(Photo by Ryan Pierse\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOne former colleague who\u2019s grieving this week is Bryan Cranston, who played Mitte\u2019s father on Breaking Bad.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in deep despair as I write this tonight. RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died,\u201d Cranston wrote on Instagram on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met him when he was only 14 years old when he was cast as Walter White Jr., a part he played with such joy and enthusiasm. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he never \u2013 ever \u2013 allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination,\u201d the actor continued, adding:<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways listening to the advice that his TV parents (Anna Gunn and myself) gave him \u2013 but being a teenager, sometimes mischievously ignoring the counsel in order to learn the hard way\u2026 He was one of the stars of a hit TV show \u2013 but still a kid. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat kid was pretty raw when we started shooting the pilot in February of 2007, but little by little we watched him grow into a really fine actor. He parlayed his experience on the show to be a vocal advocate for performers with disabilities, and was the head of a philanthropic organization with a focus on helping the disabled community. All that promise and potential now is such a loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCranston went on to note that he was particularly troubled by the news that Mitte had died by suicide:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhy? We were texting each other just a few weeks ago \u2013 figuring out when we could meet for lunch. I don\u2019t know if that lunch would have changed his future\u2026 But I do know that I loved him, and thoroughly enjoyed being with him throughout the years on the series, and after the spotlight on Breaking Bad dimmed\u2026 I\u2019ll miss you, son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron Paul, who played Walt\u2019s partner in crime Jesse Pinkman on the show, echoed Cranston\u2019s grief in succinct fashion, writing:<\/p>\n
\u201cRJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little is known about what might have led to Mitte\u2019s decision to take his own life.<\/p>\n
He had recently gotten engaged to his longtime girlfriend, and he had a number of film and television projects slated for release.<\/p>\n
In an interview given not long before his death, however, Mitte hinted at financial pressures and explained that Breaking Bad had not made him wealthy.<\/p>\n
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.<\/p>\n
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