RJ Mitte

RJ Mitte

Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III ( MIT-ee; August 21, 1992 – October 12, 2026) was an American actor and disability rights activist. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was three years old. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and worked with a personal talent manager to find acting opportunities where his disability could educate viewers. After playing minor roles in sitcoms, he was cast in his breakthrough role as Walter White Jr. on the AMC neo-Western crime drama television series Breaking Bad (2008–2013).

Mitte starred in the ABC Family teen and family drama television series Switched at Birth (2014) and the Netflix live-action/adult animated mixed media superhero television series The Guardians of Justice (2022). He appeared in Who's Driving Doug (2016), the thriller-drama Time Share (2018), the independent comedy Standing Up for Sunny (2019), the thriller The Oak Room (2020), and the coming-of-age drama Triumph (2021), the lattermost of which he executive produced.

Mitte advocated for the recognition of cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for actors with disabilities, a celebrity ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy, and the president of the nonprofit organization the Mitte Foundation. He received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award in 2013. Mitte died by suicide on October 12, 2026.

Early and personal life

RJ Mitte

Roy Frank Mitte III was born on August 21, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi. He was delivered by emergency caesarean section and was not breathing at birth, which resulted in permanent brain damage (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy). He was adopted a few weeks later by Roy Frank Mitte Jr. and Dyna Mitte, who separated when he was two months old. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of three, and doctors put his legs in casts for six months in an attempt to straighten his feet.

He was raised by his mother following his parents' separation, splitting time between Lafayette, Louisiana, and Austin, Texas. After his mother became paralyzed following a car accident, Mitte assumed financial responsibility for his family at the age of 13, which by then also included his sister, Lacianne Carriere, who had been born when he was 11. As of 2015, he remained financially responsible for both his mother and sister. Mitte's first language was Spanish, owing to the fact that his mother hired a monolingual babysitter to watch him while she worked.

Mitte was fitted with leg braces and used crutches throughout most of his childhood. His body became stronger over time through sports and exercise, and he no longer needed walking devices by his teenage years. In a 2012 interview, he stated that he experienced bullying during his school years, recalling an incident in which his hand was broken. In 2006, he relocated to Los Angeles, California, with his family after his younger sister received a job offer in a movie production. Mitte was in a relationship with girlfriend Kennedy Suarez from 2018, having been long-term friends beforehand. He announced their engagement in October 2025.

Career

RJ Mitte

Mitte at the 68th Annual Peabody Awards in 2009

After receiving several roles as an extra, including in the Disney teen sitcom Hannah Montana, Mitte became interested in films and decided to take acting lessons. Shortly after, he was offered the role of Walter White Jr., a character who also has cerebral palsy, in the AMC series Breaking Bad. Series creator Vince Gilligan modeled the character on a friend who had cerebral palsy and used crutches; the character used crutches to walk, though Mitte did not require them in real life by that time. Variety's Daniel D'Addario called Mitte's performance "a breakthrough for disability representation". Mitte felt the role "set really high standards [...] that I can never meet".

At the 2013 Media Access Awards, Mitte received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award for his portrayal of Walter White Jr. on the series and also presented the eponymous RJ Mitte Diversity Award to deaf actor Ryan Lane. The Screen Actors Guild named Mitte as the spokesman for actors with disabilities and he was the representative of Inclusion in the Arts and Media of Performers with Disabilities, which employs artists with disabilities.

In 2011, Mitte starred in the short horror film Stump. That same year, he worked as executive producer of the documentary Vanished: The Tara Calico Story, about the disappearance of Tara Calico. Around and after Breaking Bad's conclusion in 2013, Mitte appeared in the films House of Last Things (2013), Dixieland (2015), and as the lead character in Who's Driving Doug (2016). He had a guest appearance on Vegas in 2012, and a recurring role in Switched at Birth in 2014. He participated in the second series of Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls in 2017, departing in the second episode due to the camp's disorganization.

The cast of Breaking Bad at San Diego Comic-Con in 2018. L–R: Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Mitte, and Dean Norris.

Mitte modeled for a spring 2014 Gap ad campaign. He appeared on the cover of the February/March 2015 issue of Neurology Now, published by the American Academy of Neurology. The issue included a short biography and his views on cerebral palsy, bullying, and his acting career. In June 2015, he modeled on a fashion show catwalk for Vivienne Westwood. In November 2015, Mitte was announced to be a presenter as part of British Channel 4's coverage of the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics. In 2016, he appeared in the music video for "If I Get High" by English rock band Nothing But Thieves.

Mitte spent much of his career as a disability rights activist. From 2014, he served as an ambassador for the Shriners Children's, having been treated as a Shriners Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a child, and he was named a celebrity ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy in 2015. He was the president of the Mitte Foundation, an organization founded by his grandparents, through which he advocated for greater inclusion.

