The Dean Norris Reaction meme features two side-by-side headshots of actor Dean Norris, best known for his role as Hank Schrader in the hit series Breaking Bad. The images, which Norris originally posted to his Twitter account in 2014 as professional headshots, show him with a jovial smile in one frame and a stern, deeply unhappy expression in the other. The format went viral in 2021 as a way to illustrate sudden shifts in mood or the contrast between two different situations. It is frequently used to depict the 'Expectation vs. Reality' trope or the immediate realization of a disappointing truth.