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Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte has died.
The actor, who lived with cerebral palsy — a physical disability affecting a person’s ability to move — was 34. A cause of death has not yet been announced.
Mitte was best known for playing the son of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White, Walter Jr., on the hit AMC series. He appeared in 56 episodes from 2008 to 2013 and was part of the SAG Award-winning cast that took home the Ensemble in a Drama Series trophy in 2014.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte,” his representative said in a statement to TMZ. “Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion.”
Mitte’s work on Breaking Bad led to several other notable projects across TV and film. He enjoyed an arc on season three of the Freeform series Switched at Birth before landing roles on Dixieland, Robot Chicken, Now Apocalypse and The Guardians of Justice (Will Save You!).
More recently, Mitte appeared in the 2021 drama Triumph, playing a high school senior with cerebral palsy who strives to become a wrestler. He went on to star opposite Dove Cameron in 2024’s Love Me Dead, and with Finn Wittrock in 2025’s Westhampton.
Mitte’s work on screen playing various characters with cerebral palsy provided a platform for his work as a disability-rights activist.
He served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s and was also president of The Mitte Foundation, a “non-profit corporation investing in organizations and programs that improve the quality of life of Central Texans,” according to its website.
In what would turn out to be one of his final interviews, Mitte appeared on last week’s episode of The Joe Vulpis Podcast, discussing his career and work as an activist. He said during the episode that his Breaking Bad character was based on a late friend of the show’s creator Vince Gilligan.
“So it really felt real, playing this character and getting into the groove with this character,” Mitte explained.
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Brokenhearted fans have paid tribute to Mitte online.
“I saw an interview just a couple of days ago about getting the role. He was fantastic as Junior,” one fan wrote on X.
“He did a lot more than just play Walt Jr., his advocacy for disability representation in Hollywood was really impactful. 34 is too young. So sad. RIP RJ Mitte,” another wrote while someone said, “Jesus man… great actor, iconic character. May he rest in peace.”
“I never thought that out of all of the people in the main BB cast, he would be the first one to go. RIP man,” someone else chimed in as another said, “He brought real lived experience to a role Hollywood usually fakes. Thirty-four is just too young for that kind of loss.”