Breaking Bad's RJ Mitte shares about journey, obstacles during lecture

When RJ Mitte was a child, he had leg braces and sometimes casts on his legs. He considered this a normal part of life until he went to school and was bullied because of his cerebral palsy, which he was diagnosed with at the age of 3.

Kids at school would point his leg braces out to him, but he didn’t let this stop him from achieving his goal of becoming a well-known actor.

Popular for his role as Walter White Jr. in AMC's "Breaking Bad," Mitte spoke about “Overcoming Adversity: Turning a Disadvantage into an Advantage” on March 21 in Pruis Hall.This was part of the Excellence in Leadership lecture series.

Mitte's career in acting began after his younger sister started out in 2005. His mother took her to an agent and brought him along, too. While there, the agent asked Mitte if he wanted to act as well — he's been doing it ever since. 

The entertainment industry has not always been so willing to hire actors with disabilities. Mitte said that a disability means a liability for a job. People were afraid that he was going to break bones while on set.

“When you are a business owner and you see someone with a physical disability or you see something wrong, they look at that as a liability. And I think the hardest thing is reminding them that a disability is not a liability; it’s a strength. It’s knowledge. It’s an opportunity for you,” Mitte said.

Now, years after having to put up with school bullies and building his acting career, Mitte is a spokesperson for many different advocacy groups, such as the National Disability Institute’s Real Economic Impact Tour, I AM PWD, United Cerebral Palsy and PACER’s National Center for Bullying Prevention. 

“If you have a true platform and you have something that you can actually communicate with people about and be on the same level and actually utilize that, then I think you should take advantage of that,” Mitte said.

Mitte told the attendees to never settle and to always fight for their goals and beliefs.

"You should never settle because now is not the best time that it is ever going to be your lifetime... you don’t need to live in fear and intimidation,” Mitte said.

Mitte shared his experience with bullies throughout his life and told the audience that everyone has a choice of how they will affect people, and it’s up to them to decide whether that will be a negative or a positive effect.

“You don’t have to be afraid of a bully. Bullies really don’t have any strength; it’s all fluff. A lot of times they are weak-minded individuals who are suffering in their own way,” Mitte said.

Mitte also used interesting comparisons throughout the lecture to convey his message.

“We’re all on the same sinking ship, just some people are deeper in the water than others — or grab a door, whatever,” Mitte said in an interview with student media.

During the lecture, Mitte talked about how everyone has a disability, or a challenge that we have to overcome in our lifetime.

“We all have these disabilities. Some can be physical, mental, family, friends, things in life, or objects that are blocking us. That’s what a disability is. I think that they’re all there to show us who we really can become or what we’re going to do with our life,” Mitte said.

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