RJ Mitte, who played Walter White Jr. on “Breaking Bad” and became one of television’s most visible disability-rights advocates, died Monday in Brownsville, Texas. He was 34. Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa said she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home. His representatives later confirmed that he died by suicide. The Associated Press reported earlier in the day that the justice of the peace could not name a cause and that an autopsy would follow. Police said at the time that an investigation was ongoing.
Mitte was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1992 and raised by adoptive parents. Doctors diagnosed his cerebral palsy at age 3. He joined AMC’s crime drama at 14, playing a teenager whose condition mirrored his own. He appeared across all five seasons, from 2008 to 2013, and shared in the cast’s 2014 Screen Actors Guild Award for best drama ensemble.
The role shaped everything that followed. Mitte told the AP in 2014 that living with a disability, along with the physical therapy, family strain and medical bills the show depicted, sharpened his work. Off screen, he served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s, and he led the Mitte Foundation, a family charity that funds education, health and scholarship programs across South Texas.
His representatives described him as an actor, philanthropist and activist who “built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion.” Fellow actors, disability advocates and “Breaking Bad” castmates have offered condolences.
Mitte’s career continued after the series ended. He had been promoting a new film, “Talking to Strangers,” and appeared on podcasts in the days before his death. He was engaged to his partner of eight years, Kennedy Suarez.
