Bryan Cranston shared a post on social media following the death of RJ Mitte, who played his son in the series “Breaking Bad.”
“I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight,” Cranston wrote on Instagram Monday. “RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad, has died. I met him when he was only 14 years old, when he was cast as Walter White Jr., a part he played with such joy and enthusiasm.”
Cranston, 70, said Mitte met every demanding shooting schedule head-on, despite being born with cerebral palsy.
“He was one of the stars of a hit TV show – but still a kid. That kid was pretty raw when we started shooting the pilot in February of 2007 but, little by little, we watched him grow into a really fine actor,” Cranston said. “He parlayed his experience on the show to be a vocal advocate for performers with disabilities, and was the head of a philanthropic organization, with a focus on helping the disabled community.”
Frazer Harrison/
Actors Bryan Cranston and RJ Mitte arrive at the 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on September 23, 2012, in Los Angeles, California
The actor continued, saying, “All that promise and potential, now, is such a loss.”
Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told The Associated Press she declared Mitte, 34, dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause, but an autopsy will be performed.
Mitte played Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston’s chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White on nearly every episode of the five seasons of the AMC show, which recently ranked as the best of the 21st century in a New York Times poll.
His later credits included the ABC Family series “Switched at Birth” and the superhero satire series “Guardians of Justice.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
RJ Mitte, ‘Breaking Bad’ actor and disability rights champion, dies at 34
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