Bryan Cranston mourns RJ Mitte as the son he played opposite on Breaking Bad

Bryan Cranston is grieving RJ Mitte, the young actor who played his son Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad.

A father's farewell

Cranston posted a picture of the two of them alongside a heartfelt message. He opened by writing, "I'm in deep despair as I write this tonight."

He looked back on the day they met, when Mitte was only 14. Cranston praised his drive as an actor living with cerebral palsy and said he watched him grow up on set into a gifted performer and a champion for people with disabilities. He noted that Mitte was a star of a hit series while still being a kid.

Plans that never happened

Cranston shared that the two had been texting only a few weeks earlier about getting lunch. He wrote about the pain of knowing that meal will never happen and closed with a simple goodbye to the man he called his son.

Mitte died at 34. Sources say his death was a suicide and authorities are still looking into it. Off screen he worked to open more doors for performers with disabilities and pushed for better representation in Hollywood.

Podcast host Joe Vulpis saw Mitte only weeks before his death and remembered him as upbeat and one of the kindest people he had ever interviewed.

Cranston ended his post by encouraging anyone having thoughts of suicide to reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Anyone who is struggling or in crisis can get help by calling or texting 988 or by chatting at 988lifeline.org.