RJ Mitte, ‘Breaking Bad’ Star and Disability Advocate, Dies at 34
RJ Mitte, the actor who won a generation of viewers as Walter White Jr. on AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and went on to become a prominent advocate for people with disabilities, has died by suicide. He was 34.
His representatives confirmed the death and cause to NBC News. Mitte died Monday at his home in Brownsville, Texas, where he had relocated in recent years. Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa declared him dead at 1:32 p.m. and told Page Six that an autopsy had been sent to Valley Baptist in Harlingen, with an investigation 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 in a statement.
A Breakout Role Born From Lived Experience
Mitte was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1992 and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 3. He moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue acting, securing an uncredited part on “Hannah Montana” before being cast as Walt Jr. in 2007, when he was 14. “Breaking Bad” debuted in January 2008 and ran for five seasons, during which Mitte appeared in 57 episodes as the son of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Anna Gunn’s Skyler White.
His character also had cerebral palsy, presented as more pronounced than Mitte’s own condition. Rather than soften the portrayal, Mitte leaned into it. In a 2008 interview, he explained that he worked to “blur” his speech and used crutches on screen because he wanted the performance to ring true.
“I didn’t want to look like just another faker because I really have it,” he said, as Rolling Stone recounted. “If you’re going to do it, you have to do it the full way.”
With his castmates, Mitte won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and in 2013 he received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award, named for the first actor with a disability to win an Oscar.
A Platform Beyond Acting
Mitte built a second career as one of Hollywood’s most visible voices on disability inclusion. He served as a spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA on accessibility and portrayals of disability, was an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s, and served as president of The Mitte Foundation, a Texas-based philanthropic organization founded by his adoptive parents.
“Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” his representatives said.
As The Hollywood Reporter detailed, Mitte helped raise funds for Shriners Children’s after being treated at its hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, for much of his childhood. “I know first-hand that Shriners Hospitals for Children is a special place where kids are given a life of possibilities,” he said in 2014. He often framed his advocacy as a responsibility. “I’m lucky that I can be an advocate,” he told Vice in 2016. “I think we all have an obligation to have an impact for the positive.”
After “Breaking Bad” ended in 2013, Mitte amassed a steady list of credits, including roles on “Switched at Birth” and “Now Apocalypse,” a voice role on Netflix’s “The Guardians of Justice,” and films such as “The Oak Room” and the 2021 coming-of-age drama “Triumph,” in which he starred as a wrestler with cerebral palsy. His final project was the film “Talking to Strangers.”
Tributes From ‘Breaking Bad’ Family and Beyond
News of Mitte’s death brought an outpouring from his co-stars and peers. Cranston, his TV father, wrote that he was “in deep despair.”
“Born with Cerebral Palsy, he never, ever, allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything,” Cranston wrote, according to Rolling Stone. “That kid was pretty raw when we started shooting the pilot in February of 2007, but little by little we watched him grow into a really fine actor… I’ll miss you, son.” Cranston, who said the two had been texting about meeting for lunch just weeks earlier, urged anyone struggling to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, adding, “There is hope.”
Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, told The Hollywood Reporter he was “at a loss,” and Dean Norris, who played Hank Schrader, remembered looking out for Mitte as “a young kid on set.” Actor and disability advocate Marlee Matlin wrote, “My heart is shattered. There will never be another like RJ Mitte,” as IndieWire reported.
“He was so gracious to our town,” Hinojosa told NBC News. “RJ was a beloved member of our community, and his passing has left us shocked and heartbroken.”
What’s Next
Mitte is survived by his family, and his representatives have asked for privacy for his loved ones. The death investigation in Cameron County remains ongoing as officials await autopsy results to formally confirm the manner of death, a step that, in counties without a dedicated medical examiner’s office, falls to a justice of the peace. Whatever the final record shows, Mitte leaves behind a body of work and a record of advocacy that reframed how Hollywood portrays people with disabilities.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.