Breaking Bad cast members Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Dean Norris were among the first colleagues to publicly grieve RJ Mitte after news emerged Monday that the actor had died by suicide at age 34.

Cranston, 70, said he was “in deep despair” over the loss. In an emotional Instagram tribute, he wrote: “I’ll miss you, son.”

“RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died,” Cranston wrote alongside a photograph of the pair. “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.”

Mitte was born with cerebral palsy, but Cranston said he never allowed the condition to limit him. “He never—ever—allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything,” the actor wrote. “He met the demanding shooting schedule head-on with great determination.”

Cranston recalled that Mitte listened to guidance from his onscreen parents, Anna Gunn and Cranston, while occasionally choosing to learn lessons for himself. “He was one of the stars of a hit TV show—but still a kid,” he wrote.

“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,” Cranston added.

Cranston also highlighted Mitte’s work away from the screen. “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,” he wrote. “All that promise and potential now is such a loss.”

“It is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life. Why?” Cranston continued. “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,” Cranston wrote. “I’ll miss you, son.”

“I am at a loss,” Paul, 47, told The Hollywood Reporter. “I am heartbroken over this news. RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed. And to whoever happens to be reading this, please know you are loved, and you are not alone. Always remember that.”

Norris, 63, shared his shock and sadness in an X post in the wake of hearing the tragic news.

Norris said he had only just learned of Mitte’s death while working. “Oh my God! Was working, just found out about RJ,” he said. “I am heartbroken. Though RJ didn’t play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set.”

“He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed,” Norris continued. “This is so heartbreaking, I can’t believe it. Thinking of him and his family.”

A county official confirmed to TMZ that Mitte, best known for playing Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad, died Monday in Texas. A death investigation remains ongoing, while a separate source told the publication that his death was a suicide.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn for additional comment.

Mitte appeared in 56 episodes of Breaking Bad between 2008 and 2013. His other credits included The Recall and The Guardians of Justice (Will Save You.).

Elsewhere, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin wrote, ‘My heart is shattered. There will never be another like RJ Mitte. You will always have a place in my heart. RIP.’

DC Studios head James Gunn said in a post on Threads, ‘RJ was a really sweet guy. I am so sorry to hear this.’ 

Moonrise Kingdom star Jared Gilman said on X that news of Mitte’s death was ‘beyond heartbreaking.’

He added: ‘His work on breaking bad was incredible and I think a big reason why ozymandias had a 10/10 IMDb rating was due to his performance being so powerfully shattering. just the f***ing worst news ever. RIP.’

Vincent Martella, of Phineas and Ferb, said of Mitte: ‘What a kind and wonderful person. 

‘Devastating. So young and genuinely nice to everyone he spoke to. This is truly awful. Sending love to his family.’ 

Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) when he was three, and he went on to advocate for actors and those working in the entertainment industry with disabilities. 

Actor Eric West said in a post on X, ‘Wow, this absolutely broke my heart. We used to hang out during NYFW, and he was always such a kind soul. RJ Mitte was so talented and gone far too soon. Rest peacefully.’ 

Mitte’s representative told TMZ Monday: ‘It is with profound sadness we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte.

‘RJ Mitte was best known for his role as Walter “Flynn” White Jr on AMC’s critically acclaimed, award-winning series Breaking Bad. 

‘Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion. 

‘Beyond entertaining friends and family around the world, he served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Mitte and the Brownsville Police Department for further comment. 

The Emmy-winning series Breaking Bad ran from 2008 to 2013 and garnered widespread acclaim from both fans and critics worldwide.

It followed Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a terminally ill high school chemistry teacher who creates a meth empire with Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), his inept former student.

Mitte’s shock death comes a year after the actor got engaged to his girlfriend Kennedy Suarez on her 30th birthday.

‘I’m thrilled to have found my person, my partner in life who makes me want to be better, no matter what we’re doing,’ Mitte told People. 

He gushed: ‘Kennedy is my everything, and I can’t wait to officially start our life together and see what adventures life takes us on next.’

Mitte proposed at the 56th annual Dia del Sol 2025 benefit in Carlsbad, California. The fundraising event benefited United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego, for which he was an ambassador.

