Late Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte spent years privately challenging Hollywood to give disabled actors more opportunities, revealing his heartbreak at being overlooked for roles despite co-starring in one of television's most acclaimed shows.
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Mitte → spend → shows
In dozens of text messages obtained by the Daily Mail, Mitte spoke candidly about the difficulties he encountered as an actor with cerebral palsy and questioned why the industry was reluctant to cast performers with disabilities.
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industry → obtain → disabilities
The actor, who died Monday at 34, repeatedly expressed his determination to continue working, develop his own projects, and challenge an entertainment industry he believed was failing to recognize the abilities of disabled performers.
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he → die → performers
His messages, sent to a longtime friend over eight years, reveal a passionate – and sometimes frustrated – advocate who wanted to be judged on his talent rather than his physical limitations.
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who → send → talent
In a text dated April 7, 2017, Mitte described uncomfortable encounters with casting directors.
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Mitte → date → directors
'When I go for a part, they sometimes tell me that it's not a character with a disability, and I'm like why can't the character be disabled?' he wrote.
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he → go → disability
'They get real uncomfortable when I say that.'
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I → get → that
Mitte said he believed that casting an actor with a disability could add depth to a character without requiring the entire storyline to revolve around his disability.
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storyline → say → disability
Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte died Monday at 34 from suspected suicide at his home in Texas
Mitte, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age three, appeared in 56 episodes of Breaking Bad from 2008 to 2013.
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who → die → 2013
The distinction was important to the actor, who had already demonstrated his abilities playing Walter White Jr, the son of Bryan Cranston's meth-dealing chemistry teacher on AMC's critically acclaimed Breaking Bad.
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who → demonstrate → Bad
A source close to Cranston told the Daily Mail the actor was 'heartbroken' and still processing the loss of RJ.
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actor → tell → RJ
The show ran from 2008 until 2013 and transformed Mitte into one of Hollywood's most recognizable actors with a disability.
But Mitte expressed frustration that his teenaged success did not translate into the kinds of opportunities he hoped would follow.
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he → run → opportunities
'I can do any role, but some of [the casting agents and directors] are a**h***s who won't even look at me,' he wrote in another message in April 2017.
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he → do → April
'I want to put them on blast, but I won't now.'
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I → want → blast
Mitte continued auditioning and accepting work, including projects that filmed outside the United States.
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that → audition → States
In December 2017, he described working on a television pilot that ultimately failed to move forward.
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that → describe → pilot
'Worked on a pilot that didn't go, a few months ago.
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that → work → pilot
Brutal biz,' he wrote.
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he → write → ?
Two years later, after completing an indie film project in Australia, he acknowledged the practical difficulties of maintaining a career in an unpredictable industry.
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he → complete → industry
'I did a job in Sydney, and it was fun,' he wrote in February 2019.
'But it's a film not going to be here, it's Australian, I hope I can find stuff here.
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I → do → stuff
I would like to work enough to keep my [health] insurance.
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I → like → insurance
When the entertainment industry shut down in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, Mitte continued looking for opportunities.
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Mitte → shut → opportunities
Mitte proposed to Kennedy Suarez in October 2025 at a charity event benefiting United Cerebral Palsy
Mitte reflected on the end of Breaking Bad and how the show set an 'unobtainable' bar with The Joe Vulpis Podcast last week
In June 2020, he described completing a project in Canada and doing voice work.
The following day, he expressed interest in obtaining additional publicity to remind casting directors that he was available for hire.
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he → propose → hire
'I've got to figure out more work,' he wrote.
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he → get → work
'I need to keep myself relevant lol.'
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I → need → myself
He then offered to participate in video interviews and other promotional opportunities.
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He → offer → interviews
'I just need to remind people to book me.'
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I → need → me
By March 2021, Mitte believed the pandemic had created another obstacle for disabled performers, complaining that some people in the entertainment industry appeared to regard actors with disabilities as greater health or insurance risks.
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people → believe → risks
'Gotta convince people that I'm not going to die of Covid,' he wrote.
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he → convince → Covid
'There's a backlash about people with disabilities, they think that we can't be insured or that we are going to die in the middle of a scene, its bullshit.
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we → be → scene
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age three, Mitte wore leg braces and sometimes used crutches or a wheelchair throughout childhood.
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Mitte → diagnose → childhood
He became a prominent advocate for greater inclusion in entertainment, serving as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children's.
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He → become → Palsy
Mitte argued that disabled actors deserved opportunities both in front of and behind the camera, and that television audiences should see people with disabilities portrayed in ordinary, multifaceted roles.
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people → argue → roles
In 2016, he publicly challenged the industry to expand its representation beyond occasional disability-focused storylines.
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he → challenge → storylines
His role as Walter White Jr in Breaking Bad made Mitte a household name
'
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Mitte → make → Bad
I would love to switch on my TV and see a disabled person talking about something they are genuinely interested in or acting out a part that doesn't just focus on their impairment,' he said.
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he → love → impairment
His private messages reveal that the issue remained deeply personal.
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issue → reveal → ?
In April 2022, shortly after turning 30, Mitte complained to his friend that some of the scripts he was receiving offered little more than tokenism.
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he → turn → tokenism
'Looking for interesting stuff to do, getting a lot of scripts where I would be a prop and they don't want to give any depth, 3 lines if that,' he wrote.
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he → look → depth
'I'm writing my own s**t now.'
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I → write → s**t
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
