“Breaking Bad” actor dishes on life, career
The world’s favorite breakfast-eating son of a meth dealer, “Breaking Bad” actor RJ Mitte, spoke at Russell House last night about his career, motivations and growing up with cerebral palsy – his real-life disability that he played up for his role as Walt Jr. on the Emmy-sweeping series.
During his motivational speech, hosted by Carolina Productions, Mitte talked about his disability with a tone as humorous as it was informative. “Cerebral palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen to certain parts of the brain that effects muscle development and hand-eye-coordination – so don’t throw anything at me,” Mitte said with a laugh.
Before taking the stage, Mitte sat down with The Daily Gamecock to talk about women, turning 21 and what he would do if he found out his real dad was secretly an underground drug lord.
Daily Gamecock: How did you land a role on Breaking Bad?
RJ Mitte: I originally started acting when I was 13. My mom’s sister … she has bright red hair and got signed for a Lucille Ball campaign. We signed her with an agent, and I happened to be at the agency when she got signed. He asked if I was interested in acting and my mom was like “No, he knows nothing about acting, he has [cerebral palsy], there’s already enough negativity, just no,” then he asks me “Do you wanna do it?” And in LA, you act or you go to school or you join a gang and that’s about it. So I started taking acting classes and doing background on “Hannah Montana”, “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Weeds”. About 6 months later “Breaking Bad” auditions came up. I auditioned five times. Vince (Gilligan, the show’s creator) originally wrote it in memory of a friend who had CP and is now deceased. He wanted his memory to live on through the role. You never know if you’re gonna get it, they don’t even know what they want until they see it. Luckily, I was able to be a part of Vince’s vision.
DG: You have said that you seek roles that allow you to educate viewers about cerebral palsy. What do you hope to teach them?
RJM: The biggest thing for me is that I really want to see more disabled characters on television. Everybody has their challenges, everybody has their fights, everybody has their weaknesses and are fallible – but they don’t want to admit it. I want to teach people to say “Yes, I have this issue, but I’m not going to let it hold me back. I won’t allow my body to control me.” And in an accurate world of television, there will be more people with disabilities. When audiences see more people with disabilities on TV, it brings a normality to something people think is not normal.
DG: How much more attention have you gotten from the ladies since “Breaking Bad”?
RJM: I’m on “Switched at Birth” right now, so I get a lot more attention from girls that are like 15, and I’m just like where were you 5 years ago? (laughs) Was I not good enough for you then?
DG: Are you seeing anyone right now?
RJM: I am not. I work way too much. Long distance relationships suck, man. I was in a four year relationship when I first started “Breaking Bad” and it was long distance. I felt like Davie Jones, you know, how he can only come to land once every four years? That’s how I feel. Every once in a while I’d be like “Baby!” and give her a hug and be like “Okay I’m leaving, have a good night. See you in six months.” But Skype definitely helps that (laughs).
DG: If you found out your dad was a meth-dealing kingpin in real life, what would you do?
RJM: I’d ask for 50 percent (laughs). I don’t know, that’s the thing is people surprise you with what they’re capable of. I think I would do exactly what Walt Jr. did. No one knows until it hits how things are going to play out. And the thing about meth is that it’s a very destructive drug. All the people you saw Bryan (Cranston, “Walter White”) kill on screen is nowhere near the body count of all the people whose lives were ruined for using his methamphetamine. People don’t keep that in mind. But dude, who knows? My father could very well be — anyone’s could. No one knows until it happens.
DG: You turned 21 recently, how did you celebrate?
RJM: I went to Vegas with some friends of mine … I’m not a big Vegas fan. I don’t know why. I only gamble with my life (laughs). I definitely find that works out a lot better than cash. I’ve been good about that … putting it all in a pot. But The Palms threw my birthday party. They just opened a new bar called the Ghost Bar and they had a pool party for two days … whole nine yards … and it was a blast, but I find it’s a lot more fun to just have parties at your house and have all your friends there. You don’t have to go out and have all the bells and whistles — it’s nice, but at the end of the day, most of the people that go to them are predators. I don’t wanna deal with that drama.
DG: What would you be if you weren’t an actor?
RJM: I’d be fishing or hunting or something in that field. I work in my grandpa’s nonprofit organization called the Roy Frank Mitte Organization, so I’d be working for that, too. But we give a lot of grants and scholarships and stuff like that. But at the end of the day I have no idea where I’d be. I’d probably be on a boat.
DG: Who do you admire?
RJM: It is good to have people you look up to and believe in, but the issue with that is that they can always let you down and break your belief system. And when that happens, it’s not something that you can push to the side. It does a lot of damage. You have to believe in yourself and what you are capable of. If you have that belief system in yourself, you’re the only person that can let you down.
DG: You’ve talked about being bullied growing up. What kept you going?
RJM: When I grew up, I really didn’t have a hard life. I had a lot of friends and family that were very supportive of everything. They pushed me to the edge and kept me moving forward. But you are your own enemy. If you can create a better world for yourself, you can do anything. It’s all about pushing yourself. People think it’s really hard but it’s not. People will beat you down and you will be broken down, but if you’re able to surpass that and create something out of that, you can be magnificent.
DG: Some critics claim that “Breaking Bad” goes too far in showing viewers the production of meth. In regards to cable TV, what do you think is going too far?
RJM: We leave out about 20 steps. If you tried to base cooking meth off the show you’ll probably blow yourself up before actually making methamphetamine. It’s interesting when people say it goes too far. Do you not see the news? It’s happening everyday. I don’t think it goes far enough.
DG: What plans do you have — if any — to play a non-disabled person?
RJM: I’m always looking for new roles. I just finished a pilot for “Ups and Downs of Jack and Rose.” It’s like “Two and a Half Men” meets “Entourage.” I play the Charlie Sheen kind of role. But at the end of the day, as long as I’m working and keep from being bored, that’s all that matters to me.
DG: You’ve said that you want to get a degree in business someday. What are you doing to get that?
RJM: I can go back and get a degree, but right now, I really don’t need a degree. I can do anything on my own. I’m lucky enough to be at the point where I don’t need a piece of paper for people’s approval. I’m one of those people that learn by doing, not by watching.
DG: Have viewers ever said any nasty things about your disability?
RJM: All the time, man. People cut you down. In the business I’m in, you will always be under attack for the littlest of things, and you just have to move on from that.