RJ Mitte, the actor who played Walter White Jr, the son of Bryan Cranston’s chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin on Breaking Bad, died on Monday, October 12, at 34, his representatives said. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte,” his representatives said in a statement that the Guardian, the BBC, NBC News and Deadline carry; DW credits the same words to his management agency. Deadline, which posted the earliest report this desk saved (1:29 p.m. PT), says he died in Brownsville, Texas, and NBC News says Mitte had moved there.

Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told the Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. local time at his home in Brownsville, as she understood it, Deadline reports, and CBS News carries the same AP time; NBC News, which reached Hinojosa by phone, gives the time as 1:32 p.m. and says she could not disclose the cause of death. Hinojosa told the AP that an autopsy would follow, Deadline and the Guardian report. Variety, citing People, says the Brownsville Police Department received a call at 12:50 p.m. local time and found Mitte dead at his home, and it quotes the department: “The cause and manner of death are still pending, as there is currently an ongoing investigation.” Fox Rio Grande Valley reports that police called the cause and manner undetermined pending an official determination, and the BBC and the Guardian say police suspected no foul play.

Deadline reports that Mitte’s representatives said he died by suicide, and Variety says his representative confirmed it; E! News says the representative gave that confirmation to People. The Guardian and BBC copies saved here report no cause of death, and police still list the cause as undetermined, Fox Rio Grande Valley reports. This desk credits the cause to his representatives until a medical examiner or police finding appears. In the US, anyone having thoughts of suicide can call or text 988, the number Deadline lists for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline; Variety lists the same number.

From the age of 15, Mitte played Walter White Jr in 56 episodes of the AMC drama, the Guardian reports; NBC News puts his age at 15 when the series debuted in January 2008. Cranston wrote that he met Mitte “when he was only 14 years old when he was cast as Walter White Jr, a part he played with such joy and enthusiasm,” the Guardian reports. Breaking Bad ran from 2008 to 2013 (five seasons, the BBC says) and won 16 Primetime Emmys from 58 nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series, the BBC and Deadline report. Mitte had cerebral palsy, a condition he shared with his character, the Guardian and CBS News report; the BBC says creator Vince Gilligan based the character on a late friend with a more severe case who used forearm crutches, which Mitte did not need. Mitte won a Screen Actors Guild award for drama ensemble in 2014 with the cast, CBS News and Deadline report.

Off screen, Mitte campaigned for disability representation in entertainment, the Guardian reports. He served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s and as president of The Mitte Foundation, his representatives said in statements CBS News and NBC News quote, and Deadline reports the same roles. “Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” the representatives said, according to the Guardian, CBS News and NBC News. In 2015 he told the Guardian: “You accept the risks and you accept these will be the parts you play. But it’s all about how you play those parts – you have to show the inner strength that people have.” In 2021 he told the BBC: “Watching the awareness grow around disability representation has been great to see, but breakthroughs sometimes come in pieces and moments instead of larger change.” NBC News notes that his 2021 film Triumph, in which he plays a high schooler with cerebral palsy who fights to become a wrestler, won a Ruderman Family Foundation Seal of Authentic Representation.

Co-stars paid tribute after the news broke, the Guardian reports. “I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight,” Cranston wrote on Instagram, the Guardian reports. “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 wrote, in lines the Guardian, the BBC and CBS News carry. CBS News says Cranston and Mitte had texted a few weeks earlier about planning a lunch, and quotes him: “I don't know if that lunch would have changed his future.” Cranston closed with “I’ll miss you, son,” the BBC and CBS News report. Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, said in a statement shared with the Hollywood Reporter: “RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed,” the BBC reports, adding: “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 Hank Schrader, wrote: “He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed,” the BBC, CBS News and the Guardian report. In Brownsville, Hinojosa told NBC News: “He was so gracious to our town.”

Some biographical details differ by outlet. Deadline gives his birth date as August 21, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi, and NBC News, citing a 2016 Vice interview, also names Jackson. The Guardian says adoptive parents raised him in Mississippi, while the BBC says he grew up in Louisiana and moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to support his younger sister’s acting career; NBC News, citing Vice, says he moved at 12 or 13. The BBC names his representative as Sean Reilly and CBS News spells it Sean Riley. DW writes that Breaking Bad ran until 2023, which conflicts with the 2008-to-2013 run the BBC, NBC News, Deadline and Variety give, and Variety names Anna Gunn’s character as Holly White, though CBS News gives her role as Skyler White. In his last weeks, Mitte attended a September 30 screening of his film Talking to Strangers in Beverly Hills, Deadline reports, and spoke about Breaking Bad on the Joe Vulpis Podcast earlier this month, the Guardian and the BBC report. His representatives asked for privacy for his family, NBC News and Deadline report. This desk could not open the AP report directly (curl returned 403) or read the People article, police statement or any medical examiner record, and cites those through the outlets above.