Bryan Cranston\u2019<\/a>s \u2060lead character, Walter White, a terminally ill high school teacher who descends into a secret life of crime cooking crystal \u200cmeth.<\/p>\nDrawing \u200cfrom \u200bhis real-life background as a person with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought a rare measure of genuineness to a television character whose physical disability was portrayed as largely incidental to the storyline.<\/p>\n
His performance as \u2060Walter \u2018Flynn\u2019 White Jr, who walked with crutches and spoke with \u200ba slur, gained early attention from fans who dubbed him \u201cthe breakfast \u200bking\u201d for his recurring appearances in scenes around the family breakfast table.<\/p>\n
But his role grew in prominence as the story arc of \u200cthe series progressed. He starts out as a carefree \u200bteenager who admires his father, then struggles to reckon with the family\u2019s disintegration as the truth about Walter White\u2019s meth-making \u201cHeisenberg\u201d alter \u2060ego emerges.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitte brought authenticity to the role and \u2060built a platform on disability awareness \u200band inclusion,\u201d the statement said, noting his affiliation with a number of philanthropic organisations devoted to cerebral palsy and other muscle-control disorders.<\/p>\n
The acclaimed series, often cited by critics as one of the best television dramas of all time, ran from 2008-2013, garnering 16 Emmy Awards, including two for best drama series. <\/p>\n
Cranston said he is in \u201cdeep despair\u201d following the death of Mitte.<\/p>\n
In an emotional Instagram post, Cranston said the pair had exchanged text messages in recent weeks and tried to arrange a catch-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in deep despair as I write this tonight. RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBorn with Cerebral Palsy, he never \u2013 ever \u2013 allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. \u201c<\/p>\n
Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, said in a statement: \u201cI am at a loss. I am heartbroken over this news. RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean Norris, who played Walt Jr\u2019s uncle Hank Schrader, wrote on social media: \u201cThough RJ didn\u2019t 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\u2019t believe it. Thinking of him and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Breaking Bad, Mitte later played a high school wrestler with cerebral palsy in the 2021 coming-of-age film Triumph.<\/p>\n
Mitte, whose credits also include the films The Recall and The Oak Room, had been working to promote a new film Talking to Strangers, appearing as a podcast guest to discuss the film in recent days, according to \u200cHollywood trade publication Variety.<\/p>\n
Off screen, Mitte \u2060served as a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for performers with disabilities, and was a celebrity ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy foundation.<\/p>\n
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mitte suffered brain damage at birth, was adopted as an infant and was \u200cdiagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 3. He was fitted with leg braces and crutches for much of his childhood, but through athletics and exercise eventually outgrew his \u200bneed for walking devices.<\/p>\n
Mitte was raised by his adoptive mother following his \u200bparents\u2019 separation. – Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actor RJ Mitte, whose personal \u200cexperience living with cerebral palsy informed his role as Walter White Jr, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14284,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-653305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-bryan-cranston","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}