Gustavo "Gus" Fring is a fictional character in the American television drama series Breaking Bad on AMC. He is portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan. Gus is one of the most prominent methamphetamine distributors in the southwestern United States. He owns and operates several legitimate businesses, including a chain of successful fast food restaurants and an industrial laundry facility, as well as fronts for a vast and sophisticated drug operation. Gus maintains a friendly and low-key exterior; he takes an active role in managing his front businesses and personally supervises employees and serves customers at his fast food restaurants. In order to keep up appearances, Gus is a board member at a hospital in the South Valley and a booster for the DEA, and has made large donations to the agency's Albuquerque office. Beneath this philanthropic exterior, however, Gus is ruthless and Machiavellian in managing his vast drug empire. He employs a number of enforcers and has personally killed rivals and associates.