r/joebuddennetwork • u/highfrequencies11 • 2d ago

Breaking Bad star died by suicide

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Mental health is real smh yall check up on your loved ones. Depression is no joke.

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6

u/FindingAwake 2d ago

Didn't this poor kid get all of his money fleeced too?

Awful. This sucks.

1

u/Throw-A-Weigh_ 2d ago

What? Never heard about that.

6

u/FindingAwake 2d ago

Sorry for the copy paste job but it's true :(

RJ Mitte (who played Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad) did not become wealthy from the show and actually ended up with severe financial losses and debt due to a combination of lower early-season pay, high expenses, and major fraud. [1, 2, 3]

Earnings and Financial Breakdown

  • Per-Episode Pay: Mitte reportedly earned around $8,000 to $25,000 per episode (with estimates ranging up to roughly $30,000 per episode in later seasons), significantly less than adult lead co-stars like Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul.
  • Reinvestment and Costs: He stated that much of his earnings went into maintaining his team, covering career overhead, and reinvesting in his business operations.
  • Manager Fraud & Tax Debt: A corrupt business manager siphoned off funds meant for IRS tax payments over a five-year period while providing him with fake tax filings. Because taxpayers remain legally responsible for owed taxes despite manager fraud, Mitte accumulated massive back taxes with 17% compound interest—ultimately paying out more in taxes and debt than he netted from the entire run of the series, which took him 10 years to resolve. [1, 2, 3, 4]

4

u/Excellent_Math2052 2d ago

I mean, he did way, way way less work that Bryan or Aaron so I feel like that’s not a fair comparison.

Regardless, social safety nets and help should be way better. I’m so so sad thinking about how he must have felt. As someone so low right now I often think of how horrifying it is the feel like this and, well, if this is what people feel before the commit and how I wish I could take away their fear.

7

u/FindingAwake 2d ago

He was paid well for what he did, no doubt, but someone took all of his tax money, and our government charged him 17 percent interest.

I would be surprised if this didn't play into his decision to end his life. It's hard, as an actor, to not get type cast. His disability probably put him in a lot of roles that were beneath him as an artist. He had a tough life, despite the breaking bad success.

4

u/Excellent_Math2052 2d ago

Yes surely he did. I never understood why someone would react to a shitty situation (like losing a job or money or something) with suicide like, if they had options, if they didn’t ask for help, but now I fear it’s that they are feeling like how I feel, horrified at their perception of reality, and then the shitty straw breaks the shitty back. Still, I know it’s weird but I know they say sometimes before people commit they are actually happy and relieved and high because they know their suffering will end soon and it’s in their control and that makes a lot more sense to me. I don’t even know how bad suicide is anyway but surely I am happier with the thought that someone is relieved by it and not, in the depths of despair. That idea is horrifying and I hate it and I wish we could save each other… that someone would save us.

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u/HippoRun23 2d ago

Yeah. I’ve never been a depressed person, but the last two years have really hurt me. Just everything from money to relationships. I can much easier see how people make the choice to end it.

Not saying I would, I’ve got kids and they’d be devastated. But goddamn it’s clearer to me now.

1

u/Excellent_Math2052 1d ago

It hurts huh. The knowing hurts.

2

u/HippoRun23 1d ago

The knowing def hurts. Hang in there, stranger.

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u/HippoRun23 2d ago

That is absolutely fucking horrible.