‘Breaking Bad’ Star RJ Mitte’s Heartbreaking Performance as Walter White Jr. Was a Breakthrough for Disability Representation

Perhaps what we should remember RJ Mitte first for was his acting talent — the way that, as a young teen, he conjured the deep and complete inner life of Walter White’s son on “Breaking Bad,” helping lend the show’s criminal hijinks an underpinning sorrow. Then there was his advocacy, speaking in interviews about how […] As Walter White Jr. on 'Breaking Bad,' RJ Mitte made a breakthrough for actors with cerebral palsy. Perhaps what we should remember RJ Mitte first for was his acting talent — the way that, as a young teen, he conjured the deep and complete inner life of Walter White’s son on “Breaking Bad,” helping lend the show’s criminal hijinks an underpinning sorrow.

Then there was his advocacy, speaking in interviews about how his cerebral palsy diagnosis hadn’t stopped him from fulfilling a dream and urging greater representation throughout the industry. Mitte, who died Oct. 12 at only 34, had the most charmed of breakouts: After some early acting work, he got cast on “Breaking Bad,” which went from promising-but-flawed pilot to cultural phenomenon as it ran on, and that still — as its placement as the best TV show of the century in the New York Times’ recent