Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte dies aged 34

Fonte da imagem, Getty ImagesLegenda da imagem, RJ Mitte era mais conhecido por interpretar o filho desafiador de Walter White no drama vencedor do Emmy Breaking Bad.

• Published12 October 2026, 22:01 BST.

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

É com profunda tristeza que compartilhamos o trágico falecimento do querido ator, filantropo e apaixonado defensor dos direitos das pessoas com deficiência RJ Mitte," disse seu representante à BBC.

He died in Brownsville, Texas. No immediate cause of death was provided.

Mitte, who lived with cerebral palsy, drew on his own experience for his role as Walter White Jr in the Emmy-winning drama series starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.

Ele recebeu um Screen Actors Guild Award em 2014 por seu trabalho na série.

Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion," his representative Sean Reilly said in a statement to the BBC.

Mitte also served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children's.

Ele também criou a The Mitte Foundation, para apoiar esforços filantrópicos e iniciativas comunitárias, usando sua plataforma “to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation for people with disabilities”, Reilly disse.

Breaking Bad aired on US cable broadcaster AMC for five seasons from 2008 to 2013.

The anti-hero drama created by Vince Gilligan earned a whopping 58 Primetime Emmy nominations and won 16, including two for Outstanding Drama Series in 2013 and 2014.

É amplamente creditada como uma das melhores séries de TV dos EUA do século XXI.

Cranston plays a high school chemistry teacher in New Mexico who turns to a life of crime to support his family after a cancer diagnosis. As he descends deeper into the underbelly of the meth trade, he drifts further from his son, Walt Jr, who made his displeasure known with levity through much of the series.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The cast of Breaking Bad accepts the top prize for drama at the SAG Awards in Los Angeles in 2014.

Mitte, que cresceu na Louisiana, era um jovem adolescente quando se apresentou para o papel de destaque depois de se mudar para Los Angeles para apoiar a carreira de atuação de sua irmã mais nova em 2005.

He has previously said that his first audition in Los Angeles was for a California state public service announcement for an anti-meth commercial.

Fast forward to auditioning for Breaking Bad, which is still, in my opinion, an anti-meth thing because it doesn't end well for anyone," he said on the Joe Vulpis Podcast earlier this month.

Seu personagem foi baseado no falecido amigo de Gilligan, que sofria de um caso mais grave de paralisia cerebral e usava muletas de antebraço, algo que Mitte não necessitava.

He played the role with honesty and accessibility, cracking jokes as a teen whose health condition was never mentioned in the series.

Depois de ganhar destaque com a série, Mitte lutou por papéis mais variados e representações complexas de personagens com deficiências, tanto visíveis quanto invisíveis.

Whenever awards season rolls around, we always hope to see a diverse group of projects that reflect all of us, in body and mind," he told the BBC in 2021.

Watching the awareness grow around disability representation has been great to see, but breakthroughs sometimes come in pieces and moments instead of larger change," he said.

Os outros créditos de Mitt em tela incluem Hannah Montana, Switched at Birth, Westhampton e seu último projeto, Talking to Strangers, que saiu no início deste ano.