He had said that his first audition in Los Angeles was for a California state public service announcement for an anti-meth commercial.
“Fast forward to auditioning for Breaking Bad, which is still, in my opinion, an anti-meth thing because it doesn’t end well for anyone,” he said on the Joe Vulpis Podcast earlier this month.
His character was based on the show’s creator Vince Gilligan’s late friend who had a more severe case of cerebral palsy and used forearm crutches, which Mitte did not require.
Mitte was seen as playing the role with honesty and accessibility, cracking jokes as a teen whose health condition was rarely mentioned in the series.
Breaking Bad aired on
US cable broadcaster AMC for five seasons from 2008-13.
After shooting to fame, Mitte fought for more varied roles and complex depictions of characters with disabilities, both visible and invisible.
“Whenever awards season rolls around, we always hope to see a diverse group of projects that reflect all of us, in body and mind,” he told the BBC in 2021.
