Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with RJ Mitte

RJ Mitte got his big break as Walter White Jr. on AMC’s critically-acclaimed series, Breaking Bad. Since then, he’s continued to build an illustrious career with projects spanning across film and television and has used his platform as an opportunity to build awareness for organizations and causes he’s deeply passionate about. He also has two exciting roles in films being released later this year that are on the pulse of everything we’re facing as a society: River Runs Red and All the Little Things We Kill, as well as a new Starz series, Now Apocalyse, slated for 2019. We sat down with RJ during New York Fashion Week to chat about his advocacy work, life after Breaking Bad, and his new projects.

PC: You’re in New York City for the Runway of Dreams’ Fashion Revolution. How did you get involved with the organization?
RJ: I’m a big believer in adaptability. At the end of the day, adaptability isn’t just for people that are disabled, it’s for everyone. I’ve always been a huge supporter of fashion, especially adaptive fashion. In the last five years, I’ve seen a big shift in the industry and seen the evolution of accessibility in clothing. People want to look and feel good. If you can get those two to work together, the result is great fashion. That same notion applies to people with disabilities. There’s no difference! You want to feel comfortable. You want to look good. You want to have a good style. When you have to tailor, cut, or modify your clothes, that’s fine, but when it’s your only option, it becomes monotonous. There’s a billion dollar industry that’s untapped. It’s time that more and more people realize that there’s a demand out there. They want it! It’s important to show this movement and that’s what Runway of Dreams is doing. They contacted me and were like, “Hey, we have this event. We would love for you to emcee and be a part of it.” I immediately said, “Of course,” and here we are bringing awareness to this movement.

The foundation does more than just get people clothes. They have programs. They provide scholarships and grants. They promote designers who focus on inclusion. They have adaptive-ware and other assets. It’s amazing to be a part of this foundation. I’ve worked with quite a few organizations like this, so when I see an organization that’s creating impact, I only hope that I can help!

PC: The organization’s mission is one of inclusion and creating opportunities, which aligns with the advocacy work you’ve done. When you started your career, did you always know you wanted to use your platform to bring awareness and for social good?
RJ: You know, I think it comes hand in hand when you work in this industry. You have the ability to bring awareness. You have the ability to bring light to certain situations. Growing up, I saw the importance of advocacy and being an advocate for everyone. I’m very lucky that I grew up with that mentality and was given a platform because of Breaking Bad. It’s put me in a position where I can bring awareness and light to numerous situations.

PC: Another organization that you work with is Shriner’s Hospital. Together, you’ve launched the #CuttheBull campaign. Can you tell us about that?
RJ: Of course! I grew up with Shriner’s Hospital. I went to them as a kid and I wanted to get involved with them again. We created a campaign called “Cut the Bull”, which is for peer support. It’s about stepping up when you see someone being bullied; it’s about being that first person. It’s so important to set that tone and trend when you see things happening. I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the ground and I’ve seen the slow strides towards change. It’s possible!

I also sit on the board of quite a few other foundations. There’s such a need for advocacy. Education is key. With organizations like Runway of Dreams and what they’re doing with this event, it’s about putting it out there, being represented in the public, and seeing real work happen.

PC: You’ve built this platform largely due to your starring role in Breaking Bad, but, we read that you didn’t have any aspirations to become an actor. What was it about that experience that’s led you down this path?
RJ: There’s so much to that. I think what’s led me to where I am today is that once you’re in the business, you’re in it. You can never leave it and it will never leave you. So, when you get on a show like Breaking Bad, you’ll always have that. I realized this is my path. It’s the path that I started walking down, and I’m still walking it. I’m headfirst. I like to keep going and look up every once in a while to appreciate the view. There are a lot of facets to this career. There are parts of my job that I’m not particularly fond of, but there are parts that I love. I see the impact when I get to work with kids with disabilities and terminal illnesses. It keeps me going and motivated when I see that impact. It’s rare to find a job like this!

