RJ Mitte, Breaking Bad star and disability rights advocate, dies aged 34

RJ Mitte, best known for his role as the son of drug kingpin Walter White in the hit television series Breaking Bad, has died aged 34.

"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.

Mitte died on Monday, local time, in Brownsville, Texas. The cause of death was not disclosed.

A teenage Mitte first appeared on the AMC series in 2008 as the son of chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White, a role that won lead actor Bryan Cranston global acclaim.

Mitte's Breaking Bad character, Walter "Flynn" White Jr, largely admired his terminally ill father in the beginning, but later struggled to reckon with his alter ego and the family's disintegration.

The character was based on a college friend of creator Vince Gilligan's, who died after graduating.

Mitte credited his role on the Emmy Award-winning series, which he starred in until the show's end in 2013, as his career breakthrough.

"When I first got the breakdown it said 'dark hair, big eyebrows and mild cerebral palsy' and I thought, 'That's me, oh my God, that's exactly me,'" he told the ABC in 2015.

Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a permanent physical disability that affects movement and posture, at the age of three.

Later in his life, he joined forces with the hospital where he was diagnosed, Shriners Hospitals for Children, as celebrity spokesperson for the anti-bullying campaign Cut the Bull.

"Cerebral palsy and mental health go hand in hand because when you have a physical disability you're twice as likely to be bullied," Mitte said in 2015.

"With a physical disability you don't want to have to fight and it's not always pain-free, and I remember times when I didn't want to keep fighting, but I had no choice.

"I want to remind people not to be intimidated by their own fears, and if you think you can't do something, that's a lie to yourself."

Mitte was a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for performers with disabilities and an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy.

He was also president of The Mitte Foundation, where he used his platform "to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation for people with disabilities", his representative, Sean Reilly, said.

"Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the [Breaking Bad] role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion."

Breaking Bad, which ran for five seasons and won 16 Emmy Awards out of 58 nominations, is often cited by critics as one of the best television dramas of all time.

Mitte was born in Jackson, Mississippi and adopted shortly after birth. 

He was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, in America's Deep South, before moving to Los Angeles to act in 2006. He landed small guest roles, including on Hannah Montana.

His later credits included teen drama series Switched at Birth (2014), superhero satire Guardians of Justice (2022) and coming-of-age story Triumph (2021).

Mitte's latest project, the dark romantic thriller Cassi, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival a month ago.

As well as being an actor, Mitte worked as a model and was a producer of several independent films.

His death comes just a year after his engagement to longtime friend Kennedy Suarez.

Dean Norris, who starred in Breaking Bad as Mitte's on-screen uncle and a drug enforcement agent, said he was heartbroken by the news.

"Though RJ didn't play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set," Norris wrote on social media.

"He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed. This is so heartbreaking, I can't believe it. Thinking of him and his family."

ABC/wires