RJ Mitte, the actor and disability rights advocate who played Walter White Jr on Breaking Bad, has died at 34. He is best known as the son of Bryan Cranston’s character.
Mitte died Monday in Brownsville, Texas, his reps announced. In a statement, they said, “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist and passionate disability rights advocate R.J. Mitte.”
County official told TMZ that RJ has died by possible suicide.
When RJ Mitte appeared on Hannah Montana
Before Breaking Bad, Mitte was an unknown teen actor. In 2007 he got his first small-screen acting credit as an extra on Hannah Montana.
Deep Dive
Which Hannah Montana episode did RJ Mitte appear in?
What role did RJ Mitte play on Hannah Montana?
Did RJ Mitte appear on Hannah Montana before Breaking Bad?
He appeared in an episode titled “Schooly Bully,” in which Miley Cyrus’ character is picked on by a new girl. Mitte was credited as “School Jock” on IMDb and played a bystander in the episode.
In the episode, he wore a blue letterman jacket in some scenes and a green polo shirt in others.
Here is the clip of the scene:
{{/usCountry}}In the episode, he wore a blue letterman jacket in some scenes and a green polo shirt in others.
Here is the clip of the scene:
{{/usCountry}}Also read: RJ Mitte dies at 34: When 'Breaking Bad' star spoke about living with cerebral palsy
How RJ Mitte came to Hollywood
Mitte was born on August 21, 1992. His full name was Roy Frank Mitte III. He was raised by adopted parents in Jackson, Mississippi. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 3.
He came to Hollywood in 2006. According to the The Hollywood reporter, this was because his younger sister, Lacianne, had gotten a job offer to work in film production.
Also read: Who is RJ Mitte's girlfriend Kennedy Suarez? What we know about 'Breaking Bad' star's relationship
His role as Walt Jr on Breaking Bad
Mitte played Walter “Flynn” White Jr on 56 episodes of Breaking Bad. He was on all five seasons of the AMC drama, from 2008 to 2013.
Mitte recently spoke about his Breaking Bad years on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, according to the outlet. He said, “My character was written with someone with cerebral palsy. This was from the beginning, that was always the case.” He added, “Walt Jr was based on a real person, a friend of (Breaking Bad creator) Vince Gilligan in college who had cerebral palsy, who used forearm crutches and sometime after passed away. So it really felt real playing this character and getting into the groove with this character.”
His other work
Mitte appeared on the Freeform drama Switched at Birth in 2014 as Campbell Bingman. The character is a pre-med student who is paralyzed from a snowboarding accident and uses a wheelchair. In 2022, he voiced the Mind Master on the Netflix animated series The Guardians of Justice.
His big-screen work included House of Last Things (2013), Who’s Driving Doug (2016), Time Share (2018), Standing Up for Sunny (2019), The Oak Room (2020), Triumph (2021) and Talking to Strangers (2026).