Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III ( MITT-ee; August 21, 1992 – October 12, 2026) was an American actor and disability rights activist. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was three years old. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and worked with a personal talent manager to find acting opportunities where his disability could educate viewers. After playing minor roles in sitcoms, he was cast in his breakthrough role as Walter White Jr. on the AMC neo-Western crime drama television series Breaking Bad (2008–2013).
Mitte starred in the ABC Family teen and family drama television series Switched at Birth (2014) and the Netflix live-action/adult animated mixed media superhero television series The Guardians of Justice (2022). He appeared in Who's Driving Doug (2016), the thriller-drama Time Share (2018), the independent comedy Standing Up for Sunny (2019), the thriller The Oak Room (2020), and the coming-of-age drama Triumph (2021), the lattermost of which he executive produced.
Mitte advocated for the recognition of cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for actors with disabilities, a celebrity ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy, and the president of the nonprofit organization the Mitte Foundation. He received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award in 2013.
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Early and personal life
Roy Frank Mitte III was born on August 21, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi. He was delivered by emergency caesarean section and was not breathing at birth, which resulted in permanent brain damage (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy). He was adopted a few weeks later by Roy Frank Mitte Jr. and Dyna Mitte, who separated when he was two months old. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of three, and doctors put his legs in casts for six months in an attempt to straighten his feet.
He was raised by his mother following his parents' separation, splitting time between Lafayette, Louisiana, and Austin, Texas. After his mother became paralyzed following a car accident, Mitte assumed financial responsibility for his family at the age of 13, which by then also included his sister, Lacianne Carriere, who had been born when he was 11. As of 2015, he remained financially responsible for both his mother and sister.
Mitte was fitted with leg braces and used crutches throughout most of his childhood. His body became stronger over time through sports and exercise, and he no longer needed walking devices by his teenage years. In 2006, he relocated to Los Angeles, California, with his family after his younger sister received a job offer in a movie production. Mitte was in a relationship with girlfriend Kennedy Suarez from 2018, having been long-term friends beforehand. He announced their engagement in October 2025.
Career
After receiving several roles as an extra, including in the Disney teen sitcom Hannah Montana, Mitte became interested in films and decided to take acting lessons. Shortly after, he was offered the role of Walter White Jr., a character who also has cerebral palsy, in the AMC series Breaking Bad. Series creator Vince Gilligan modeled the character on a friend who had cerebral palsy and used crutches; the character used crutches to walk, though Mitte did not require them in real life by that time. Variety's Daniel D'Addario called Mitte's performance "a breakthrough for disability representation". Mitte felt the role "set really high standards ... that I can never meet".
At the 2013 Media Access Awards, Mitte received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award for his portrayal of Walter White Jr. on the series and also presented the eponymous RJ Mitte Diversity Award to deaf actor Ryan Lane. The Screen Actors Guild named Mitte as the spokesman for actors with disabilities and he was the representative of Inclusion in the Arts and Media of Performers with Disabilities, which employs artists with disabilities.
In 2011, Mitte starred in the short horror film Stump. That same year, he worked as executive producer of the documentary Vanished: The Tara Calico Story, about the disappearance of Tara Calico. Around and after Breaking Bad's conclusion in 2013, Mitte appeared in the films House of Last Things (2013), Dixieland (2015), and as the lead character in Who's Driving Doug (2016). He had a guest appearance on Vegas in 2012, and a recurring role in Switched at Birth in 2014. He participated in the second series of Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls in 2017, departing in the second episode due to the camp's disorganization.
Mitte modeled for a spring 2014 Gap ad campaign. He appeared on the cover of the February/March 2015 issue of Neurology Now, published by the American Academy of Neurology. The issue included a short biography and his views on cerebral palsy, bullying, and his acting career. He was also named a celebrity ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy in 2015. In June 2015, he modeled on a fashion show catwalk for Vivienne Westwood. In November 2015, Mitte was announced to be a presenter as part of British Channel 4's coverage of the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics. In 2016, he appeared in the music video for "If I Get High" by English rock band Nothing but Thieves.
Mitte was cast in several science fiction and thriller films, including The Recall (2017), Time Share (2018), and River Runs Red (2018), and he was the lead in the comedy film Standing Up for Sunny (2019), portraying a man with cerebral palsy. On television, he appeared in an episode of This Close in 2018, in two episodes of Now Apocalypse in 2019, and as a lead role in The Guardians of Justice in 2022. Mitte played the lead characters in The Oak Room (2020), The Unseen (2023), and Triumph (2021), and executive-produced the latter, before his role in Westhampton (2025).
Death
Mitte died at his home in Brownsville, Texas, on October 12, 2026, at the age of 34. Emergency personnel received a call at 12:50 p.m., and arrived at his residence, where local authorities pronounced him dead at 1:32 p.m. His representative said that Mitte had died by suicide. He made his final public appearance eight days earlier at the 2026 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with Breaking Bad co-star Luis Moncada.
Several industry figures shared tributes, including Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and actors Bryan Cranston, Giancarlo Esposito, Luis Moncada, Bob Odenkirk, Dean Norris, and Aaron Paul, as well as Switched at Birth co-stars Marlee Matlin and Lea Thompson. Cranston, who portrayed Mitte's on-screen father, praised his determination and wrote that "he never – ever – allowed that challenge [of cerebral palsy] to be an excuse for anything".