CineSol Film Festival

10/13/2026

The Mitte Cultural District will be hosting a vigil Friday morning in memory of RJ Mitte, the actor and disability-rights activist, who died in Brownsville on Monday.

10/13/2026

10/13/2026

RJ Mitte.

This one is different.

The death of a celebrity can be surprisingly painful. Even if you have never met them, your feelings about them are real. Their movies, music, career, tv shows contribute to your happiness. And they can also help you through a difficult time. And sometimes they can inspire.

RJ is different. He was born with cerebral palsy, but that didn’t stop him. He went on to portray Walter White Jr on Breaking Bad. He advocated for persons with disabilities and proper representation.

RJ is different. He wasn’t born in Brownsville, but growing up, he spent his summers here. When he recently moved to Brownsville, he took a more active role in the Mitte District and the Mitte Foundation, who are named after his grandfather. The Mitte District supports art, artists, and preserves Brownsville history.

RJ is different. When we first reached out to RJ to be our film festival guest at South Padre Island in 2019, we were nervous and in awe that we were communicating with Walter White Jr. He was nice, courteous, friendly, helpful, and eager to help us. He helped with the press conference. He posed with the Breaking Bread vendor table. He signed pictures and autographs for everybody.

RJ is different. In 2023, he started Mitte in Motion in Brownsville. It was an annual arts festival which brought professional artists and entertainment industry talent. It brought acting and filmmaking workshops from many of his friends in the industry to the aspiring minds of the youth of Brownsville.

RJ is different. We invited RJ to appear at our film festival in Mission in 2022. He was more than willing to appear at our festival. By then, we had become friends. At our film festival at Texas Southmost College in 2025, we screened a movie that he starred in. Westhampton was written and directed by Christian Nilsson and starred RJ Mitte. Westhampton went on to win Best Feature at our film festival in 2025.

RJ is different. We would always run into him whether it be at the Crossroads Festival in Brownsville, a meet and greet at 80s Brewery in McAllen, South Texas Comic Con in McAllen, and of course we would see him every year at Mitte in Motion in Brownsville. He always had a smile on his face. He was always willing to take pictures. He was always happy to meet his fans.

RJ is different. RJ is our friend. And we miss him.

10/13/2026

Breaking Bad actor and philanthropist RJ Mitte, president of the Mitte Foundation, has died at age 34 in Brownsville, police confirmed to Channel 5 News.

10/13/2026

10/13/2026

I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight. RJ Mitte, my sweet son on Breaking Bad has died.
I met him when he was only 14 years old when he was cast as Walter White Jr., a part he played with such joy and enthusiasm.
Born with Cerebral Palsy, he never - ever - allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination.
Always listening to the advice that his TV parents (Anna Gunn and myself) gave him - but being a teenager, sometimes mischievously ignoring the counsel in order to learn the hard way… He was one of the stars of a hit TV show - but still a kid.
That kid was pretty raw when we started shooting the pilot in February of 2007, but little by little we watched him grow into a really fine actor. He parlayed his experience on the show to be a vocal advocate for performers with disabilities, and was the head of a philanthropic organization with a focus on helping the disabled community.
All that promise and potential now is such a loss.
It is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life.
Why?
We were texting each other just a few weeks ago - figuring out when we could meet for lunch. I don’t know if that lunch would have changed his future…
But I do know that I loved him, and thoroughly enjoyed being with him throughout the years on the series, and after the spotlight on Breaking Bad dimmed…
I’ll miss you, son.

I can’t stop there without imploring anyone who is contemplating su***de to please call for the support you need at 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline (https://988lifeline.org/). There is hope.

10/12/2026

Actor RJ Mitte, of Brownsville, has died at 34, according to a statement from the Mitte Cultural District.

10/12/2026