RJ Mitte 'regressed' to exaggerate Cerebral Palsy for physically demanding Breaking Bad role

The cast of Breaking Bad have spoken out to pay tribute to RJ Mitte after the actor died aged 34 yesterday, 12 October, with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul both releasing statements.

Mitte made his name from Breaking Bad as Walter Jr., the son of Cranston and Anna Gunn’s characters Walt and Skyler who suffered from cerebral palsy.

The young actor himself was diagnosed with the neurological disorder when he was just three years old, going on to become a disability rights activist off the back of the success of Breaking Bad.

Mitte has also spoken about how the role required him to ‘regress’ as Walt Jr.’s cerebral palsy was far more severe than the actor’s was in real life.

In Breaking Bad Walt Jr. required crutches to walk. The late 34-year-old meanwhile needed crutches and leg braces as a child but eventually built up enough strength to walk without them.

Mitte’s role required him to ‘regress’ and tap into previous struggles with being bullied for his condition

The actor stated in an interview with AmeriDisability that he had to ‘regress’ for the role, explaining: “The crutches really sold playing the disability because that’s what people fixated on.”

He stated that years prior to his performance on Breaking Bad he was a ‘toe walker’, a term for when children with cerebral palsy have muscle spasticity (involuntary tightness) in their legs.

This causes your heels to be pulled upwards and therefore can require walking with crutches or leg braces. He overcame this however had to put on an increased slur in his voice in addition to using crutches again, as he did when he was younger.

He spoke in a 2008 interview with AMC about how he worked hard to ‘blur’ his speech for the role and re-learn to walk with crutches, saying: “I didn’t want to look like just another faker because I really have it.

“If you’re going to do it, you have to do it the full way. No matter if you’re regressing or if you’re trying to make it look bad, you need to still try to do it right. It was hard at first, but after a while everybody would help me out.”

Mitte also revealed that the season one storyline in which his character was bullied mirrored his own life, telling the Radio Times: “I dealt with my fair share of bullies in school – and I still deal with my fair share of bullies in life. I think we all have some people that bully us.

“But if you have a physical disability and you're wearing braces and a cast, people look at that as weakness, and at school they attack you for it.

“I got pushed and made fun of and I never backed down and I never let someone belittle me. I still don't. It made me who I am today.”

The role was ‘physically demanding’ but Bryan Cranston said in his tribute to Mitte that the actor always dealt with it admirably

Breaking Bad comes from an era of TV in which 12-14 hour days were incredibly common, with Mitte required to be on crutches for large portions of these in a way that would be physically demanding.

In his tribute to Mitte after his death Cranston said: “I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight. RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died.

“I 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 - ever - allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination.

“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… I’ll miss you, son.”