RJ Mitte's Heartbreaking Performance as Walter White Jr. in «Breaking Bad» Was a Step Forward for Disability Representation

Perhaps the first thing we should remember RJ Mitte for is his acting talent – a deep, full portrayal of Walter White's son in his teens that gave the show's criminal figures a way to work through grief. Then came the fandom, and in interviews about how […]

Perhaps the first thing RJ Mitte should be remembered for was his acting talent — the way he evoked the deep, full life of Walter White's son as a teenager on "Breaking Bad," helping the show's criminal hijinks leave behind some sadness. Then there was the fan, who spoke in interviews about how his cerebral palsy diagnosis didn't stop him from pursuing a dream, and called for more presence across the industry.

Mitte, who died on Oct. 12 at just 34, had the most interesting turn of events: After a few early acting jobs, he was cast in Breaking Bad, which went from a promising but flawed pilot to a cultural phenomenon, and still — as the best TV show of the century — in the powerful New York Times poll.

But Mitte wasn't just along for the ride. He took on the role of Walt Jr. and his journey throughout the show follows his father's humiliation. While Walt Sr. (Bryan Cranston) made it as a small-time drug dealer, his naïve namesake rejoiced in his father's presence, rooted for his recovery, and couldn't understand why his mother (Anna Gunn) stood in the way of the family's happiness. By the end of the series, when Wyatt Sr. has taken bloody control of the drug trade across the American Southwest, Walt Jr.'s abandonment of his father is one of the few things Walt Sr. can still feel. Mitte's character wishing his father was dead — when earlier in the season he desperately hoped he was alive — was an acting display and a testament to how deeply "Breaking Bad" allowed Mitte to delve into his character in the long run.

By the time of this final confrontation, Walt Jr.'s (and Matt's) cerebral palsy had become anything but noticeable. This was a fact about both young men, a fact that the viewer noticed but did not define. The younger Walt was loyal, unhinged, or heartbroken—or should I say, tall and strikingly handsome—before his imagination was a pathetic subject. (Indeed, his last interaction with his father proves that he was probably twice the man his father could have been.) The character, said a 2008 profile of Mitte in the Los Angeles Times, is "just an everyday teenager who pulls pranks, takes the bus to school and gets killed trying to score some beer. Mitte's reality doesn't need them—but the words 'cerebral palsy' haven't been mentioned in the show yet, and neither have his parents." Not a single mention of his suffering or hardships.Popular in stories about diversity, Moby CEO Efe Cockrell praises 'amazing' 'Primetime' opening weekend: 'Bold storytelling is here to stay' Moby's 'La Mesías' and 'Riot Cop' Rodrigo Sorogin as Movistar Plusic Rolls Worldwide (Exclusive)

It's a testament to the careful and thoughtful writing of Vince Gilligan's "Breaking Bad" production team, but also Mitte's own ability to balance the reality of his situation (which, as the Times points out, he enhanced to play Walt Jr.) with thoughts about who else Walt Jr. could be. That power was something that is still rare now, and even rarer in 2008, when "Breaking Bad" began: hiring an actor with a disability to portray that disability. (ABC's 2016-2019 sitcom "Speechless," starring cerebral palsy actor Micah Fowler in a story about the complications of a tough, lovable middle-class family figure, strikes me as one example of a show that might be possible with Mitte's positive reception.) If only Hollywood seemed as open as real societies. His on-camera work has already hinted at this in five seasons.

Mitte continued to work after "Breaking Bad". He was doing press for "Talking to Strangers," which was even recently released on VOD. And it's hard not to wonder what else he accomplished. Just last week, he appeared on a podcast and addressed speculation that "Breaking Bad" might one day air with new episodes. "If we were to go back, I'd want better than 'Breaking Bad' ... and it's really hard. High standards for myself that I could never live up to," she said. But I really hope that if the series comes back for a sequel, it will raise the bar to a higher level."

That was Mete in a nutshell - and why what he did at such a young age still resonates.