RJ Mitte, who played Walter White Jr. on “Breaking Bad” and spent the years after the show fighting for actors with disabilities, died Monday in Brownsville, Texas. He was 34. His representatives said he died by suicide, Deadline reported.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s free, confidential and open 24 hours a day.
What do we know about RJ Mitte’s death?
Brownsville police got a call at 12:50 p.m. Monday and found Mitte dead at his home, People reported, as cited by Variety. Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told the Associated Press she pronounced him dead around 1:30 p.m. and that an autopsy will be done. Police said the investigation is ongoing.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte,” his representatives said. “Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion.”
Who was RJ Mitte?
Roy Frank Mitte III was born in 1992 and raised by adoptive parents in Jackson, Mississippi. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 3 and grew up using leg braces and crutches, The Hollywood Reporter reported. He came to Hollywood in 2006 after his younger sister got a job offer in film production, and within two years he’d landed the part that defined his career.
He played Walter “Flynn” White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Anna Gunn’s Skyler, in 56 episodes over all five seasons, from 2008 to 2013. The character had cerebral palsy too. Just days before he died, Mitte explained on The Joe Vulpis Podcast that the part was always written that way. “Walt Jr. was based on a real person, a friend of (Breaking Bad creator) Vince Gilligan in college who had cerebral palsy, who used forearm crutches and sometime after passed away,” he said. “So it really felt real playing this character.”
After the show he played a paralyzed pre-med student on “Switched at Birth,” starred as a high school wrestler with cerebral palsy in the 2021 film “Triumph,” and was promoting his new movie, “Talking to Strangers,” when he died. He was an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s and ran the Mitte Foundation.
How are the Breaking Bad cast remembering him?
Cranston, who met him when he was a teenager, wrote on Instagram that he was “in deep despair” and that the two had been texting “just a few weeks ago – figuring out when we could meet for lunch,” Newsweek reported. “I don’t know if that lunch would have changed his future,” Cranston wrote. “But I do know that I loved him.” He signed off: “I’ll miss you, son.”
Aaron Paul said, “RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed.” Marlee Matlin, who is deaf and has spent decades pushing Hollywood on disability casting, wrote: “My heart is shattered. There will never be another like RJ Mitte,” The National reported.
The BeezLoop Take
Mitte mattered for a reason that’s easy to forget now. In 2008, a disabled teenager playing a disabled character on a prestige drama was rare, and he made Walt Jr. a full person, not a lesson. A lot of disabled actors who came after him got auditions because shows like “Breaking Bad” proved audiences would watch.
Cranston’s line about the lunch is the part worth sitting with. Nobody can know what would’ve changed things, and guessing about why someone died helps no one. What does help is reaching out, and taking it seriously when someone you love seems to be struggling.
The open question: will the industry keep casting disabled actors in roles written for them, now that one of its most visible advocates is gone?
Also on BeezLoop: Mike Ditka, the Bears legend who coached the 1985 champions, died at 86.
Sources: Deadline · The Hollywood Reporter · Variety · Newsweek · The National · Associated Press (video)
