RJ Mitte, Breaking Bad's Walter White Jr., Dies at 34

RJ Mitte, the actor best known for playing Walter White Jr. on the Emmy-winning AMC drama series Breaking Bad, died on Monday, October 12, 2026, in Brownsville, Texas, at age 34. His representatives confirmed the death but did not immediately disclose a cause. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that he died by suicide, with investigations ongoing.

Mitte was born Roy Frank Mitte III on August 21, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi, and was adopted as a child. At age three, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy following brain damage sustained at birth. On Breaking Bad, which aired from 2008 to 2013, Mitte portrayed Walter White Jr. (also called Flynn), the son of drug kingpin Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Skyler White (Anna Gunn). His character also had cerebral palsy, though more severely than Mitte's own condition. Mitte appeared in 56 episodes across the show's five seasons and was part of the ensemble cast that won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014.

Beyond Breaking Bad, Mitte's acting career included roles in television series such as Switched at Birth, The Guardians of Justice, Now Apocalypse, and This Close, as well as independent films including The Oak Room (2020), The Recall (2017), Triumph (2021), Love Me Dead (2024), and Westhampton (2025). Most recently, he was promoting the independent film Talking to Strangers and had appeared on podcasts in the days before his death.

Mitte became a prominent advocate for disability rights and representation in Hollywood, drawing on his personal experience with cerebral palsy. He served as a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for actors with disabilities, as well as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children's Hospital. He was president of The Mitte Foundation, a nonprofit supporting philanthropic efforts and community initiatives, particularly in South Texas. In 2014, Mitte received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award, honoring disability representation in entertainment. His representatives stated that Mitte "brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion."

Mitte was engaged to Kennedy Suarez, whom he had been dating since 2018. He proposed to her on October 10, 2025, at the 56th annual Dia del Sol fundraising gala in Carlsbad, California, on her 30th birthday. Breaking Bad co-stars Aaron Paul and Dean Norris paid tribute to Mitte following his death. Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, wrote: "I am at a loss. I am heartbroken over this news. RJ, I love you my friend." Norris, who played Hank Schrader, remembered him as "a sweetheart of a young man."