RJ Mitte’s mother reveals reason she didn’t speak at son’s funeral
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Actor RJ Mitte’s mother has revealed why she chose not to speak at her son’s funeral following his tragic death by suicide last Monday. He was 34.
Dyna Mitte attended her son’s funeral last Friday but told The Hollywood Reporter she was too distraught to stand up and speak in front of all those who turned out to remember RJ.
Actor RJ Mitte and his mother Dyna Mitte. Michael Buckner/Getty
“It’s hard enough to plan a funeral or a celebration of life – to know that you’re waking up without your son or daughter and will never see or hear them again,” Dyna said.
“I’m in a slightly different situation because I can watch his movies or listen to his speeches, but that in itself is overwhelming.
“To then stand up and share all of that with people was not something I felt prepared to do on that particular day.”
RJ’s younger sister Lacianne Carriere spoke at his funeral instead, though Dyna confessed it was a difficult undertaking for her devastated daughter.
Dyna said they didn’t know if Carriere would speak until the moment arrived.
She added that there were so many people who loved RJ deeply and could have spoken at his funeral, but said the family wanted to choose those who shared the most meaningful relationships with him.
Dyna is certain that RJ was watching over the service and heard every kind word from his sister, family and friends that day.
RJ was best known for his role as Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad, which ran from 2008 to 2013. He was 16 when the show started airing.
Mitte’s Breaking Bad co-star and on-screen dad Bryan Cranston, who played Walter White on the series, shared a gut-wrenching tribute to Instagram.
Cranston revealed a text he’d sent to Mitte before his passing. Getty
“He parlayed his experience on the show to be a vocal advocate for performers with disabilities, and was the head of a philanthropic organisation with a focus on helping the disabled community,” he wrote.
“All that promise and potential now is such a loss. It is especially devastating to hear that he took his own life. Why?“
Cranston said he’d texted Mitte just weeks ago, figuring out when they 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…” he wrote.
As well as acting, RJ was a prominent disability advocate in the US and spoke openly about his own experiences living with cerebral palsy.
RJ Mitte and fiancee Kennedy Suarez pictured in November 2025. Getty
Prior to his death, RJ was engaged to Kennedy Suarez and Dyna recently confirmed there was some tension between the couple and RJ’s family.
“I will tell you there was some of that going on. That was part of the struggle. I’m not going to lie about that,” she told NBC News.
“We’re a very tight, close-knit family, and that was weighing on him heavy. And I’m not going to go into the details why that ultimatum was being given, because it’s, again, not anything I could control.”
Mitte is survived by his fiancee, parents, and younger sister Lacianne.
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