Following the engagement, Suarez took to Instagram to write: ‘My 30th felt like a fairytale…. I have the man of my dreams by my side & we are doing what we love most – helping others.’ 

Mitte and Suarez lived in Brownsville, Texas, and the actor was president of The Mitte Foundation, his family’s Austin-based charity.

The Foundation rejuvenates and funds South Texas-based marginalized communities.

CP is a group of disorders that affect movement, posture and balance due to abnormal brain development or damage.

Symptoms range from muscle stiffness and poor motor control to difficulties with balance and coordination.

During his life, Mitte called for larger representation of disabled actors on television. 

‘Representation is everything, as we’ve seen over the last ten years with the growth of representation on television,’ he told WUWF in 2023. 

‘Having positive influences of individuals with disabilities, not just cerebral palsy, but all of them, changes the mindset. TV is something that we all share; we all watch. TV really brings communities together in a way that you might not realize through social outlet. 

‘I think that can really inspire individuals, and that can do wonders for confidence and self-esteem. If you see a character that’s going through the same struggle as you, and they’re succeeding, and in your life you may not be, it can help inspire you to get that extra push,’ he added.

In 2016, Mitte described how much he would ‘love’ to turn on the TV to watch a disabled person discuss something ‘that doesn’t just focus on their impairment.’

‘We know lots of progress is being made, but the industry must do more to help disabled people work both in front of and behind the camera,’ he told the Irish Examiner, according to Variety. ‘During the Paralympics there will be more disabled people than ever before on TV, but this shouldn’t be something that just happens every four years.’

‘I would love to switch on my TV and see a disabled person talking about something they are genuinely interested in or acting out a part that doesn’t just focus on their impairment.’ 

Mitte also credited his disability for taking him in the direction he went down:  ‘I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today without my disability,’ he said. ‘I utilized everything I know about living with cerebral palsy for my role in Breaking Bad.’ 

In 2019, five years after Breaking Bad, Mitte admitted he still missed being a part of the show’s cast.

‘That’s going to follow me ’til the day I die,’ he told The Sydney Morning Herald as he reflected on his time on the hit AMC series.

The role took Mitte’s career to a whole new level and ‘opened a lot of doors’ for him.

‘Breaking Bad put me on the map,’ he told The Independent in 2021. ‘You’re only talking to me today because of it. None of my projects would exist without that show and the opportunity it gave me. It really opened a lot of doors for me. I wouldn’t have the media profile and the following that I have today without Walter White Jr. I would just be some kid who lives in Texas.’ 

In what appears to be one of his last interviews, Mitte reflected on the end of Breaking Bad and how the show set an ‘unobtainable’ bar with The Joe Vulpis Podcast.  

‘I don’t think it was [the] end. That was really the end of Heisenberg’s journey but I don’t think that was the end of Skyler, Walt, and Holly’s journey,’ Mitte said.

‘I think there’s a lot of unanswered questions there that for them, will probably never be answered. And so I think there’s still a big step for the White family.’

‘There’s more to be told,’ the interviewer said.

‘There’s always more to be told,’ he added. ‘But you got to tell it right!’ he said. ‘Again, if something happens in the future with the show… the fans control that, really, truly, like, the fans control what continues to get made.’

‘I think it’d go right to the top,’ the interviewer said. ‘Top of Netflix, top of wherever it’s streaming.’

‘I want to top Breaking Bad,’ he said. ‘That’s the hardest… I set a bar for myself as a young man that is kind of unobtainable. And I tell people, I say, look, it’s a long way down from the top of the mountain.’

Mitte hails from Mississippi and was six years old when he found out he was adopted. 

‘I was about six when I was told that I was adopted,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2019. ‘My stepbrother heard my mom and my then-stepdad talking and said to me, “You are adopted. They don’t love you.” I didn’t believe him, but my parents confirmed that I was. I was like, “Okay.”’ 

‘I’ve never felt the need to track my birth mother,’ he said. ‘Medically, I’d like to know my family history, but until I feel that need, I have enough family and friends. I don’t need any more.’

