RJ Mitte<\/a> and his mother, Dyna Mitte, at the HBO Luxury Lounge Four Seasons in L.A. on Sept. 21, 2013.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Rachel Murray\/Getty Images for Mediaplacement)<\/p>\n
\n\tThank you for clarifying. I know there had been a lot of commentary swirling around on social media, some of it in reference to things that happened years ago, including a financial situation involving a representative that had taken some money?<\/p>\n
\n\tThere had also been speculation about a financial situation involving a manager. That happened years ago, had already been resolved, and was not related to what happened now.<\/p>\n
\n\tHearing you talk about all of the movies he had upcoming, the food truck, everything to look forward to, does it make it harder to process why he left?<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen something is tormenting you \u2014 whether it\u2019s for an hour, a day, a week or a month \u2014 I think people can have weak moments. I believe that\u2019s what happened in this case. That doesn\u2019t mean he hadn\u2019t been having personal struggles. He had been opening up to me, to his sister, to family members and to people on his team. I don\u2019t know what else to say other than that it wasn\u2019t something we expected. A mother should never have to find her child that way. It\u2019s a hard pill to swallow.<\/p>\n
\n\tYou\u2019ve said that you noticed warning signs and encouraged R.J. to seek therapy. What can you share about what those signs looked like?<\/p>\n
\n\tIt wasn\u2019t necessarily about specific actions. It was more about the conversations we were having \u2014 not just with me, but with his team and friends. There were concerns. That\u2019s why I encouraged him to talk to a counselor. It\u2019s always good to have an outside counselor, a third party with no \u201cskin in the game,\u201d as we say in the South. I told him to talk to a therapist and share his feelings and how he saw things. A therapist could tell him what they saw and heard without having a personal stake in it.<\/p>\n
\n\tParents should listen to their children and watch for signs. I thought R.J. was in a place where we had gotten over the hump and that he was OK. It wasn\u2019t until he didn\u2019t answer the phone that I recognized it as a red flag, because we talked regularly.<\/p>\n
\n\tYou are such a close family. Finding your beloved son the way that you did must be traumatic. Are you getting support and therapy yourself?<\/p>\n
\n\tYes. I\u2019ve already talked with a therapist about my feelings and everything that\u2019s happening. I have one therapist in Texas, where I live, and another in Los Angeles when I\u2019m there. I had even spoken with a therapist ahead of time about the signs and conversations we were having and how to approach those subjects.<\/p>\n
\n\tThere has been speculation about R.J.\u2019s relationship with his fianc\u00e9 and reports about who was invited to the celebration of life. Is there anything you want to clarify?<\/p>\n
\n\tI can share certain things, but some things are private and are not my story to tell. I don\u2019t know all of the conversations between the two of them. I can say there were struggles, but those conversations were private between R.J. and me and between him and his friends. She moved in December, and they had only seen each other three or four times since then. I don\u2019t know what those conversations were after she moved. I had not spoken with her about not coming to the funeral. She had asked one of R.J.\u2019s friends on the day I found my son, but at that point we didn\u2019t even know what was happening. No plans had been made. That\u2019s all I can share about it.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat was R.J. like as a child? Must\u2019ve been pretty special to have been raised to grow into this advocate and activist that changed so many lives?<\/p>\n
\n\tR.J. was adopted at three days old and was the light of my life. He was a very smart child who started speaking words at nine months. He was always an achiever, and he lit up a room with his big smile. He was also laid-back and incredibly giving. If another child wanted his toy, he would give it to them. If a child got hurt and started crying, he would go check on them. He was passionate and caring from an early age.<\/p>\n
\n\tHis grandparents also had a strong influence. I grew up with a grandmother who was a children\u2019s minister and a mother who worked in education. When R.J. and his sister were young, we gave them allowances and asked them to set aside 10 percent as a tithe and another 10 percent in a charity bank. Every Christmas, they chose a child from a giving tree, Make-A-Wish or another organization and spent that money on the child they had selected. They learned that because they were fortunate, they needed to give back. They learned to recognize that other people might be less fortunate and to lend a helping hand.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs R.J. grew older and lived with a disability of his own, he developed an even deeper understanding. At Shriners Hospitals for Children, he would meet children with different disabilities and take time to visit them, talk with them, laugh with them and make them laugh. He understood what they were going through because he was going through it, too.<\/p>\n
\n\tThat passion carried into his acting and advocacy. He spoke out for actors with disabilities and worked with organizations including Shriners Hospitals for Children and United Cerebral Palsy. He raised money, spoke around the world and advocated for inclusion and diversity in the workplace and education system. He believed everyone should have the opportunity to audition for a role, whether it was written for a disabled character or not. He fought hard for that. He wanted to change the world and make it better for everyone.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat did you learn about the impact R.J. had on people after his death?<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the first few days, I received more than a thousand messages. People weren\u2019t asking for details. They were telling me what R.J. had meant to them. One person said, \u201cYou\u2019ll never know. I met your son on the street, and you\u2019ll never know how he changed my life.\u201d Another person said they had met R.J. at a college while contemplating suicide, and by the end of their interaction, they felt able to make it another day.<\/p>\n
