The first episode to the second half of Season 5 is dedicated to Kevin Cordasco, a teen Superfan of the show who died of cancer in March of 2013. Before his death Kevin was able to meet Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan and other prominent members of the Breaking Bad family, and he was even offered the chance to read the final scripts of the series so he would know how the show ends. Kevin declined, as he didn't think he could keep the secret.
During an August 2013 interview with Terry Gross on her public radio program "Fresh Air," Bob Odenkirk said that when he first heard a description of the character he ended up playing, Saul Goodman, from the showrunner Vince Gilligan, Odenkirk heard the character's name and said that he might not be the best choice for the role because he isn't Jewish. Gilligan responded that Saul Goodman isn't actually Jewish either--that "Goodman" is a fake last name that the character adopted because he thought it sounded stereotypically Jewish. Odenkirk also told Gross that Goodman's odd hairstyle--a thinning combover-mullet combination--was his idea.
Samuel L. Jackson showed up unannounced during filming on the Pollos Hermanos set one day, dressed in his Nick Fury outfit from The Avengers (2012). Both productions of Breaking Bad and The Avengers were happening on the same studio lot, and Jackson wanted to be an extra during the scene being filmed. The producers denied his request to appear as Nick Fury on the show.