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In the months since announcing his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), actor Russell Andrews has turned a debilitating health battle into a mission of advocacy.
The progressive neurodegenerative disorder has claimed the lives of numerous stars, including Grey's Anatomy actor Eric Dane, who was just 53 years old when he passed earlier this year.
Andrews, age 64, announced his battle with the ailment in May – ALS Awareness Month – and has become a 'hired gun' who now advocates for his peers in Washington, DC and beyond.
'I've had a decent career in my business.The gentleman before me had a massive career, Eric Dane,' Andrews told The Daily Mail in an interview alongside EverythingALS founder Indu Navar earlier this week.
'I will not say that I grabbed the mantle, if you will, you know, the baton. However, I do understand what my place is right now, and we all need visibility,' the Better Call Saul star added.
No cure exists but Andrews is determined to see the day that finally changes.
Actor Russell Andrews spoke with The Daily Mail about his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
'I have a 20-year plan,' Andrews explained. 'I plan to be here on the day when someone walks in with that bottle and says, "We have it. We figured it out," and it will be a collective of all of us.'
Andrews' symptoms first started manifesting several years ago but he was unable to seek treatment right away, having lost his health insurance due to the writer's strike and COVID-19 pandemic.
When he finally did seek help at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, he did not suspect an ALS diagnosis.
'I thought it was a stroke because my symptoms were dropping things, numbness in my fingers,' he told The Daily Mail. 'It felt like there were things happening, nerve-wise, going up and down my arm, my shoulders.
'It turns out it was not,' he said. 'Through the process of elimination, it ended up being that it was ALS after the final test.'
To his dismay, his doctor was unable to provide him with a definitive prognosis.
'I did ask immediately, "So what am I looking at? Is it five months? Is it five years?"…My neurologist, Dr. Badii, who's wonderful, of course, she said, "Well, we don't know."
'And at that point, that's when everything was loud and quiet all at the same time. I think I would have taken a definitive answer as opposed to “I don't know.”’
Andrews was 'terrified' about what the diagnosis meant for his children and decided to break the news to them in person. He did not disclose their ages.
'I will not say that I grabbed the mantle, if you will, you know, the baton [from Eric Dane]. However, I do understand what my place is right now, and we all need visibility,' Andrews told The Daily Mail
Andrews spoke with The Daily Mail alongside EverythingALS founder Indu Navar
‘I held the information for a while until I can get all of us together. I could not tell them via text or over the phone or whatever. It was just too much. I wasn't afraid for me. I was terrified for my kids because it's just us.
'Without going into detail, the mom doesn't live in the country anymore, so it's been us for about seven or eight years. So we've had to navigate this, and it's been more difficult for them, but they don't show it. They are very, very intelligent and very smart kids, and they're my best friends.
'And so they won't let me fall, but I know in their quiet moments, it's difficult for them,' he said.
His 'beautiful and talented' fiancee, actress Erica Tazel, has remained committed to him amidst the health battle.
'In our work, sometimes we need all of our mental, emotional, physical faculties to do our work, even if it's just studying, you know, for an audition or the actual job on camera or what have you,' he said.
'But to take away from that time, to give that to me, or to be a shoulder or a hug, or some piece for my children, it takes so much away from her. And then to still be on the same page with me, to still say "yes" in spite of all that's going on.'
Andrews announced his heartbreaking diagnosis in May, a year after he first learned he had the ailment
No cure exists but Andrews is determined to see the day that finally changes
The fact Tazel is also over a decade younger than him has also weighed on him.
'I'm kind of on the clock,' he said. 'My kids are my kids, but Erica is committed, you know, until.'
Yet the ordeal has offered somewhat of a silver lining for Andrews, who has found a new passion in giving back to the ALS community.
He has partnered with the ALS Network and joined forces with EverythingALS, 'a patient-focused non-profit bringing technological innovations and data science to support efforts, from care to cure, for people with ALS,' according to their website.
'It has turned out to be a wonderful thing because I've seen just in the year or so that I've been part of the advocacy part of it, I've seen the highs of the highs and the lows of the lows, but there has been beauty and joy in all of it,' he said of doing advocacy.
