{"id":800651,"date":"2026-10-12T23:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T23:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/800651\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T23:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T23:10:12","slug":"rj-mitte-actor-best-known-for-breaking-bad-role-dies-aged-34-rj-mitte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/800651\/","title":{"rendered":"RJ Mitte, actor best known for Breaking Bad role, dies aged 34 | RJ Mitte"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/breaking-bad\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Breaking Bad<\/a> actor RJ Mitte died on Monday aged 34, his representatives confirmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Mitte died in Brownsville, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/texas\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Texas<\/a>. No cause of death was given.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIt is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/rj-mitte\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">RJ Mitte<\/a>,\u201d Mitte\u2019s representatives said in a statement. \u201cDrawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Mitte played Walter White Jr, the son of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/bryan-cranston\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bryan Cranston<\/a>\u2019s high school chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin, on 56 episodes of the acclaimed AMC show, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2019\/sep\/16\/100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">often<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2018\/jan\/20\/breaking-bad-10-years-on-tv-is-still-in-walter-whites-shadow\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cited<\/a> as one of the best television programs of all time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Mitte had cerebral palsy, a condition he shared with his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/breaking-bad\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Breaking Bad<\/a> character.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In 2015, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2015\/jan\/07\/rj-mitte-walt-jr-nothing-compare-to-breaking-bad-cerebal-palsy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spoke to the Guardian<\/a> about being a disabled actor who plays disabled characters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cYou accept the risks and you accept these will be the parts you play. But it\u2019s all about how you play those parts \u2013 you have to show the inner strength that people have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Monday night, Mitte\u2019s costars paid tribute to him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Dean Norris, who played Walt Jr\u2019s uncle Hank Schrader, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeaR8aiS0xq\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a> 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<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In addition to Breaking Bad, Mitte had roles on several series, including Switched at Birth and The Guardians of Justice. Just days before his death, he was <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/rj-mitte-s-first-audition-was-an-anti-meth-commercial-before-breaking-bad-12166545\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">promoting<\/a> his new movie, Talking to Strangers, billed as a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/talkingtostrangersmovie\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">romantic tragedy<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Earlier this month, Mitte <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=s-Udo76fRso\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">appeared<\/a> on the Joe Vulpis Podcast, speaking in depth about his time on Breaking Bad. He noted his character was based on a real-life friend of the show\u2019s creator, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/vince-gilligan\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vince Gilligan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-12\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Around 2-3 times a day<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-vf9hps\">Sign up to Breaking News US<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-djbwnz\">Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791846612_351_2998.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-gx9601\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-12\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIt really felt real playing this character and getting into the groove with this character,\u201d Mitte said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Offscreen, Mitte was an outspoken advocate for disability representation in entertainment, and served in various philanthropic roles, including as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and as president of the Mitte Foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Born in 1992, Mitte was raised in Mississippi by adoptive parents. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2016\/dec\/23\/rj-mitte-by-13-i-was-the-main-breadwinner-for-my-family-it-was-scary-but-necessary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2016 interview<\/a> with the Guardian, he said he found out he was adopted when he was eight years old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cMy step-brother told me. He\u2019d overheard my mum and my stepdad at the time talking about it, and he threw it in my face. But I didn\u2019t really care. It didn\u2019t seem relevant, because I never once in my life felt unloved or like I was a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte died on Monday aged 34, his representatives confirmed. Mitte died in Brownsville,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":800652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-800651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}