Bryan Cranston shared a tribute to RJ Mitte, who played his son Walter White Jr. in “Breaking Bad,” following the news of his death at age 34.
“I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight. RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died,” wrote Cranston. “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. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he never – ever – allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination.”
Cranston continued: “Always listening to the advice that his TV parents (Anna Gunn and myself) gave him – but being a teenager, sometimes mischievously ignoring the counsel in order to learn the hard way… He was one of the stars of a hit TV show – but still a kid. 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. He parlayed his experience on the show to be a vocal advocate for performers with disabilities, and was the head of a philanthropic organization with a focus on helping the disabled community. All that promise and potential now is such a loss.”
The actor also noted that Mitte’s cause of death was confirmed to be suicide. “It is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life,” he wrote. “Why? We were texting each other just a few weeks ago – figuring out when we could meet for lunch. I don’t know if that lunch would have changed his future… But I do know that I loved him, and thoroughly enjoyed being with him throughout the years on the series, and after the spotlight on Breaking Bad dimmed… I’ll miss you, son.”
Like his character in the series, Mitte had cerebral palsy, having received his diagnosis at age three. He was a prominent advocate for disabled people in Hollywood and beyond, serving as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s Hospitals as well as president of the Mitte Foundation, a Texas-based nonprofit founded by his family in 1994. In 2013, the year “Breaking Bad” ended, he won the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award, which honors disabled actors for their efforts surrounding representation and awareness.
Mitte was just 14 when he began working on “Breaking Bad” and appeared in 56 of the AMC series’ 62 episodes over the course of its five-season run from 2008 to 2013. His other credits include the recurring role of Campbell Bingman in Season 3 of the ABC Family drama “Switched at Birth” and the villain Mind Master in Netflix’s 2022 superhero series “The Guardians of Justice.” Just ahead of his death, he was actively promoting his role in the film “Talking to Strangers,” directed by Johnny Severin.
Dean Norrie, who appeared on “Breaking Bad” as DEA agent Hank Schrader, wrote that he was “heartbroken” by the actor’s death. “Oh my God! Was working just found out about RJ,” he wrote on X Monday. “I am heartbroken. Though RJ didn’t play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set. He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed. This is so heartbreaking, I can’t believe it. Thinking of him and his family.”