RJ MITTE: “I find that we all have an obligation if we are in the public eye to our community, to our environment, and to raise awareness for others who cannot”
FANTASIACLAPPER: The Oak Room is a very dark and gritty film, and it’s surely a far cry from your breakout role in Breaking Bad. What originally drew you to starring in this project?
RJ MITTE: I like dramas, I like dark and gritty [stories], and I've grown up with dark and gritty in my life and it was no different when it came to this script, and it was unique. It's a movie adapted from a play, which had many facets of characters all really being one character (or not, however you want to take it) but it was a unique role and a lot of fun at the time, and I was looking for a role just like this, so it just worked out perfectly.
In the film, your character Steve has recently lost his father, and he turns out to be hiding quite a few things from the audience. How did you approach playing such a complex and layered character, and did you have any say in fleshing out the version of this character that was adapted from the play?
We all had a say in our actions, but we did show respect to the story itself because it was such an intricate story with much depth in different areas. But, I think everyone has lived the same life as Steve, where you don't know everything about it, and we've all experienced a loss in one capacity or another, we're still trying to reconcile our past and our future. I think that’s something that is a unique part of this story and this character that I think we can all resonate with.
Your director for this film, Cody Calahan, has proven to be a distinct voice in horror over the past few years. What was the atmosphere on that set like and how was it like working with Cody Calahan on The Oak Room?
It was really great. It was just a warm and welcoming and light [atmosphere] for such a dark and dreary film, and I think that was something that he brought to every set. He's just such a well-rounded director and creator, and it was a good environment.
You’ve had quite a successful career in both the world of broadcast television as well as independent films like The Oak Room. How do you find the process of each medium and which do you prefer?
I like them both equally in different facets because they both challenge me in different ways and they're competing for different audiences in different categories. So, I think it's all depending on the time and the place where you jump into mediums and I think personally I like to continue to push forward and not look back and this was another step of pushing forward and not looking back. That's all we can hope for when it comes to creating stories and showing stories and highlighting things and bringing awareness. You just gotta keep pushing into it and see what the outcome turns.
As Walt Jr. in Breaking Bad, you had to dramatize your own disability due to the nature of the character. What was it like having to exaggerate a disability you’ve been living with your whole life?
It was something I knew very well. The crutches did the majority of the work for me because people are very visual and people, when they see crutches, they don't really see past it. So, I think the biggest thing was making my character more than just the disability and have the ability to show [Walt Jr.'s] life going through changes and opportunities.
In your transition to the big screen, you had your first major roles that weren’t centered around your disability in films like Dixieland, Time Share, and now, The Oak Room. What has it been like making that transition from Walt Jr. to playing more able-bodied characters?
You know I don't really think about it. I enjoy just portraying the characters and embodying them. It's nice to be able to highlight disability, and it's nice not to. I think it was a good opportunity to just not have that label or those types of aspects for the character so it would make my life easier.
You started acting at a very early age. Would you elaborate on your journey to landing your first roles? Did you face any level of stigma or rejections due to your disability?
I think everyone faces stuff like this. I think it's not really something that we don't go through, you know? Some face it more than others. But I think we all have challenges. We all have stigmas and we can either let them define us or we can define them for ourselves, and I've done my best my whole life to not let the opinions and views of others sway who I am as an individual.
As someone who also has Cerebral Palsy, I know that many of us have to go through lots of treatments and physical and occupational therapy plans in order to strengthen our affected extremities and reduce tightness and spasticity as much as possible. As a child, what treatments and exercises did you go through to ensure that you could live your life as independently as possible, and have you continued to do any of those treatments or exercises to this day?
Yeah, I wasn't diagnosed until I was three years old. My family knew there was something wrong, but they couldn't diagnose me. They would take me to doctors and tests but I always passed them and it wasn't till I was three that I got diagnosed at Shriners Hospital for Children, and from that I started physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, training exercises, yoga, and different stretching. When it comes to therapy, you name it and I went through it. I've done everything from basic Occupational and Physical Therapy, to holistic, to acupuncture, to different diets and different exercises and I think for everyone, every body is different, but you just need to find out what works for you, and then maintain it. People don't realize it, but I believe cerebral palsy is an opportunity for people to understand the human body in ways that we never could because we never explore it. We would never understand it [in that way] because who would, right? Why would anyone care if no one has this? I think it provides people the opportunity to learn and to show what the body can do and heighten what the body can do even further.
As your career took off, you’ve used your prominent voice as a platform to raise awareness for disabled representation, becoming an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy, helping create anti-bullying campaigns like Cut The Bull, and becoming a lead member of the committee of I Am A Performer with Disabilities. What inspired you to take these initiatives, and can you talk a bit more about what you do with those organizations as well as other community work you’ve done?
