'Breaking Bad' actor RJ Mitte, who played Walter White Jr., dies aged 34

RJ Mitte, who played Walter “Flynn” White Jr. on Breaking Bad, has died at the age of 34. 

His representatives confirmed the news on Monday, saying he died in Brownsville, Texas. 

No cause of death has been provided.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte,” his representatives said in a statement. 

They asked for privacy for his family and loved ones. 

His representative, Sean Riley, said Mitte drew on his own experience of cerebral palsy to bring authenticity to the role and built a platform for disability awareness and inclusion.

Mitte played the son of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Anna Gunn’s Skyler across all five seasons of the AMC drama, which ran from 2008 to 2013. 

Like his character, he had cerebral palsy. 

He was part of the ensemble that won a Screen Actors Guild Award for best drama ensemble in 2014, and he received the SAG-AFTRA Howard Russell Award that year. 

He later appeared in Switched at Birth and starred in the 2021 film Triumph, about a young man with cerebral palsy who wants to join his high school wrestling team.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1992, Mitte served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s. 

He was president of the Mitte Foundation, which backed philanthropic efforts while challenging stereotypes about disability, and last year he partnered with the service dog organisation Can Do Canines.

He had been promoting a new film, Talking to Strangers, and appeared on podcasts in the days before his death. 

He was engaged to his partner of eight years, Kennedy Suarez.