Before They Were Stars: Jonathan Banks in an Educational Film About Menstruation

You may know Jonathan Banks best from his role as Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad, but the guy has been working steadily as a character actor for nearly 40 years. However, his very first acting role came in a very unlikely place: a 1974 educational film about menstruation! In the aptly named Linda’s Film About Menstruation, a 15-year old girl named Linda experiences her first menstrual period, and Jonathan Banks plays her dim-witted boyfriend. By the end, he is so educated about menstruation that he literally says: “Who would have thought it? Just seven short days ago, there I was, an innocent dumbbell kid. Now here I am, able to buy sanitary napkins without flinching”. Incidentally, even though his character is supposed to be a teenager, Banks was 27 years old at the time this was made and certainly looks it, giving the whole thing an extra-creepy vibe.