Actor Russel Andrews (Shamless, Buds) has revealed that he suffers from ALS. In an appearance on The Story Is With Elex Michaelson with his fiancée Erica Tazel (Roots, Firefly), Andrews shared his diagnosis, “I am a person living with ALS. I was diagnosed in the late fall of last year. It’s been humbling,” via Yahoo.
Andrews is known for his appearances in Straight Outta Compton and Better Call Saul. Although he was diagnosed in 2025, his symptoms began back during COVID, “I thought I had a stroke during COVID. It was a stressful time,” via Yahoo.
In addition to his health issues, the pandemic and the subsequent 2023 WGA Strike compounded for a particularly difficult time in the actor’s life, “There were moments there were twitches. There were things that I thought I was having pinched nerves in my neck, and they were quite frequent. “I was not able to do things that I normally do. I was dropping cups and glasses, and in the night, it felt like things were running up and down my arm at different times, and it was the nerves,” he said, according to Yahoo.
Actor Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane (X-Men: The Last Stand, Feast) unfortunately passed away from ALS earlier this year. Dane’s family shared statement on his passing, “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. “He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife [Rebecca Gayheart], and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world. Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time,” via Yahoo.
Tazel, whose credits include Justified, will be taking a hiatus from acting to help care for her fiancé. She shared her thoughts with Elex Michaelson on the difficulties of a loved one being diagnosed with ALS. “The processing is a process. When he originally shared with me, I said I was uncharacteristically calm. In a way, it was an answer to a lot of questions that we had. There were certain things that we started to see that were different. For example, it took him longer to clean the pool. The way he walked, there was a subtle little [change] … things like that. I had questions. I was like, ‘Something is definitely wrong,’ and so we now know what it was,” she said, according to Yahoo.