A year before RJ Mitte died by suicide Monday, the Breaking Bad actor admitted in an interview that he lost most of his earnings from the acclaimed TV show due to the actions of a former business manager who allegedly pocketed money that was supposed to go to paying his taxes.
The 34-year-old Mitte, who also was a disability rights activist, opened up on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast in November 2025 about hiring the business manager. He said he was a teenager at the time and wanted help managing the money he was earning from the Emmy-winning show.
“I wanted to protect my funds. I was 17, 18,” explained Mitte. The Mississippi native played the teenage son of Bryan Cranston’s chemistry teacher-turned meth kingpin throughout all five seasons of Breaking Bad, which ran from 2008 to 2013. Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a young child, and his character, Walter “Flynn” White Jr., also had the condition.
“Everyone’s kind of pushing me to make sure that I have a proper accountant,” said Mitte, who began working on the show at age 14.
But instead of providing proper advice, the manager left Mitte with a financial nightmare that took him the next decade to pay off, costing him more in taxes than he earned from the AMC show, as he revealed to podcast hosts Graham Stephan and Jack Selby.
Mitte died by suicide Monday at his home in Brownsville, Texas, his representative confirmed to People magazine.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte,” the actor’s rep previously said in a statement announcing his death.
On The Iced Coffee Hour, Mitte emphatically denied earning millions of dollars from the show.
For one thing, Mitte said he eventually had “a team” of people working for him. “I was paying to keep my career going. Everything went back into the business,” he said.
Mitte’s team included a business manager, whom he hired after hearing stories of other young actors running into financial trouble.
But Mitte’s nightmare began when it came time to pay federal income tax. The actor, who had previously managed his money, said he would write a check to pay the Internal Revenue Service. But he said the money didn’t go to the IRS.
“She didn’t lose it,” Mitte said about the business manager. “She was just siphoning funds. I write a check to pay my taxes. And instead of her using it to pay my taxes, she would send me a fake tax filing and take that money.”
The business manager’s actions ultimately left him responsible for the unpaid taxes and years of accumulated interest, he told the hosts.
“The IRS doesn’t really care about you,” he said. “They only care that you make sure that you’re paying it.”
Mitte told the podcast hosts he eventually discovered he was far from the only person affected. He later found 14 other actors who had allegedly been scammed by the same business manager, including several actors with disabilities.
Mitte said it was impossible to pursue a case against the manager, in part because the money was routed through offshore accounts.
“She’s still around. It’s very common,” he said about her alleged mismanagement of his money.
But on the podcast, Mitte was surprisingly philosophical about the situation. “It was a rough thing,” he admitted. But he also said, “It was a lesson learned.”
Mitte said the situation taught him to become pretty savvy about handling his money. Like other artists, he also considered turning this painful life experience into art. “I’m writing a show on this,” Mitte said. – The Mercury News/TNS
Those contemplating suicide can reach out to the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935/014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999/019-261 5999 on WhatsApp); Jakim’s family, social and community care centre (011-1959 8214 on WhatsApp); or Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929/email sam@befrienders.org.my/befriender centres in malaysia).
