RJ Mitte, Who Played Walter White Jr. on ‘Breaking Bad,’ Dies at 34
RJ Mitte, the actor who played Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad and became one of Hollywood’s most visible advocates for performers with disabilities, died on Monday in Brownsville, Texas. He was 34. His representatives said he died by suicide.
A spokesperson for the office of Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa in Brownsville said Mr. Mitte was already dead when police arrived. The spokesperson described the matter as an ongoing investigation, and few details about the circumstances have been made public.
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“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing” of Mr. Mitte, his representatives said in a statement that described him as an actor, philanthropist and disability rights advocate. The statement said his family had confirmed his death.
It highlighted his charitable work as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s, and as president of his own organization, the Mitte Foundation.
Bryan Cranston, who played Mr. Mitte’s father on the series, wrote on social media on Monday night that he was in deep despair, called Mr. Mitte his sweet son on the show, and said he had died by suicide. Other members of the Breaking Bad family also paid tribute in the hours after the news broke, with many describing the loss as heartbreaking.
Mr. Mitte appeared in all five seasons of the AMC drama, which ran from 2008 to 2013 and collected 58 Primetime Emmy nominations and 16 wins, including two for outstanding drama series. His character, the breakfast-loving teenage son of a chemistry teacher turned methamphetamine manufacturer, also lived with cerebral palsy, a condition Mr. Mitte shared.
His own case was milder, and he stopped using walking aids as a teenager. He often said the role let him draw on his own experience, and the show’s ensemble won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2014.
Born on Aug. 21, 1992, Mr. Mitte suffered a birth injury that left him with permanent brain damage and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 3. He was adopted weeks after his birth by Roy Frank Mitte Jr. and Dyna Mitte, who later separated, and he was raised mainly by his mother. After moving to Hollywood in 2006, he worked as an extra on shows including Hannah Montana before landing the part that defined his career.
The role opened a second career as an advocate. The Screen Actors Guild named him a spokesman for actors with disabilities, and in 2013 he received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award at the Media Access Awards.
He spoke out against bullying, addressed students at universities and schools, and presented coverage of the Rio Paralympics for Britain’s Channel 4. He later modeled for Gap, walked a runway for Vivienne Westwood in Milan, and took roles that included Campbell, a character who uses a wheelchair, on the series Switched at Birth, as well as films such as The Oak Room and Carol of the Bells.
Mr. Mitte had been promoting a new film, Talking to Strangers, in recent weeks. He attended a screening of it in Beverly Hills on Sept. 30 and appeared on podcasts only days before his death. He was engaged to his partner of several years, Kennedy Suarez, with whom he had been together since 2018.
Anyone in the United States who is struggling can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Readers elsewhere can find local helplines at findahelpline.com.
