Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte wanted to top the show days before his death: ‘I set a bar that is kind of unattainable'
Actor RJ Mitte shared thoughts on White family’s unfinished story days before passing
In what turned out to be his last interview, RJ Mitte said he believed the White family’s story was not finished. A week later, the actor who played Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad died in Brownsville, Texas. He was 34.
A final conversation about the show
Mitte appeared on The Joe Vulpis Podcast seven days before his death. Reflecting on the series, he argued that its finale closed the book on Heisenberg, not on the family around him. In his view, Skyler, Walter Jr. and Holly were left with questions they would likely never resolve, and the family still had a significant chapter ahead.
He said, “I don’t think it was an end; I think it was really the end of Heisenberg’s journey. But I don’t think that was the end of Skyler and Walter and Holly’s journey. You know I think there’s a lot of unanswered questions there, that for them will probably never be answered. I think there’s still a big step for the White family. There’s always more to be told. But you got to tell it right.”
He was also candid about how hard it had been to follow such a defining role. Mitte said that surpassing Breaking Bad was his biggest goal, and admitted that the show had set a standard so high early in his life that it might never be matched. "I just want to top Breaking Bad, that’s the hardest. That is literally like I set a bar for myself as a young man that is kinda unattainable. I tell people, ‘Look, it’s a long way down from the top of the mountain.”
He later shared a clip from the conversation on Instagram, captioned with a message that the White family wasn’t over.
Career and advocacy
Mitte played the son of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Skyler White (Anna Gunn) across all five seasons of the crime drama. His other credits include Switched at Birth and The Guardians of Justice, along with guest appearances on Hannah Montana and Everybody Hates Chris.
Off screen, he was known for his work on disability rights. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, his representatives described him as an actor, philanthropist and advocate. They said he drew on his own experience of cerebral palsy to give the role authenticity, and that he used his platform to push for disability awareness, inclusion and better representation. He was an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s, and served as president of The Mitte Foundation, which supports philanthropic and community work.
