“I am not in danger. I am the danger.” – Walter White,Breaking Bad
RJ Mitte, Walter Jr. in Breaking Bad, threatens the pejorative perceptions of individuals with disabilities. In August 2016, Mitte spoke with the “Irish Examiner" and stated, “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. 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.”
Mitte’s television presence inspires individuals with disabilities; he plays a
role that does not focus on his disability. In Breaking Bad, Walter Jr. has cerebral
palsy, the same condition that Mitte has. Even though his case of CP is milder
than that of Walter Jr., Mitte has taken his limelight as an opportunity to draw
attention to the need for more, disabled actors to be cast as disabled characters.
The differently abled acting population can clearly do more than represent their
disabilities. Mitte was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award of “Outstanding
Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series” in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He finally
won the award in 2014. Mitte also co-presented in the 2016 Paralympics. He believes
that the event and his involvement in it had a positive effect on improving attitudes
towards disability.
Mitte shows that he is only going to continue his production appearances. After
Breaking Bad ended in 2013, he procured roles in the popular television series
Switched at Birth(2014) and Robot Chicken (2016); films, Dixieland (2015), Who’s
Driving Doug (2016), Triumph (2016), The Recall (2017), and Adi Shankar’s Gods
and Secrets (2017). Be sure to watch for him in these films and other appearances!