"I will miss you, son"... 'Breaking Bad's Cranston mourns late RJ Mitte: "A young man who never used his disability as an excuse"

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Overcoming cerebral palsy to deliver a stellar performance as Walter Junior in 'Breaking Bad'... Late RJ Mitte, colleagues pay tribute with "a kind-hearted young man"

"I will miss you, son."

Actor RJ Mitte, who played 'Walter Junior,' the son of Walter White, in the American drama 'Breaking Bad,' passed away at the age of 34 on the 12th (local time). Upon news of his death, tributes have poured in from colleagues, including Bryan Cranston, who played his father 'Walter' in the series.

Cranston conveyed his grief, stating, "Tonight, as I write this, I am plunged into deep despair. My beloved son RJ Mitte from 'Breaking Bad' has passed away." He continued, "He was born with cerebral palsy, but not once, never did he use it as an excuse for anything," adding that losing all his possibilities and potential is an immense loss.

He further said, "I loved him, and every moment we spent together on the series was a joy," offering his final farewell: "I will miss you, son."

Dean Norris, who played Uncle Hank in the series, said, "He was truly a kind-hearted young man. I will miss him very much." Aaron Paul, who portrayed Jesse Pinkman, left a message saying, "RJ, love you, friend. I will miss you," adding, "Whoever is reading this, please know that you are loved and not alone. Please always remember him."

Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of three. In his childhood, he required crutches and leg braces, but through consistent strength training, he eventually learned to walk on his own. Cast as Walter Junior in 'Breaking Bad' in 2008, a character who also had cerebral palsy, he instead infused his disability even more deeply into his performance.

For a character whose symptoms were more severe than his own, he relearned how to use crutches and deliberately practiced slurring his speech. He once stated, "I did not want people with real disabilities to see me as just someone imitating them."

Mitte lived as Walter Junior for five seasons until the series ended in 2013. 'Breaking Bad' won 16 Emmy Awards and is regarded as a masterpiece, one of the greatest works in television history.

Since then, he appeared in productions such as 'Switched at Birth' and 'Triumph,' and also worked as a model and independent film producer. His final film, 'Kashi,' was first screened just one month ago at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Off-camera, he lived as an advocate for disability rights. He served as a spokesperson representing actors with disabilities in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), acted as an ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy Association, and headed the Mitte Foundation, which bears his name. Having experienced bullying in his childhood, he stated, "I was pushed around and teased, but I never backed down, and I did not let anyone put me down," leading anti-bullying campaigns in partnership with Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Fans are honoring him by revisiting words he shared on a podcast last year. Regarding the crutches he used for seven years in the series, Mitte said, "I was asked to donate them to the Smithsonian Institution in the United States, but I declined," adding, "There were offers of large sums of money, but I simply want to keep them by my side."

He expressed his desire to leave these keepsakes to his family and turn them into a "small museum." They were crutches he had relied on in his childhood, and the very crutches that opened the door to his acting career.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original