‘Breaking Bad’ Star RJ Mitte ‘Working On Music Career’
Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte, who played Walter Jr. — a.k.a. Flynn — on the award-winning series, has revealed that he is hoping to launch a music career. The 21-year-old Louisiana native said he has started learning to play instruments with the hope of playing in a band.
“I’m working on it right now – we’ll see what happens,” Mitte told Digital Spy at the MTV EMAs. “I’m learning guitar, I’m learning piano.”
RJ Mitte confessed that he has been having some difficulty learning to play instruments. Like his character on Breaking Bad, Mitte has cerebral palsy, which affects body movement, muscle control and coordination, posture, and balance.
“I have a bit of an issue as I only have one good hand and one good ear, but I’m slowly getting over it one day at a time,” Mitte said. “We’ll see what happens. I love music. My house is constantly filled with music – from vinyl to the thousands and thousands of songs on my hard drive.”
RJ Mitte also confirmed that he will not be involved in the upcoming Breaking Bad spinoff, tentatively titled Better Call Saul.
“The spin-off is going to a prequel to the show, so it will be before my time,” he said.
However, Bob Odenkirk, who will reprise his role as sleazy strip mall lawyer Saul Goodman, recently revealed that the spinoff may be a hybrid — part prequel, part sequel.
“I’ve talked to Vince [Gilligan] and Peter [Gould], who are writing and creating the series, about this and I’ve said that a lot of people do want to see what happens to next to Saul,” Odenkirk said. “So, I don’t know what they’re going to do. I know they’ve talked about prequel, but they’ve also talked to me about sequel, and they’ve also talked to me about a mix of prequel and sequel.”
Gilligan, who created Breaking Bad, said he wants to bring stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul back for the spinoff, and that both men — as well as a few others from the original series — have expressed an interest in returning. But Gilligan also admitted that he had some trepidation about the new series.
“There’s obviously a danger inherent in doing a spinoff, but I just love the character of Saul Goodman so much, and part of me doesn’t want to say no to this world,” Gilligan said. “We’ve had to find the ongoing itch that Saul needs to scratch, so to speak, or else we wouldn’t have much of a show.”
As for Cranston and Paul’s involvement, Gilligan said, “Personally, I’d have a hard time resisting putting all these guys in for a cameo or two every now and then.”
If Better Call Saul does end up being part sequel and part prequel, there is a possibility that Walter Jr. could make an appearance. But for now, RJ Mitte has already found a new role post-Breaking Bad.
“I’m working on a show at the moment called Switched At Birth,” Mitte said. “It’s really good. I’ve had a lot of support from the disabled community and I’m so happy to be involved with it.”
RJ Mitte will play Campbell, a pre-med college student hurt in a snowboarding accident on the third season of ABC Family’s Switched at Birth. The third season premieres January 13, 2014.
[Photo credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]
