"I am heartbroken": Breaking Bad co-stars remember R.J. Mitte

Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Dean Norris were among those who paid tribute to the late actor.

By Jarrod Jones  |  October 13, 2026 | 9:59am
Aux News Breaking Bad

R.J. Mitte’s death has stunned the entertainment industry and his Breaking Bad co-stars are sharing their remembrances online. Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman on the series, shared a statement with The Hollywood Reporter, “I am at a loss. I am heartbroken over this news. R.J., I love you, my friend. You will be missed. And to whoever happens to be reading this, please know you are loved, and you are not alone. Always remember that.” Dean Norris, who played Mitte’s TV uncle as DEA agent Hank Schrader on the show, posted on X, “I am heartbroken […] Though R.J. didn’t play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set. He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed. This is so heartbreaking, I can’t believe it. Thinking of him and his family.”

The award-winning actor, diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age three and thrust into the limelight as Walter “Flynn” White Jr. in the critically lauded AMC series, had been a disability rights advocate as a spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA, which posted on the official X account, “We’re saddened by the passing of R.J. Mitte, who rose to fame playing Walter ‘Flynn’ White Jr. on the hit series Breaking Bad. Mitte won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble In A Drama Series in 2014 for the show’s final season. #SagAftraMember since 2006.” Actress and advocate Marlee Matlin, who had worked with Mitte to amplify the needs of actors with disabilities and co-starred with him on the Freeform series Switched At Birth, posted, “My heart is shattered. There will never be another like R.J. Mitte. You will always have a place in my heart. RIP.”

Mitte’s TV father, Bryan Cranston, shared contact information for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in his heartfelt tribute on Instagram, writing, “There is hope.” Variety reported on Monday evening that Mitte had committed suicide, though an investigation with the Brownsville Police Department is still ongoing. 

“I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight. R.J. Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died,” he wrote. “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. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he never—ever—allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head-on with great determination. Always listening to the advice that his TV parents (Anna Gunn and myself) gave him—but being a teenager, sometimes mischievously ignoring the counsel in order to learn the hard way… He was one of the stars of a hit TV show—but still a kid.” 

Cranston continued. “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. 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. All that promise and potential now is such a loss. It is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life. Why? We were texting each other just a few weeks ago—figuring out when we could meet for lunch. I don’t know if that lunch would have changed his future… But I do know that I loved him, and thoroughly enjoyed being with him throughout the years on the series, and after the spotlight on Breaking Bad dimmed… 

“I’ll miss you, son,” Cranston said.

 
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