\n\tPeople from other countries called to talk about the impact he had made. He had traveled to Lithuania to speak about disabilities in education, to Russia to speak about disabilities in the workplace and to Washington, D.C., to lobby for disability rights. For the first couple of days, there was almost no sleep. I was inundated with people sharing his accomplishments, and I had to sit back and realize, \u201cMy son did this. My son was able to change lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to be in tune with your children, listen to them and be willing to say that they need help. We need to shine a light on mental illness, depression and the importance of being there for one another. The world lost a bright light this week, and that light happened to be my son.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow do you reconcile R.J.\u2019s own struggles with the fact that he helped so many other people?<\/p>\n
\n\tHe\u2019s still helping people. This is what he would expect me to do. He would want me to raise awareness. I feel as though he\u2019s looking down at me and saying, \u201cYes, Mom, this is a hard pill for you to swallow, but you\u2019re going to talk about it and make some changes on my behalf.\u201d There is no shame. He was an incredible young man.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen did you first realize that R.J. was a star?<\/p>\n
\n\tI think we\u2019re talking about two different stars. He was a star, but I\u2019m talking about the shining star in the sky. What makes someone a celebrity or a star? R.J. never believed he was better than anyone else. He never identified himself as a celebrity. He simply loved acting and loved working with producers. Vince Gilligan allowed him to shadow different departments on Breaking Bad, and R.J. learned about every part of filmmaking \u2014 the producer, director, cinematographer, actor, lighting, camera and everything else. He understood that great things happen when people work together.<\/p>\n
\n\tR.J. never thought, \u201cI\u2019m this actor \u2014 look at me.\u201d He believed we\u2019re all human and all in this together. He saw everyone as a friend and as someone he worked with on the same level.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tR.J. Mitte in Breaking Bad season four.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEverett Collection<\/p>\n
\n\tYou\u2019ve said that R.J. lives on through his work. Have you been able to watch any of it since his death? Can you watch Breaking Bad?<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019ve watched Breaking Bad all the way through twice. I\u2019ve always watched R.J.\u2019s work at least once, although R.J. himself didn\u2019t watch his own work. He didn\u2019t like hearing himself. Early on, I asked his manager about that. He told me that if actors watch themselves and criticize what they\u2019re doing, they may change their approach, so you don\u2019t want them to change their natural acting. I would watch him on set and give him feedback, and we would talk about his projects.<\/p>\n
\n\tI don\u2019t know when I\u2019ll sit down and watch one of his movies, but I will. Since Monday, I\u2019ve watched the videos people have been posting. I find comfort in still hearing his voice, seeing his smile and watching his eyes light up when he talks about something passionately.<\/p>\n
\n\tIs another celebration of life being planned in California?<\/p>\n
\n\tWe don\u2019t have all the details worked out yet. Because R.J. worked so diligently in South Texas, we knew we needed to have something there, and it was an incredible day. The building reached maximum capacity, and the city opened an overflow building that also reached capacity. After calls came in from Los Angeles, New York and around the world, we knew we needed to do something somewhere else. Los Angeles seemed like the logical place because so many people who wanted to attend were there, including directors, producers, actors and crew members who had worked with R.J.<\/p>\n
\n\tWe\u2019re working on it now. It looks like it will probably be Oct. 30, but the details are not final. I\u2019ll do whatever I can to make sure R.J. is honored and that his legacy lives on. The city is already discussing programs, and actors have reached out about helping ensure his legacy continues.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn closing, right now on this emotional day from where you\u2019re sitting, what advice can you give parents who may be worried about their children?<\/p>\n
\n\tEven if you think your child needs counseling \u2014 whether they want to go or not, whether they\u2019re an adult or a minor \u2014 you find a way to get them there. That would be my biggest message. Listen to your children. Watch for the signs. Be in tune with them, be there for them and be willing to get help when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n
\n\tInterview edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tBob Odenkirk, R.J. Mitte, Anna Gunn, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks, Betsy Brandt, and Dean Norris during the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards in L.A. on Feb. 24, 2024.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMatt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dyna Mitte is taking one step at a time. The mother of R.J. Mitte is walking through unimaginable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":938863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[124758,49,48,75,320750],"class_list":["post-938862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-breaking-bad","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-rj-mitte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=938862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/938863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=938862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=938862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=938862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}