Mitte’s mother chose to adopt him as she believed she would be unable to have her own children due to an ovarian cancer diagnosis. 

‘The reason Mom adopted me was because she’d had ovarian cancer and was told she couldn’t have children. Then, magically, 11 years later, my sister Lacianne came along.’

Mitte’s mother lost her job after a car accident left her partially paralyzed for six years, and he did all he could to keep their family afloat. 

‘A few months later, Mom was in a car accident and was partially paralysed for six years. After the accident, she was fired from her job. She was a single parent, and we had just moved into a new place in Louisiana and feared we would lose everything.

‘I mowed lawns, picked up stuff and took it places. I did whatever I could to scrape cash together. I have devoted my life to my mom and my sister, and I still take care of them today.’

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org 

Several protesters were manhandled by police during Donald Trump’s rally in Ohio on Monday night, as the midterm elections approached.

Hecklers have become a familiar presence at Trump’s campaign events as he travels across the country seeking to protect Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

Trump’s speech was interrupted early when a protester wearing a shirt reading “Release the Epstein Files” was punched before being dragged out of the event.

“He’s a paid protester, they’re all paid. They get paid by the lefties in order to destroy our country,” Trump said. “They’re scum but he’s going home to mom!”

Trump then mocked the protester’s appearance, saying: “Oh, he’s gotta’ go on a diet. He’s a fat guy, wow. Wow. Gotta’ go on a diet fast. We all do.”

He also repeated a familiar joke about protesters at his rallies, telling the crowd that their “mother and father voted for me.” The remark drew loud applause.

An even more violent confrontation unfolded earlier in the evening while Ohio Senator Jon Husted was speaking.

A man and a woman were seen being pulled away from the event. At one point, someone appeared to throw a punch.

The crowd erupted in approval as the pair were eventually escorted out of the arena.

Another protester, wrapped in a Mexican flag, was also escorted from the premises.

The Daily Mail has contacted the Ohio State Police for comment.

During the rally, Trump urged voters to support Senator Jon Husted and praised the former college football player’s athletic build.

The Ohio Republican is facing a strong challenge from former Senator Sherrod Brown.

Husted, who was appointed in 2024 to replace JD Vance after Vance ran for vice president, adopted the tone of a challenger as he criticized Brown’s decades in public office.

“He’s been in office for over 50 years. Can you name one thing he’s done to make your life better?” Husted asked the Youngstown crowd.

Brown first took office in 1975 as a member of the Ohio statehouse.

The Republican senator’s struggles in a state the president easily won in all three of his campaigns shows the challenges facing the GOP this election. 

Also facing a challenge in Ohio is former Presidential candidate and DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy. 

Ramaswamy is currently campaigning to become governor against Democrat Dr Amy Acton, the state’s former Covid-era health director.

Despite a massive fundraising lead and more than $12 million spent in campaign advertising, Ramaswamy is now locked in a close fight with Acton with weeks to go until Election Day.

A wealthy biotech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate, Ramaswamy’s star appeal among conservatives led to quick backing by Ohio Republicans and hopes of an easy victory in the Republican-dominated state. 

‘I’m so grateful to this state and to this country for giving a kid like me opportunities that would not have been available to my family in any other country on planet earth,’ Ramaswamy said at the rally ahead of Trump’s arrival, as he underscored the American dream for his Indian immigrant family.

He was given a boost by the President shortly after as Trump gave him a ringing endorsement, despite conceding that Ramaswamy was ‘nasty’ when they went head to head in the Republican primary.

Trump arrived in battleground state Ohio after a few days of campaigning in safe conservative territory.

The President has embarked on what he says will be a 32-day blitz ahead of the November 3 elections, hitting the deep red states of Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama this week. 

Brown, a 73-year-old Democrat, is mounting a comeback bid for his old Senate seat. He formerly served in Washington for three decades. 

The Daily Mail has reported that Brown’s claims that he’s fighting for Ohio farmers appear to be at odds with his support of Joe Biden’s American Rescue Act, and video unearthed by the Daily Mail showed him complaining about ‘black and brown’ people at the US Capitol. 

