Bryan Cranston & RJ
" 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.Always listening to the advice that his TV parents (Anna Gunn and myself) gave him - but being a teenager, sometimes mischievously ignoring the counsel in order to learn the hard way… He was one of the stars of a hit TV show - but still a kid.That 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.It is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life.Why?We were texting each other just a few weeks ago - figuring out when we could meet for lunch. I don’t know if that lunch would have changed his future…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…I’ll miss you, son.I can’t stop there without imploring anyone who is contemplating suicide to please call for the support you need at 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (https://988lifeline.org/). There is hope."
Who else could put it better but ‘our’ wonderful Bryan Cranston and our thoughts go out to RJ's family and all the amazing company of players in Breaking Bad, we all so enjoyed;friends family and colleagues everywhere. What a wonderful burgeoning star and I was so moved at not only his casting (genius writing) but also his stellar acting abilities. We loved his character so much and understand he was a truly lovely human being.
So sorry for everyone’s loss
t’s World Mental Health Day, so we wanted to share this message for anyone finding life unbearably tough - and this goes for every other day of the year too
We’re here every hour of every day on 116 123. You can call us at 3am when difficult thoughts are racing through your head or at 5am when you feel like you can't face another day.You can call us in panic, in floods of tears, confusion or exhaustion. You can tell us the things you can’t tell anyone else. Tell us if you don’t want to be here anymore. Or just sit in silence until you’re ready to talk and we’ll be there with you.We might not have the perfect words or be able to fix things. But we’ll listen until the world feels a little steadier, until your chest feels a little lighter, until you run out of tears.You don't have to face anything alone. We're here every hour of every day. 💚