There's a lot to it but at the same time, I find that we all have an obligation if we are in the public eye to our community, to our environment, and to raise awareness for others who cannot, and for me that was always a big factor when I got into acting, into working with these types of individuals and then I just kept exploring and evolving and the reach kept growing. So I run a foundation based out of Austin, Texas, and when it comes to more public [things], there are also fundraising campaigns, and United Cerebral Palsy, SAG-AFTRA, and I'm A Performer With Disability committees and awareness campaigns through those, and then other organizations and foreign organizations when then they need volunteers, I do that as well. So, it varies from organization to organization. It comes from fundraising to direct advocacy of engagement, people, volunteering and awareness. That's a lot of what I do when it comes to this foundation, and then I also do a lot of work with different groups, state groups and federal groups when it comes to equal opportunity employment, job training, workforce training and different things like that.
You’ve also recently been helping out with raising awareness for the Easter Seals Disability Film challenge to much success as well, can you tell us a little bit about that endeavor?
So, Easter Seals created a disability film challenge with my good friend Nick Novicki, who's an actor and based in LA. He founded this challenge because he wanted to see more representation, more people brought to the front of the screen, but creating and telling their stories and highlighting them in ways where people can actually see them and hear them, so that's what he did quite a few years ago actually. I've been a judge from the beginning, and it's a great opportunity for people with or without disability to tell their stories. Primarily we focus on people with disabilities, but if you know someone that is affected indirectly, tell that story and highlight that person and bringing awareness in a way where people can understand it and see the commonality of our lives and be like, "oh, this is a very normal person, that lives the same life that we all try to live and grow from."
Many people with disabilities have had to deal with self-confidence issues at one point or another in their lives and have felt the need to hide their disabilities from others. Being someone who has been showcasing their disability out in the open from an early age, how have you dealt with sharing your story and how were you able to gain the confidence to believe in yourself?
I think those are two different things. You don't have to have confidence to share your story, you can do it scared. You can do it without the confidence. I think, for me, it was kind of one of the things I just was put in a position to share a story with or without confidence, and luckily I was just able to keep my cool and keep pushing forward and that’s what I did. Confidence comes and confidence goes. Even the most confident people in the world aren't always confident, they do have self-doubt and disbelief, and that's okay. I find more often than not, people need to realize the lack of confidence that they have is not forever. It's fleeting. It's a moment, and not to just hang on to it or harbor it but, grow from it and just enjoy what you want to do.
What steps do you think need to be taken to see more advancements in disabled representation in the future, and what can others do to help prevent stigmatization towards those with disabilities?
I think there's a couple of things that people can do more of, and that we don't, but at the same time, you should fight against your stigma. Fight against what someone else is trying to say that you are, because that's not true. More often than not I say just be yourself, live your life how you want to live it. Don't be afraid to live a life without limitation because I think everyone, even now, is stigmatizing people more than ever - saying that you're this or that and I see you as this, but you know what? Let them. Let them see you as they want to see you, because that's not you. That's not who you are. That's what you represent, and if you allow that person to win, and you become that, that's your decision too, but owning who you are and what you represent, it’s what needs to be done. So, just don't be afraid of that. We can't get rid of stigmas, we can't get rid of these things in our life, no matter how hard we try, but what we can do is we can rise above them, and grow from them, and not accept them. We deserve a better future, and we aim to have a better future. So, why not make one?
As a highly respected creative with a disability, do you have any advice for young disabled filmmakers, actors, or other creatives who hope to one day break into the industry as you have?
Now's a hard time for a lot of people that are in that position, but if you want to create, don't let anything stop you from creating. Don't put a damper on your dream, or your abilities to create or to film or to tell a story. Everyone deserves to be able to do that and to have the ability to do that. So, if you want to create television and film, create it. Don't give up on it, but realize it's a hard business, it won't be easy, and never is easy. The more you do and the more you make the harder it gets, and the bigger the mountain, so just keep that in mind.
Especially now in the age of the internet, many disabled people of multiple backgrounds with varied interests have been able to look up to you and see you as an inspiration to disabled communities everywhere. Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for those who look up to you and are striving for success with a disability?
I think the thing is that anyone can be in the position I'm in. I'm proof that if you want it, you can go achieve it and make it happen, but it’s not easy. Nothing that I've ever done in my life has ever been handed to me or been an easy thing. It's always taken a lot of time, energy, and resources, not just from me, but everyone around me. If it's a vision that you have for your future and for your life, you can obtain it. But it takes time. It takes effort and it takes willingness and readiness to be prepared for when it comes to you but, enjoy it, enjoy every step of the way.