View full sizeRJ Mitte, after finishing his bowl of soup at Mother's Bistro & Bar, in downtown Portland.As he digs into a bowl of matzoh ball soup at Mother's Bistro & Bar, RJ Mitte looks like a typical youthful Portlander, casually dressed in hoodie and knit cap, with an easygoing attitude.
But fans of AMC's Emmy-winning TV series
might do a double take. On that ingeniously twisted show, the dark-haired, 18-year-old plays
son of the show's protagonist, chemistry teacher
). But this is no lighthearted family saga. After receiving a diagnosis of Stage III cancer, Cranston's character reacts in a wildly unconventional manner: To provide for his family, he secretly becomes a kingpin of the methamphetamine trade.
And it gets crazier from there. But Mitte, in Portland filming a movie for about four weeks, says the "Breaking Bad" cast and crew have a good time making the show -- despite its violent and dark tendencies. Mitte says playing the role of Walter Jr. is important to him because the character, like Mitte, has cerebral palsy. Mitte has a mild form of the condition.
He says winning the role was a matter of right part, right actor, right time. "There's a perfect role for anybody."
Mitte, his mother and sister all moved to Los Angeles in 2006 because his little sister, Lacianne Carriere, was interested in show business. Once there, "I took some acting classes to meet kids my own age," says Mitte, who spent his early years in Texas and Louisiana. Working with talent manager Addison Witt, who was overseeing Lacianne's career development, Mitte auditioned for "Breaking Bad."
He got the job and has been with the show since it premiered in 2008. Filming is expected to resume in New Mexico early next year, for the fourth season.
In addition to acting, Mitte says he stays busy with appearances and events that bring attention to the lack of inclusion in media of people with disabilities. While there are an estimated 56 million Americans with disabilities, only a fraction of characters in entertainment are shown with disabilities. And the number of performers with disabilities is also small, Mitte says.
"We're trying to talk to casting directors," he says, "to inform them and raise awareness."
Mitte recently returned from Los Angeles for the Media Access Awards, which recognizes members of the entertainment industry who contribute to raising the profile of those with disabilities. This year's winners, for example, included "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan, for featuring realistic characters with disabilities; and "Glee," for diverse casting of actors with disabilities.
Mitte is glad to see actors such as Robert David Hall, who co-stars on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and is an amputee who moves with the aid of prosthetics; Lauren Potter, who has Down syndrome, as Becky, one of coach Sue Sylvester's loyal cheerleaders on "Glee"; and Sue's sister, Jean, played by Robin Trocki, who also has Down syndrome.
But he wishes there were many more examples. Seeing actors with disabilities, Mitte says, "brings real life to a show." His character on "Breaking Bad" is an example of how to include such a character.
"You don't have to keep bringing up that he has a disability," Mitte says. "It's just there."
Mitte is also a spokesperson for the organization,
, which stands for Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities.
But, in addition to being an actor and advocate, Mitte is still an 18-year-old. Ask him what he likes about show business, and he says, "Traveling. The money." Oh, and "You get to work with very interesting people."
Among them, he says, are his cast mates in the movie he has been working on in Portland the past several weeks.
is described on the film's website (
) as "a supernatural thriller-drama." The tale centers on a house owned by a classical music critic, who travels abroad and leaves the home in the care of a young, female housesitter. Her younger brother, Tim, also comes to stay at the house.
Mitte plays Tim, and though the movie's website says his character finds himself "caught in a netherworld between hallucination and reality," Mitte can't much reveal anything else about the story. "Tim's world is kind of like Walt's world," he says. "It gets turned upside down."
Shooting was expected to wrap today, and Mitte has enjoyed being in Portland -- even if, he says, the one-way streets are a weird change from Southern California.
Mitte regularly gives talks to young people interested in acting. He knows it can be a tough profession for anyone. "I think the best part is it teaches you to deal with rejection," he says. To avoid the unhealthy excesses of the showbiz world, Mitte says you need to be surrounded by trusted people. "The people that you have around you are your biggest influence."
Mitte says he's looking forward to starting the fourth season of "Breaking Bad." "I like to work," he says, but he can't reveal much about what to expect there, either.
"I have a feeling it's going to be a rough year for the White family."
How much rougher can it get?
"Wait till you see," he says with a smile. "Wait till you see."
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