RJ Mitte, Breaking Bad's Walter White Jr., Dies at 34
Actor and disability advocate RJ Mitte died Monday in Brownsville, Texas. His publicist said he took his own life. If you are struggling, call or text 988.
RJ Mitte was 14 when he was cast as Walter White Jr., the son of a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin, on "Breaking Bad." He was a boy with cerebral palsy playing a boy with cerebral palsy, and he did it with humor and grit at a time when Hollywood rarely gave roles like that to actors like him.
He died Monday in Brownsville, Texas. He was 34. His representatives confirmed he died by suicide, the BBC and NBC News reported. The Associated Press and CNN also confirmed his death with local authorities.
If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Help is there, any hour.
What we know
Brownsville police received an emergency call around midday Monday, and Mitte was already dead when officers arrived, CNN reported. Police said no foul play is suspected. Brownsville Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa said she declared him dead at 1:32 p.m., NBC News reported. His representatives confirmed the cause.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte," his representative told the BBC.
Mitte at the Mayo Speaker Series at Texas A&M University-Commerce in April 2015. Photo: Texas A&M University-Commerce Marketing Communications Photography / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The role, and the man
Mitte grew up in Louisiana and moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to support his younger sister's acting career, the BBC reported. His character was based on a late friend of series creator Vince Gilligan, who had a more severe form of cerebral palsy. That friend used forearm crutches. Mitte's own condition was milder, and he did not need them.
He was also clear-eyed about the show's message. Earlier this month, he said his first Los Angeles audition was for an anti-meth public service announcement. "Fast forward to auditioning for Breaking Bad, which is still, in my opinion, an anti-meth thing because it doesn't end well for anyone," he said on the Joe Vulpis Podcast, according to the BBC. Anyone who watched the series to the end knows he was right. It is a story about what pride and sin do to a man and to everyone around him.
After the show, Mitte served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children's, and founded The Mitte Foundation, the BBC reported. "Disabled or not, everyone deserves an opportunity," he said in a 2015 BBC interview.
The tributes
Bryan Cranston, who played his father, said he was in "deep despair." "I met him when he was only 14 years old when he was cast as Walter White Jr., a part he played with such joy and enthusiasm," Cranston wrote. He said Mitte never allowed his cerebral palsy to "be an excuse for anything," and that "it is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life." He ended simply: "I'll miss you, son." Cranston also urged anyone considering suicide to call or text 988, NPR reported.
Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, wrote: "RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed. And to whoever happens to be reading this, please know you are loved, and you are not alone. Always remember that." Dean Norris, who played his uncle Hank, wrote that he "always looked out for him as a young kid on set" and called him "a sweetheart of a young man."
A word to anyone who is hurting
We do not know what Mitte was carrying, and it would be wrong to guess. From the outside, he had a career, a cause, and friends who loved him. That is the hard lesson of a death like this: despair does not always show, and success does not protect anyone from it.
Christians believe every life is a gift from God and carries worth no illness, disability or darkness can erase. Mitte spent his public life insisting that people with disabilities are not burdens or plot devices but people made for purpose. That truth was true of him too, on his worst day.
Scripture does not hide from despair. Elijah asked God to take his life. David wrote psalms from the pit. The answer God gave them was not a lecture. It was presence, rest, food, and a reason to go on. "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit," Psalm 34:18 says.
If you are in that place, say it out loud to someone today: a pastor, a friend, a parent, a doctor. Call or text 988. Aaron Paul said it as well as anyone could: you are loved, and you are not alone.
Pray for RJ Mitte's family, for his sister, and for the cast and crew who watched a 14-year-old grow up in front of them. And check on the people you love. Sometimes the ones who seem fine are the ones who need the call.
Photos: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized; Texas A&M University-Commerce Marketing Communications Photography via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, resized.
