LOS ANGELES: Before his recent passing, actor RJ Mitte revealed that he had lost a substantial portion of his earnings after a former business manager allegedly diverted funds meant for his taxes.
Mitte, best known for his role in the popular TV series Breaking Bad, shared this during an appearance on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast in November 2025, nearly a year before his death at the age of 34.
He explained that he hired the manager as a teenager because he wanted professional help to protect his income.
"I wanted to protect my funds. I was 17, 18," he said, adding that people around him encouraged him to get a proper accountant as his acting career took off.
The actor, who began working on Breaking Bad at 14, said the financial fallout followed him for years.
He described discovering that the money he thought was going towards his tax bills had allegedly been pocketed instead.
"She didn't lose it," Mitte said of the manager. "She was just siphoning funds."
He claimed that after he wrote cheques for his taxes, she sent him fake tax filings while keeping the cash rather than passing it on to the US Internal Revenue Service.
Mitte noted that the unpaid taxes and mounting interest left him with a heavy financial burden that took years to clear.
Summing up the impact to the podcast hosts, he said: "I've paid more in taxes than I got from Breaking Bad."
He also dismissed online estimates claiming he had amassed millions from the show.
He later claimed to have discovered that 14 other actors had also been affected by the same business manager, including several performers with disabilities.
He said pursuing legal action proved difficult because the funds had reportedly been channelled through offshore accounts.
Despite the ordeal, Mitte said that the experience taught him to be much wiser with his money.
Describing it as "a lesson learned", he also shared that he was writing a show inspired by what he went through.
Mitte played Walter "Flynn" White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston's chemistry teacher-turned-drug kingpin character, across all five seasons of Breaking Bad, which ran from 2008 to 2013.
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, he also became a prominent advocate for performers with disabilities. His death was confirmed by his representative on Oct 12, prompting heartfelt tributes from co-stars—including Cranston, who remembered him as his "sweet son" from the series.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd