What Really Happened to RJ Mitte After Breaking Bad — And Why Hollywood Doesn't Cast Him Anymore

Breaking Bad made RJ Mitte a name plenty of us remember, and for good reason: his Walter White Jr. (aka Flynn) brought real heart to a show that was otherwise about people making very bad choices. If you feel like you have not seen him in a ton of big Hollywood stuff since, you are not imagining it. It is a mix of how the industry works, the kind of roles he gets offered, and what he actually wants to spend his time doing.

Why RJ Mitte is not headlining every other studio project right now

• Typecasting came fast after Breaking Bad. Mitte nailed a memorable character, which also meant a lot of executives started seeing him as one thing: the disabled teen. He has pushed back on that box in his own way, making it clear he is not interested in repeating the same role forever. Instead, he has diversified what he does — he DJs, he models, he does charity work — and keeps acting without letting one part define the rest of his career.
• Hollywood still offers limited roles for disabled actors. Mitte has cerebral palsy in real life, which informed his performance on Breaking Bad. That authenticity is a strength on screen, but the industry has historically handed the biggest gigs to non-disabled stars playing disabled characters (think Patrick Stewart as Professor X), while giving fewer opportunities to disabled actors themselves. The result: fewer high-profile roles to even compete for, and studios hedging their bets with the same handful of familiar faces.
• He puts real time into advocacy. Mitte has been vocal about inclusion, using whatever spotlight he has to push for broader access and better representation. He talks about progress but does not pretend the work is done:

  "I have seen a big change in the acting community with regards to inclusion and diversity. There's still a long way to go, but more people than ever before have been given a voice and access to roles. There are many different communities still needing help, so I urge everyone to get involved and do your best to listen to everyone's voice advocating for change."

  He has backed that up on screen too, including a stint on Switched at Birth, a show that actually made disability and Deaf culture part of its DNA.
• He prefers indie, off-the-radar projects. After Breaking Bad, Mitte did not pivot into blockbuster land. He gravitated to smaller films like House of Last Things and The Recall, and more recently played Fitz in Westhampton — a performance that drew strong notices from critics. Not the loudest path, but definitely the one he seems to like.
• He works behind the camera and outside TV/film too. Mitte has produced indie projects, including the 2021 film Triumph. He has modeled (yes, including a Vivienne Westwood runway in Spring 2016), and he has popped up in music videos: Dead Bite, Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World, If I Get High, and Never Really Know. It is a portfolio career by design, not a pause.
• The post-Breaking Bad jump is hard on purpose. Put the above together — disability bias in casting, a taste for indies, time spent on advocacy — and you get a career that does not track with the typical post-hit-series rocket ship. That does not mean he is idle; it means he is prioritizing what matters to him over chasing every studio lead.
• And the industry has shifted toward safer, pricier bets. Studios are even more obsessed with big IP and guaranteed returns than they were a decade ago. Breaking Bad was a storytelling swing that paid off. Today, those swings are rarer, which makes it tougher for someone like Mitte — who is not attaching himself to franchise behemoths — to get shoved to the front of the line.

Quick refresher on Breaking Bad

Vince Gilligan's five-season AMC series starred Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Giancarlo Esposito, and Bob Odenkirk. It is still sitting on sky-high scores (IMDb 9.5/10; Rotten Tomatoes 96%) and streaming on Netflix in the US if you feel like revisiting the empire business.

Bottom line: Mitte is working — just not always where Hollywood tends to look. If that means fewer blockbuster posters and more projects he actually cares about, that is a trade he seems comfortable making. What would you like to see him do next?