PC: Is it a challenge when you’re well-known for a particular role?
RJ: It’s a double-edged sword! People recognize me from other shows and films, but more often than not it’s Breaking Bad, and that’s great. It’s a challenge when you’re trying to branch out and you haven’t really done much before that project. People have a hard time correlating that into other projects, but it just takes time. Without the show, I wouldn’t be here. Without it, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to emcee this event.

PC: You have two movies coming out this year: River Runs Red and All the Little Things That We Kill! What can you tell us about both projects?
RJ: I can tell you that they’re both very controversial. Both have relevance in everything from police brutality to gun control. These films are really relevant to what we’re going through as a society and the issues we have and are facing. River Runs Red stars John Cusack, Ty Williams, George Lopez, Luke Hemsworth, and an amazing cast of individuals. I only worked two days on the project, but we had a lot of fun doing it, so I’m excited to see what ends up happening. It definitely has a strong message. All the Little Things We Kill is going to be a film that either people are going to love or one that I’m going to get death threats about. [laughs] It’s going to be one of the two. It has a great up-and-coming cast. It takes place in a university and it was a blast working with actors who are around my age. I also have a new show coming out next year called Now Apocalypse. I’m so excited for that to come out!

PC: What can you tell us about that?
RJ: Now Apocalypse takes place in Los Angeles. Gregg Araki, who wrote and directed Kaboom, is one of the writers and directors. Steven Soderbergh is the executive producer. I’ve been so lucky in my career where I’ve done a lot of projects that are avant-garde. They’re quirky and fun and this project is no different. It’s a dark comedy—it’s absolutely wild. The problem is, with projects like this, if I give any information away, I’ll give away the whole plot!

PC: As an actor are you attracted more to those roles and is there something you’re really looking forward to doing in the future that you haven’t done thus far?
RJ: Yeah! There’s a lot of stuff that I haven’t done yet that I’m looking forward to doing in the future. I like quirky roles. I like real roles that have relevance to what’s going on in our society. I’ve been incredibly lucky that I get mostly those types of roles, but I’m always looking for the next project.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
RJ: I’m re-watching Game of Thrones. The new season is coming out soon, so I’ve been going over to a friend’s house and we have a Game of Thrones night. We drink a bunch of wine and yell, “My Liege, fill my glass!” [laughs]

PC: Favorite book?
RJ: I feel like I haven’t really read a good book in a while. I’m in the middle of reading a script right now that a friend of mine wrote. I’ve been doing some advisory stuff for scripts, so more on the corporate advisory level kind of reading and breaking down and stuff like that. A lot of my book reading is script reading.

PC: Will we see you diving into the world of writing?
RJ: I’m actually in the middle of writing a book. I’ve been working on it for about five years now, so we’ll see. Hopefully in the next six months, we’ll be able to have a real conversation with the public about the book that I’ve been writing. I also have a lot of other content that I’ve been working on. I have well over 20-30 scripts that I’ve helped co-write or written myself. I’ve been sitting on them over the last decade, so I’m trying to figure out what to do and how to present them because it’s very hard to present projects properly. Two things can happen: the first is it’s taken away from you because you don’t really know anything and the second is that it does really well and people protect you. I’m in the middle ground of both. I’m trying to figure out how to pitch this and what I can do with it.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
RJ: I do have a favorite. I like Les Misérables. That’s one of my favorite plays/musicals. Of course, Phantom of the Opera is amazing as well, and I just saw my friend do The Porno Awards Musical, which was hilarious. I have quite a few friends that do plays. I like plays. I go see a lot of musicals and plays and the most recent one I saw, like I mentioned, was The Porno Awards Musical. It was really funny and they’re actually working on being picked up in Vegas.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
RJ: I don’t know whether it’s a surprise or not…actually, just scroll and pick one! [laughs]

PC: Katy Perry!

Keep up with RJ and all his projects by following him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.