episode of Breaking Bad. Stan is not a professional actor but rather a physicist, and he was teaching at the University of Chicago when "Thirty-Eight Snub" was filmed. "Thirty-Eight Snub" also featured the first appearance by Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt, an employee of Gus who has replaced Victor, who was killed in the episode "Box Cutter". The original script referred to the character simply as "New Victor" until Mastras came up with the name Tyrus. Jim Beaver made an appearance on "Thirty-Eight Snub" as Lawson, the gun vendor from the opening scene. Beaver previously starred in the HBO western drama series Deadwood along with Breaking Bad star Anna Gunn. He also previously appeared in "Field Trip", a sixth season episode of The X-Files which was written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. While Gilligan believed Beaver to be a talented actor, he had never met him during the filming of either show. The CW Network television series Supernatural, in which Beaver co-stars, was filming at the same time as "Thirty-Eight Snub", so Beaver flew into Albuquerque for the Breaking Bad shoot and had only half a day to film the scenes. Mastras said he particularly enjoyed that the character tries to convince Walter to buy a gun legally because, "I like the aspect that you've got this black market dealer who in an ironic way is the sound of morality here." The motel room that Cranston and Beaver appear in was a set constructed by Breaking Bad production designer Mark Freeborn and construction coordinator William Gilpin. Director Michelle MacLaren wanted a genuine "rundown motel feel", but believed it would be too difficult to film in an actual motel room because it would be too small for the cast and crew to fit inside. Instead, the set was designed so that several of the walls could be removed to make space for the cameras and crew. This allowed greater flexibility in shooting and camera angles, and the walls could be placed back into position if they were needed for the background of a shot. The first shot of the episode includes Walter speaking directly into the camera, and it quickly revealed he is speaking into a mirror in the motel room. MacLaren filmed the shot so it would be deliberately disorienting and unclear to the viewer where Walter was until the camera movement revealed the motel room. New York magazine