On Oct. 12, 2026, actor RJ Mitte was found dead in his home in Brownsville, Texas after missing a phone call from his mother. He was pronounced dead later that day at the age of 34, his death ruled suicide by officials.

Mitte was seen eight days prior at the Albuquerque International Balloon festival, where he attended with ‘Breaking Bad’ co-star Luis Moncada. In interviews, he says that he knew Mitte was struggling and extended an offer to Mitte to stay at his home, however, Mitte declined and said he would call Moncada later. 

Mitte will be remembered as an important advocate for both disabled individuals and actors alike. 

Born in Jackson, Mississippi on Aug. 21, 1992, Mitte had to be delivered by cesarean section and was not breathing at birth. This caused permanent brain damage and, at the age of three, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. His parents, Roy Frank Mitte Jr and Dyna Mitte adopted him a few weeks later. They would later separate when Mitte was a 9-month-old and he would spend most of his time with his mother.

His illness caused complications in his early life, and he spent much of his youth in crutches, casts and leg braces. As he got older, bullying became a problem. Oftentimes, other children would push him down knowing how difficult it was for him to stand back up. This resulted in Mitte having his hand broken in one instance. At the age of 13, Mitte became the main breadwinner in his family after Dyna was paralyzed in a car accident. By this time, he also had Lucianne Carriere, a younger sister who was one year old.

Mitte enjoyed sports despite doctors telling him that he would never play. He learned to play soccer through a local league while still wearing leg braces. He also enjoyed basketball and later began snowboarding and skateboarding. Sports were not only a means of entertainment, but a valuable tool for Mitte. It allowed him to keep using his muscles, which eventually led to him no longer requiring walking devices of any kind. 

In 2006, Mitte’s family moved to Los Angeles to support his younger sister’s modeling career. Mitte’s sister began acting after being discovered by a talent agency during a visit to a water park at only 18 months old. This move to California would also prove beneficial for Mitte, as he had an opportunity to leverage her acting career into his own. Initially doing commercial work, he later went on to play several background characters, even landing a role in ‘Hannah Montana’.

Two years later in 2008, Mitte was cast to play his most iconic character and, after a six month audition process, was brought in last minute to play Walt Jr in ‘Breaking Bad’. This role skyrocketed Mitte’s career. Although his character has a more severe form of cerebral palsy than Mitte, Mitte used his real experience with the disease to inform his acting on screen. 

This role saw Mitte winning several awards, including the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell award. This platform allowed Mitte to advocate for others with disabilities, both actors and non actors. He worked as a spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) where he pushed for equal opportunities for disabled actors. He was also an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s hospital. In 2016, he worked in production at the Rio Paralympic games.

This activism, combined with Mitte’s presence on screen, elevated him from an actor into a voice for millions.