Aaron Paul Befriended Michael Jackson After Partying With the Prince of Brunei (Yes, Really!)

Breaking Bad star and late singer talked about family and forgiveness in intimate heart-to-heart

By Rebecca Macatee Jan 08, 2014 1:42 PMTags
Aaron Paul, Michael JacksonKevin Winter,Getty Images

Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul is quite the charmer—so much so, in fact, that he once made friends with Michael Jackson!

In an interview with Details' February issue, the 34-year-old actor recounts the time when, while partying at the home of Prince Azim of Brunei, he and the late King of Pop connected instantly and had a heartfelt conversation about family and forgiveness.

"It was the Prince of Brunei's 25th-birthday party," he recalls. "Six years ago, outside London." After Aaron, a plus one at the fête, suggested chasing "all these sheep, like a thousand sheep surrounding the castle," he quickly fell into favor with the royal prince and princesses Azemah and Fadzilah. And despite breaking the Prince of Brunei's hovercraft (as he says, "If I have a chance to hovercraft around a castle, I'm going to hovercraft around a castle."), he was still quite the popular party guest.

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"I was going back up to my room, and this guy grabs me and says, 'Hey, Prince Azim wants to see you in the library,'" he says. "So I go down there, and he's sitting on the couch with Michael Jackson, and me and Michael Jackson end up having this hour-long heart-to-heart about family and upbringings, and I remember, he just put his arm around my shoulder and said, 'You know, if you've had a rough childhood or not, it's all about forgiveness. Once you realize that, it's fine. Everything's fine.'

"And I'm like, 'Michael, you are absolutely right,'" he says. "And then I go, 'Do you want to do a shot?' And he goes, 'Sure!' And I was like, 'Okay, Michael, let's do this.'"

And just like that, they did!