Even Breaking Bad’s Creator Nearly Fainted Watching Gus Fring’s Box Cutter Kill: It Looked So Real

Even the guy who dreamed up some of TV's nastiest moments has his limits. Vince Gilligan says there is one 'Breaking Bad' scene he basically can’t watch, and yes, it’s the one you’re thinking of.

Gilligan still can’t stomach 'Box Cutter'

Talking with Jason Connell of Ghost of Yōtei for Sony’s Creator to Creator series, Gilligan admitted his tolerance for on-screen violence has nosedived over the years. He brought up the season 4 premiere, 'Box Cutter' — the episode where Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring wordlessly takes a utility knife to his own henchman, Victor — and confessed he nearly passed out watching the first cut.

"The older I get, the less so I become interested in seeing violence."

He wasn’t on set when the scene was shot, but when he watched the director’s cut, the realism hit him hard. Gilligan says he’s squeamish, and that sequence made him feel faint. Still, duty called: in the editing room he forced himself to run it again to make sure it worked, and he credits director Adam Bernstein for how precisely the moment was put together. After that, any time the scene popped up in the sound mix or color grade, he only watched the bare minimum he had to. Relatable, honestly.

Quick refresher on the episode

Season 3 ended with Walt pushing Jesse to kill chemist Gale to save them both. The fallout lands them in a tense sit-down with Gus at the start of season 4. Instead of punishing Walt or Jesse, Gus silently turns and slits Victor’s throat with a box cutter — a shocking, surgical reminder of who’s in charge. It’s one of the show’s most infamous gut-punches for a reason, and apparently it rattled the showrunner too.

What he’s up to now

Gilligan’s latest series is 'Pluribus,' starring 'Better Call Saul' favorite Rhea Seehorn as Carol, one of the only people on Earth immune to a hive mind that has swallowed up the rest of humanity. New episodes are rolling out weekly on Apple TV.