The seat is rated to be a ‘toss up’ by the Cook Political Report, and polling released in late September showed a tied race. 

Users of the prediction market Kalshi are betting for Brown to win, by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent.

Selma Blair had allegedly missed several doses of medication before a reported mid-air confrontation on Sunday.

The actress’s attorneys told the New York Post on Monday that Blair had also allegedly struck her head before the incident aboard a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York.

The 54-year-old actress was photographed leaving court Monday after being arraigned on two felony charges stemming from an alleged mid-air altercation involving airline employees and passengers.

Police officers and attorneys escorted Blair from the New York City courthouse, where reporters surrounded her after she posted bail.

According to Page Six, Judge Indira Khan set Blair’s bail at $20,000 in cash, or a $60,000 bond or partially secured bond, after she was arrested for allegedly attacking members of the flight crew aboard a Delta aircraft on Sunday, which left distressed pilots asking for ‘medical help’ as they landed.

She appeared before Judge Khan and faced two felony counts of second-degree assault. Prosecutors allege that she attacked a flight attendant and a Port Authority police officer.

The Daily Mail has contacted Blair’s attorneys and representatives for comment but has not received a response.

According to the outlet, Blair’s attorney Shawn Barnes told the court Monday: “This was not an intentional assault. Ms. Blair missed several doses of … a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms” associated with her multiple sclerosis.

Barnes said Blair had flown to New York City after a lengthy workday and was injured during the journey.

“Ms. Blair boarded this flight after being on set and working extensive hours and exhaustive hours in the days leading up to this flight,” Barnes said. “Additionally, at one point, during the flight, there was an incident where Miss Blair actually fell and hit her head.”

Barnes said the combination of those circumstances and the flight’s altitude left Blair in a condition of “severe confusion and disorientation.”

Another attorney representing Blair, Joshua Reitzas, described her as “the gold standard” and “someone we should look up to” because of “her body of work and what she’s done for people,” according to the outlet.

Judge Kahn responded that Blair “should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity,” the outlet reported.

Blair did not speak to reporters as she left court Monday after posting cash bail.

The judge ordered Blair to stay away from the nurse she allegedly attacked. A criminal complaint reviewed by the outlet also alleges that the actress kicked toward an officer.

The complaint alleges that Blair removed her leg from the straps of a stretcher and kicked toward the face, neck and chest of a Port Authority police officer while being transported by ambulance from Terminal 4 at JFK Airport.

After Blair was taken to Jamaica Hospital, she allegedly kicked a registered nurse in the chest, according to the legal complaint.

Both the nurse and the police officer reported being in pain after being attacked, prosecutors said, adding that the officer had a swollen jaw.

During the flight, authorities said that Blair struck a flight attendant and bit another one, leaving both with injuries, and one seeking medical treatment.

The New York Port Authority told The Daily Mail in a statement Monday, ‘On Sunday October 11 at approximately 11pm at JFK Airport, PAPD responded to a call about a physically abusive passenger aboard Delta Airlines flight 938 which was parked at the gate after arrival from LAX.

‘Suspect was identified as Selma Blair, a 54 year-old woman. She was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for evaluation.

‘Two flight attendants also reported injuries, and one was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. The FBI is investigating this incident. For further information please reach out the airline and the FBI.’

In an audio clip published by TMZ, Blair had been filmed while she was screaming as she was being removed from the aircraft. 

One of the flight attendants had bitemarks on their hands, while another dealt with a cut, sources told the outlet.

Sources told the outlet that it’s expected Blair will be charged federally with ‘assault committed within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,’ over the alleged incident on the plane, which could land her in custody for up to one year.

She also faces as many as two to seven years in custody in connection with the pair of felony assault charges in connection with the alleged attacks on the police officer and nurse, if convicted.

Blair’s representative told Page Six that the actress had been dealing with a medical emergency ahead of the alleged attack on the plane.

‘Upon landing, she received immediate medical attention and is currently in stable condition,’ the representative said.

A Delta representative told The Daily Mail that the company has ‘zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.’

Blair is slated for a hearing in the matter on January 19.

This is a breaking news story.