Mitte was cast in several science fiction and thriller films, including The Recall (2017), Time Share (2018), and River Runs Red (2018), and he was the lead in the comedy film Standing Up for Sunny (2019), portraying a man with cerebral palsy. On television, he appeared in an episode of This Close in 2018, in two episodes of Now Apocalypse in 2019, and as a lead role in The Guardians of Justice in 2022. Mitte played the lead characters in The Oak Room (2020), The Unseen (2023), and Triumph (2021), and executive-produced the latter, before his role in Westhampton (2025).

Mitte at Rose City Comic Con in 2024

In a November 2025 interview with the Iced Coffee Hour podcast, Mitte stated that he had experienced financial difficulties after hiring a business manager who he alleged stole money intended for tax payments and provided him with falsified tax filings. According to Mitte, the manager also defrauded 14 other actors, primarily elderly individuals and people with disabilities. He said that the resulting tax liabilities and interest took ten years to settle, stating: "I've paid more in taxes than I got from Breaking Bad".

He appeared as a lead in Josh Webber's Love Me Dead, which premiered in Germany in 2024; following changes and reshoots, it is scheduled to be released in 2026 or 2027 as Cassi. Some of Mitte's final roles included Talking to Strangers and One Eye Open (both 2026), both of which he was promoting days before his death. He had signed on for two more films around this time.

Death

RJ Mitte

Mitte died at his home in Brownsville, Texas, on October 12, 2026, at the age of 34. After he missed a phone call from his mother at 11 a.m., she traveled to his home with lunch, upon which she discovered his body. Emergency personnel received a call at 12:50 p.m., and arrived at his residence, where local authorities pronounced him dead at 1:32 p.m. His representative said that Mitte died by suicide. According to his mother, he left no suicide note. She had been encouraging him to attend therapy for months, but he assured her that he was "handling it". He made his final public appearance eight days earlier at the 2026 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with Breaking Bad co-star Luis Moncada.

Several industry figures shared tributes, including Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and co-stars Charles Baker, Bryan Cranston, Giancarlo Esposito, Anna Gunn, Matt Jones, Luis and Daniel Moncada, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk, Aaron Paul, and Steven Michael Quezada, as well as Switched at Birth co-stars Marlee Matlin and Lea Thompson. Cranston, who portrayed Mitte's on-screen father, praised his determination and wrote that "he never – ever – allowed that challenge [of cerebral palsy] to be an excuse for anything". His funeral was held at the Mitte Arts and Cultural Center in Brownsville on October 16, set to be followed by a public celebration of life at Revel Entertainment in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 25.

Filmography

Film

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2011</td><td>Stump</td><td>Tim</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>House of Last Things</td><td>Tim</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Dixieland</td><td>CJ</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Who's Driving Doug</td><td>Doug</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>The Recall</td><td>Brendan</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Time Share</td><td>Tom</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">2019</td><td>Standing Up for Sunny</td><td>Travis</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Carol of the Bells</td><td>Scott Johnson</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>The Oak Room</td><td>Steve</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Triumph</td><td>Mike</td><td>Also executive producer</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>The Unseen</td><td>Tommy Olson</td><td rowspan="2">Also producer</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>Love Me Dead</td><td>Isaac</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>Westhampton</td><td>Fitz</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">2026</td><td>Talking to Strangers</td><td>Joshua</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>One Eye Open</td><td>Brad Everett</td><td>Posthumous release</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>TBA</td><td>Cassi</td><td>Isaac</td><td>Completed; posthumous release</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Television

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2006</td><td>Everybody Hates Chris</td><td>Audience member</td><td>Episode: "Everybody Hates Elections"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>Hannah Montana</td><td>School Jock</td><td>Episode: "Schooly Bully"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008–2013</td><td>Breaking Bad</td><td>Walter White Jr.</td><td>Main role</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Vegas</td><td>Russ Auster</td><td>Episode: "Paiutes"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Switched at Birth</td><td>Campbell Bingman</td><td>Recurring role (season 3)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Robot Chicken</td><td>Walter White Jr. (voice)</td><td>Episode: "Food"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">2017</td><td>The Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls</td><td>Contestant</td><td>Season 2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Chance</td><td>Solomon</td><td>Episode: "The Collected Works of William Shakespeare"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>This Close</td><td>TJ Black</td><td>Episode: "Who We Are"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>Now Apocalypse</td><td>Leif</td><td>2 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>The Guardians of Justice</td><td>Mind Master</td><td>Main role</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Music videos

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Artist</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2">2013</td><td>"Dead Bite"</td><td>Hollywood Undead</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>"Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World"</td><td>Steel Panther</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">2016</td><td>"If I Get High"</td><td>Nothing but Thieves</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>"In the Dark"</td><td>3 Doors Down</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="1">2024</td><td>"Never Really Know"</td><td>Kameron Marlowe</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Awards and nominations

RJ Mitte

Award	Year	Category	Project	Result	Ref.
Media Access Awards	2013	SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award	Breaking Bad	Awarded
Screen Actors Guild Awards	2012	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Breaking Bad	Nominated
	2013	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Breaking Bad	Nominated
	2014	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Breaking Bad	Won
Young Artist Awards	2012	Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actor 17–21	Breaking Bad	Nominated