Tired of the stock mix of docs and nurses populating Grey's Anatomy and ER? Then take heart: The X-ray technologist is enjoying some prime-time face time-on the AMC drama Breaking Bad.

But there's a caveat that might make real-life techs think twice before puffing their chests with pride. This being the button-pushing world of basic cable, Breaking Bad's radiographer is also a shoplifter-as well as the prickly sister-in-law of an Albuquerque, N.M., high school chemistry teacher (Bryan Cranston, of Malcolm in the Middle) who cooks crystal meth to finance his lung cancer treatments and build a family nest egg.

Betsy Brandt, the actress who portrays sticky-fingered tech Marie Schrader, doubts that her character's larcenous tendencies (she's already swiped a pricey baby tiara) will alienate imaging professionals when Breaking Bad returns March 8 for a second season. "Oh, God, it's TV!" says Brandt, laughing. "If I looked at it like that, I wouldn't be able to watch half the shows that have women on them! I love that she steals."

In a scene from Breaking Bad, X-ray technologist Marie Schrader (actress Betsy Brandt, left) offers to help her brother-in-law, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), and her sister, Skyler (Anna Gunn), find an oncologist following Walt's revelation of his lung cancer diagnosis. The critically acclaimed AMC drama returns for a second season Sunday, March 8. photo/courtesy Gregory Peters/AMC

Don't read too much into that last statement. Far from harboring a lack of respect for the profession, she actually lobbied for Marie to be a technologist. "Because of our main character and the things that he was going through.I thought it would give us some places to go," says the 35-year-old Brandt, a frequent guest star on long-running series such as Judging Amy, Boston Legal and CSI. "I've had two kids. You always see a tech when you get your ultrasound. I can barely make out the face; like, 'Where's the eye? What's that?' My husband's good at it; I am not--which is probably one of the reasons I wanted to [play a tech]. At least I can act like I understand those things, even though I don't."

"We were on the set of the pilot," says Breaking Bad writer/creator Vince Gilligan, recalling the moment when Brandt pitched her idea. "I was pulled in 100 different directions at once, and she said, 'What does Marie do for a living?' I said, 'Uh, I don't know.' What was funny about it was that it was so specific: 'I want to be an X-ray technician.' And once we knew what she does for a living, we put her in a lab coat in a number of scenes.'"

Gilligan's acquiescence to what might have seemed an actorly whim paid off in big dramatic dividends as the first season unspooled. When Cranston's character, Walter White, revealed his cancer diagnosis to his son and in-laws in the fourth episode, Marie tapped her physician contacts at the fictional Kleinman Radiology Center to secure him a top oncologist. And when Walter expressed a reluctance to undergo grueling chemotherapy in the following episode, Marie became an unlikely source of moral support, sharing her experiences with cancer patients who've endured painful treatment solely to appease loved ones. "It worked so well in that episode--it dovetailed beautifully," says Gilligan. "I'd love to say that I had it planned months and months before, but no--we realized we had a real opportunity there to let Marie's character have some real insight into the situation."

Brandt, who says her character's job will figure prominently in Season 2, talked up her role to ultrasound techs last year during her second pregnancy. She also felt compelled to disclose her character's compulsion to pilfer. "I tell them, 'Listen, I'm not saying you remind me of her!' There are qualities in Marie that most people wouldn't want to claim, but I think [techs] like it."

Jeff Bell is managing editor of ADVANCE. 

To read about Brandt's Breaking Bad co-star, RJ Mitte-a 16-year-old actor with cerebral palsy-visit our sister publication for occupational therapists at http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Article/Breaking-Big.aspx.