RJ Mitte, the actor who played Walter White Jr. on “Breaking Bad,” died Monday at his home in Brownsville, Texas. He was 34.
His representative, Sean Reilly, confirmed the death and remembered him as a beloved actor and a passionate disability rights advocate. Mitte’s publicist told People that he died by suicide. Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa said he was pronounced dead at 1:32 p.m. local time, an autopsy will be performed, and the investigation is still open.
Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age three and brought that experience straight to the screen. He played Walt Jr., also called Flynn, across all five seasons of “Breaking Bad,” 56 episodes next to Bryan Cranston’s Walter White. After the show, he became a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for actors with disabilities, an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy, and president of the Mitte Foundation.
His castmates started posting tributes within hours. Aaron Paul said he was at a loss and heartbroken over the news.
“RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed.”
Aaron Paul, in a statement
Dean Norris, who played Hank Schrader, posted that he always looked out for Mitte as a young kid on set and called him a sweetheart of a young man. Cranston had reportedly been texting with Mitte just weeks earlier about meeting up for lunch.
Mitte was still out and working this month. On October 4 he rode in a hot air balloon at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with Luis Moncada, who played Marco Salamanca. On October 8 he shared a clip from a new podcast interview where he said the White family’s story still had more to be told.
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