Breaking Bad's RJ Mitte Takes New York Fashion Week
*By Conor White*
For five seasons, actor RJ Mitte embodied Walt Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston's Walter White, protagonist (and antagonist, for that matter) of AMC's beloved series "Breaking Bad."
Mitte's performance as a teen dealing with cerebral palsy seemed incredibly real ー mostly because the actor was dealing with the issue himself. The now 26-year-old was diagnosed with motor disability CP when he was three, but when he first became a public figure, he shied away from becoming an advocate.
"I try to normalize what my disability is and what cerebral palsy is," Mitte said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
The actor is now the official ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy organization, but he said he's still treading carefully. Disabilities, he added, should be normalized, not marginalized.
"It shouldn't be something that is abnormal," he said. "It shouldn't be something special ー it is special, but it shouldn't be something that is out of the norm and that taboo thing."
Mitte is helping kick off New York Fashion Week on Wednesday evening. He will emcee the Runway of Dreams Foundation's "Fashion Revolution" show, which will preview "adaptive" clothing constructed for those with disabilities. Mitte's personal love of fashion made the event a natural fit for him, and it's the kind of cause he's been searching for.
"I've always tried to take my advocacy and not glorify it," he said. "Not put it first before my other careers."
The former "Breaking Bad" star insists on being fully committed to any cause he chooses. And at this point in his career, he's very selective.
Mitte's reasoning is simple.
"People always say, 'Look at me I'm an advocate!' But are you an advocate? Do you really go and do these things?"
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/former-breaking-bad-star-rj-mitte-breaks-good).
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