tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to pull out.
- In 2022 Aaron Paul was immortalised in bronze, along with Bryan Cranston in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Breaking Bad was filmed. The statues are now on display perminantly for the many Breaking Bad tourists who still visit the city to find the places where they filmed, to this day.
Primetime Emmy Awards
- 2010 - Winner - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series "Jesse Pinkman"
- 2012 - Winner - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series "Jesse Pinkman"
- 2014 - Winner - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series "Jesse Pinkman"