RJ Mitte, known for his acting and disability advocacy, also supported his family as the main breadwinner after a personal tragedy. Mitte died in Brownsville, Texas, on Monday, October 12, at age 34. The Brownsville Police Department is investigating and has not released a cause of death.
Rise to Fame and Early Roles
Mitte shot to fame as a teenager playing Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad from 2008 to 2013. Before that, he had roles in Hannah Montana and Everybody Hates Chris. However, the stress of auditions was not his only challenge.
In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, he explained he became the family's breadwinner after his mother was left paralysed in an accident. "A car ploughed into her at 40mph," he said, "and ruptured her spine."
Taking on Responsibility at a Young Age
"Afterwards, she couldn't lift Lacey [his sister] because of the operations she'd had. So I took care of Lacey. There's a 12-year gap between us and her dad wasn't really around, so I guess I was a bit of a father figure to her as well as a brother. I changed her diapers, made up her bottles, fed her, rocked her, bathed her - everything, I did it."
"I had a lot of responsibility at the age of 12. By 13, I was the main breadwinner for my family," he explained, calling the experience "scary but necessary." He added: "I started off working as an extra, and I had to keep getting jobs to pay the bills. It evolved into a career very quickly. I think that accident changed our lives. It changed the dynamics of my relationship with my sister."
Tributes and Final Remarks
In a statement announcing his death, his representative said: "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte." The statement added: "At this time, we ask people to respect the privacy of RJ Mitte's family and close ones."
Days before his death, Mitte said on the Joe Vulpis podcast on Wednesday, October 7, that his Breaking Bad character's journey was not over: "I don't think it was an end. I think that was really the end of Heisenberg's journey, but I don't think that was the end of Skyler, Walt, and Holly's journey."
