Dean Norris Reaction

Origin

The two photographs are professional portraits of the actor Dean Norris, best known as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad. They were shot by the photographer Marco Grob, who used lighting deliberately to heighten the expressions: in one Norris is grinning broadly, in the other his face has dropped into flat disapproval.

Norris posted both images himself, to Twitter and Instagram on July 14, 2014. They circulated for years as portraits rather than as a meme.

What it means / how it’s used

The pair became a two-panel approval format. The smiling photograph is labelled with something the poster endorses; the displeased photograph with something they reject.

It is structurally identical to Drakeposting, and its rise in 2021 is partly explained by that: Drake’s frames had been in constant use since 2016 and were thoroughly worn out, and communities were actively looking for a replacement that did the same job with a fresher face.

Its uses:

• Straight preference comparisons.
• Versions where the “approved” option is obviously worse.
• Comparisons where both panels are near-identical, making the distinction absurd.
• Fandom and sports versions.

How it spread

The first documented meme use came almost three years after Norris posted the photos: an Instagram version on April 13, 2017 took over 10,000 likes across four years.

The format only consolidated in 2021. A football version on March 17, 2021 took roughly 1,400 likes; a version on April 2, 2021 became the first genuinely viral tweet using the pair; and on April 5, 2021 another took over 3,900 retweets and 32,400 likes. Through spring 2021 it became a standard preference template.

The seven-year lag is notable, and the reason is instructive: the images were always available and always usable, but a format needs a moment of demonstrated use before anyone treats it as a template. In this case that moment arrived only once the incumbent format had exhausted itself.

Notable examples & variations

• Straight two-option preference comparisons.
• Absurd versions where the two options are indistinguishable.
• Multi-panel versions adding further expressions.
• Sports and fandom applications.
• Crossovers with Drakeposting, used side by side.

Legacy / cultural impact

Breaking Bad has an enormous meme footprint, but this format is unusual within it: the images are not from the show at all. They are publicity portraits of an actor, which the internet adopted purely because his face is recognisable and the two expressions are unusually clean.

The format is also a good illustration of how preference templates cycle. There is essentially always one dominant two-panel approval format, and when it wears out, a replacement is found — the structure is permanent, and only the face changes.