Since his diagnosis, Andrews headed to Washington, DC to speak with lawmakers and call for the reauthorization of the ACT for ALS.
'ALS, it doesn't discriminate. It is on both sides of the aisle, and people from both sides are part of the movement,' he said.
Russell, pictured 2019, said he experienced symptoms for years before finally seeking help and receiving a diagnosis
Russell's acting career includes roles in Better Call Saul, Insecure, Straight Outta Compton, and Grey's Anatomy
Andrews revealed his diagnosis publicly three months after the death of Eric Dane at age 53 from ALS - pictured June 2025
Now Andrews is committed to being of 'service' to his peers.
'I am a person living with ALS. I am an actor. I stumbled into that 30 years ago, and who knew I'd still be here?
'I tell stories for a living. I, and people in my industry, we hold up the mirror to society, and society can decide who they are. We have the luxury of making people laugh and cry and think, all at the same time.
'That's a full day, and I am fortunate to be able to take that which... has been my chosen career, and to be able to add it to this. I didn't know how it would make an impact. And again, I said early, "What do I say to a family whose loved one is in a chair and has been, or a family with multiple members of their family dealing with ALS?"
'I don't know anything profound to say, and other than my truth is that... I'm committed to whatever service I can be in, and I will do it until I can't. It's kind of that simple. It's bigger than me, and I won't ever attempt to make it otherwise. It wouldn't work that way.'
EverythingALS was founded after Indu's husband Peter Cohen died from the illness in 2019.
Using her background in technology, Indu has created a platform dedicated to helping those suffering from ALS.
'Every time people get diagnosed, there's a shock about, you know, I'm alone. I'm in this journey, and what the message we want to say is that we're here, right? You're not alone, in the sense, that's exactly the platform. We've been alone, and the platform is to not make other people feel the same thing.'
While no cure currently exists, Andrews stressed there is reason for hope.
'They are so close. They are so close.'
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Details of fatal disease there is no cure for
What is it?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurogenerative disorder which impacts the nerve cells in the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It gets progressively worse and causes significant muscle control loss in people who have it.
Treatment
There is no cure for ALS and the disease is fatal, but it progresses at different speeds in patients.
Symptoms
The first signs of ALS are twitching of the muscles, weaknesses of the limbs and problems with swallowing and speaking. Progressively, it deteriorates muscle control and impacts an individual's ability to breathe, move, speak and eat.
ALS symptoms correspond with where nerve cells deteriorate in each person, and could lead to issues walking, tripping, and weakness of the knees, ankles and hands.
It can also lead to problems with muscle cramps and twitching in areas including one's tongue, arms and shoulders. People with ALS have experienced untimely spells of laughter, tears and yawns, as well as changes to one's thinking process or behavior, according to the clinic.
Risk factors
Among the risk factors researchers have established for ALS include genetics, as about 10 percent of people diagnosed with it were passed down a gene from a relative, which is called hereditary ALS, according to the clinic. Kids of people who have hereditary ALS have a 50 percent chance of having the gene.
Age is also a factor as the risk of getting the disease trends up toward the age of 75, with the most common range of people who have it between 60 and 85. In terms of gender, men are diagnosed with a higher rate of ALS prior to the age of 65, according to the clinic.
Other factors that have been linked to ALS include smoking and exposure to toxic substances. The clinic reported that military personnel have been diagnosed with ALS at a higher rate.
Causes
There is no known cause of ALS, according to the Mayo Clinic, and heredity plays a factor in a small number of cases.
Lou Gehrig was one of baseball's preeminent stars while playing for the Yankees between 1923 and 1939. Known as 'The Iron Horse,' he played in 2,130 consecutive games before ALS forced him to retire. The record was broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995
Lou Gehrig's Disease
As well as being known as ALS, it is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Lou Gehrig was a stalwart first baseman for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. He was famous for his strength and durability, earning the nickname 'The Iron Horse' with a record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
In a July 4, 1939 speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, the ballplayer famously said, 'For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.'
His popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball. He died two years after his diagnosis on June 2, 1941.
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