Breaking Bad actor and disability rights champion R.J. Mitte dies at 34

Breaking Bad actor and disability rights advocate R.J. Mitte died on Monday at age 34, authorities and his representatives said.

Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1.30pm at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause but an autopsy will be performed.

The actor lived with cerebral palsy.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist and passionate disability rights advocate R.J. Mitte,” the actor’s representatives said in a statement.

A teenage Mitte first appeared in Breaking Bad in 2008 as the son of chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-kingpin Walter White, a role that won Bryan Cranston global acclaim.

“Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” Mitte’s representatives said in the statement announcing his death.

That campaigning evolved into working as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and for Shriners Children’s, a charitable hospital network.

Mitte, whose real name is Roy Frank Mitte III, started his career in entertainment playing minor roles in sitcoms such as Everybody Hates Chris and Hannah Montana.

Breaking Bad, which ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2013, is routinely acclaimed as groundbreaking television and was named by The New York Times as the best television show of the 21st century.

He also landed television roles in Switched At Birth, Vegas, Now Apocalypse and Chance, and has featured in films such as Time Share, Dixieland and Westhampton.

At the age of three, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which the UK’s National Health Service describes as the name for a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and co-ordination caused by a problem with the brain that develops around birth.

Mitte was outspoken about his disability and passionate about using his platform as an actor to educate and inform viewers.

Mitte was also an ambassador for several disability and health organisations, including United Cerebral Palsy, Shriners Children’s and Can Do Canines and he was the president of the Mitte Foundation, which provides grants and scholarships to those in need.

US actor and singer Vincent Martella, best known for lending his voice to Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb, shared a tribute on social media as he reacted to the “devastating” news.

“What a kind and wonderful person. Devastating,” he wrote.

“So young and genuinely nice to everyone he spoke to. This is truly awful. Sending love to his family.”